http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/massachusetts/cotuit/waldorf-school-of-\
cape-cod/#reviews
Posted February 15, 2012
If you think this Waldorf School is like other successful Waldorf Schools,
PLEASE THINK AGAIN. The grades are a GAMBLE depending on the TEACHER your child
will have for 8 YEARS. There is little to no accountability for poor quality and
inconsistent standards of education and behavior. The admin and faculty dogma is
closely held in secrecy which is part and parcel to the Rudolph Steiner s
teachings and if questioned you will receive patent answers with little thought
to your child s specific needs. If you find a faculty member that is willing to
listen without prejudice to your concerns, good luck. Even the faculty who are
known amongst their colleagues for poor performance have job safety. Many
families have left this school after investing many years in it because their
concerns have been systematically swept under the rug. Mum's the word here. I
for one fell under the spell of this school. I found that my child and the
majority of classmates that stayed were left with such deficits in academics
that intense interventions were needed for most. Our class started with 14 or
more and ended with 4. Be aware of retention rates at this school. They differ
among the faculty greatly.
—Submitted by a parent
Posted February 2, 2012
There is no boss at a Waldorf School which means there is no one accountable.
Faculty hold the position of authority and the members change yearly. Issues are
continually deferred for lengthy amounts of times and conclusions are rarely met
or shared. In the past several years the administration staff has changed every
couple of years for a total of approximately six changes to the Administrator
position, six to the Administration Assistant position and several more to the
bookkeeper position. There has also been many staff hired and let go in
positions such as Director of Admissions and Director of Outreach. In short
there is little consistency in the Administration staff. Some faculty will cover
their colleagues backs at great lengths even when evidence of unacceptable
behaviors are present or educational needs of the students are not being
met.There is enormous amounts of indifference directed towards any parent who
may question the Waldorf School or challenge them in any way.Children are not
held in reverence here at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod as is the Rudolph
Steiner teaching. In fact most issues are viewed as the child's and not the
adults in charge. Take a good look —Submitted by a parent
Posted February 7, 2005
My daughter has been attending Waldorf School of Cape Cod for five years,
completing second grade. She's learned to knit, mold beeswax, sing odd songs,
and has barely learned to read or write at the age of eight. This school's
emphasis on political correctiveness and art has completely absorbed their
ability to teach any fundamental aspect of early childhood learning. Though my
daughter has always received good marks in class, she is very far behind the
other children her age who go to other schools in every subject. There have been
several cases of violence that have been dismissed by the school system, and
there seems to be a total lacking of any form of discipline. I anxiuosly await
the end of the school year when I can enroll her into a different school. Please
save your child's education and put them into a different school system.
—Submitted by a parent
http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/massachusetts/cotuit/waldorf-school-of-\
cape-cod/#reviews
If academics hold any importance to you, do not attend this school. Don't ask
about how many children are in each class, but about how many have left. If you
enroll your child here, be sure to find a good tutor to take the Waldorf journey
with your child.
Submitted by a Parent on Jul 19, 2011
Absolutely agree with former reviewer. My child's class started with more than
14 students and by graduation only 4 were left. This is not the only class that
dropped out. Do your research regarding this school. Philosophies are archaic
and completely misunderstood by parents. There are no assessments to track your
child's progress and it is almost impossible to find a tutor who can unravel the
gaps your child will undoubtedly have when transferring to another school. Do
not attend this school. There are few redeeming qualities once you get past the
"oooh isn't this a nice place" feeling.
Submitted by a Parent on Feb 22, 2012
Showing posts with label temperaments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label temperaments. Show all posts
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Leeds Waldorf School
http://www.leedssteinerschool.co.uk/
"A campaign for a new school in Leeds
22nd April 2012
Since applying to the DfE in February 2012 to open a new school as part of the
Government's Free Schools programme, we have been invited to interview by the
DfE to present our case in detail.
This interview will take place some time in May 2012. We hope a final decision
will be made by the DfE some time in July or August 2012."
And from Alicia's blog we can read the inside story:
http://zooey.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/no-anthroposophy-no-steiner-values/#commen\
t-15785
Leeds Steiner Parent
April 24, 2012 1:04 am
Hi – a very interesting post! This really hit a nerve here as my partner and I
are actually familiar with both Leeds Steiner Initiative and Jim Wild. Sorry for
the length of this post, please bear with me…
Our child is a former pupil of the Leeds Steiner kindergarten. Our story is not
unique, and from what I have read, I would say it is actually quite common.
Steiner seemed to be the perfect antidote to all our misgivings about mainstream
education. We fell in love with the kindergarten and its open and unbiased ethos
for developing confidence, creativity, compassion and intellect. Our hopes that
the Leeds free-school would be open by the time our child finished kindergarten
also gave us hopes of a continuous Steiner education with glowing qualifications
by the end of it.
We attended open days and festivals, had personal meetings with the staff, went
to Parent and Toddler groups, then enrolled in the kindergarten. We became
involved in volunteering, fundraising and support of the proposed Leeds Steiner
School. There was never any mention of anthroposophy at any stage, and as we
weren't even aware of it we never even knew to ask about it.
After a few successful terms at kindergarten, we stumbled onto some online
information about anthroposophy, and how it permeates every fibre of Steiner
schooling. Although it came as a real shock to us, it certainly explained a few
things. Everything in fact, and so obvious was the explanation that we actually
felt foolish for not suspecting anything sooner.
We continued with an enormous amount of research, reading just about everything
we could find on the subject, from `official' sources and philosophical
teachings to independent accounts, and those of pupils/parents/teachers with
first hand experience. We found out about the practices, their explanations, and
significantly, their purpose.
When seeing things in this different light, the picture became startlingly
clear. Nothing that we encountered within the kindergarten was incidental or
accidental or done on a whim or against the book – small things that seemed to
bear no significance suddenly made perfect sense – every detail of the
experience had been designed and executed to open the senses and heighten the
effectiveness of the anthroposophy influence. Even Steiner's delayed literacy
practice – the same as the admired European academic model – or so we thought –
turned out to have very different motives altogether.
Reinterpreting some advice we had been given for the home (in the interest of
our child's creative development), seemed to suggest other agendas, and
relationships that we were encouraged to build within the Steiner community
hinted at strategic manoeuvres to make or break inter-group factions.
Re-reading the literature we received in the beginning, with the benefit of
hindsight, was a fascinating exercise – it contained nothing which could alert
even the sharpest of senses to anything outlandish, and yet information about
the school's actual agenda was really there, hidden in euphemisms and between
the lines.
We likened the whole experience to a vegetarian discovering that what they had
been told was soya, was actually meat all along.
We desperately wanted to speak out, but we didn't know which parents were aware,
and which weren't. Caught between inciting a witch-hunt on one side and breaking
other families' dreams on the other, we felt completely paralysed. Needless to
say, an overwhelming sense of isolation and distrust swallowed us up, and to get
out was the only way we felt we could go. It was heartbreaking to resigning from
our warm and loving extended family, and although we aimed a good deal of blame
at ourselves, the feeling of betrayal and manipulation by some of our most
trusted family members was too much to stomach.
We consider ourselves to be broad-minded and spiritually open people, and
ironically, discovery of the anthroposophical teachings themselves weren't
actually the main problem for us – the issue was the concealment, the deception,
and mostly, the conditioning of our child in ways which we had neither knowledge
of, nor consented to. Whatever the area, whatever the outcome, this is entirely
irresponsible and unacceptable, and it was for this reason above all that we had
to withdraw.
A few years ago my partner and I were the victims of a long-standing deception,
at the hands of someone very close and trusted. It devastated our lives
emotionally and financially, and the post-traumatic effects still haunt us
almost daily. The series of events and the shock, disbelief, humiliation,
betrayal, dismay and anger we have felt in our experience with Steiner were
remarkably similar.
Had we read a comment such as Jan Rush's puzzling `"No Steiner values" claim
before our `discovery', we would have been deeply concerned that the school we
were investing in wasn't being based on the principles we wanted.
`Post-discovery', it is just as upsetting to read, and although it is now no
surprise, it is still a great disappointment to see that a newly proposed place
of learning in Leeds, however competent the education turns out to be, will be
built on a foundation of deception, manipulation, remorselessness and dangerous
means of self-preservation. There should simply be no place for these in
education.
Coming back to the meat analogy, it wouldn't be possible these days for food
producers to trade under such clandestine and deceptive methods, and food
standards agencies enforce their legislation to give protection from potential
abusers. The same can be said for all industries – tobacco, alcohol, healthcare,
motoring, travel, leisure, cosmetics, consumer goods, financial, property, civil
service and, tellingly, mainstream education.
It is imperative now that the very highest education authorities intervene here,
and under no uncertain terms ensure that all Steiner establishments publish full
and precise disclosure of their beliefs and intentions. It is paramount that the
uninformed and unsuspecting are given protection. Personally, we count ourselves
among the lucky ones. The number of victims this cover-up has claimed over the
past 90-odd years of Steiner schooling doesn't bear thinking about, but in these
times of the nanny-state, litigation, think-tanks and watch-dogs, it is almost
inconceivable that this problem can still exist.
"A campaign for a new school in Leeds
22nd April 2012
Since applying to the DfE in February 2012 to open a new school as part of the
Government's Free Schools programme, we have been invited to interview by the
DfE to present our case in detail.
This interview will take place some time in May 2012. We hope a final decision
will be made by the DfE some time in July or August 2012."
And from Alicia's blog we can read the inside story:
http://zooey.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/no-anthroposophy-no-steiner-values/#commen\
t-15785
Leeds Steiner Parent
April 24, 2012 1:04 am
Hi – a very interesting post! This really hit a nerve here as my partner and I
are actually familiar with both Leeds Steiner Initiative and Jim Wild. Sorry for
the length of this post, please bear with me…
Our child is a former pupil of the Leeds Steiner kindergarten. Our story is not
unique, and from what I have read, I would say it is actually quite common.
Steiner seemed to be the perfect antidote to all our misgivings about mainstream
education. We fell in love with the kindergarten and its open and unbiased ethos
for developing confidence, creativity, compassion and intellect. Our hopes that
the Leeds free-school would be open by the time our child finished kindergarten
also gave us hopes of a continuous Steiner education with glowing qualifications
by the end of it.
We attended open days and festivals, had personal meetings with the staff, went
to Parent and Toddler groups, then enrolled in the kindergarten. We became
involved in volunteering, fundraising and support of the proposed Leeds Steiner
School. There was never any mention of anthroposophy at any stage, and as we
weren't even aware of it we never even knew to ask about it.
After a few successful terms at kindergarten, we stumbled onto some online
information about anthroposophy, and how it permeates every fibre of Steiner
schooling. Although it came as a real shock to us, it certainly explained a few
things. Everything in fact, and so obvious was the explanation that we actually
felt foolish for not suspecting anything sooner.
We continued with an enormous amount of research, reading just about everything
we could find on the subject, from `official' sources and philosophical
teachings to independent accounts, and those of pupils/parents/teachers with
first hand experience. We found out about the practices, their explanations, and
significantly, their purpose.
When seeing things in this different light, the picture became startlingly
clear. Nothing that we encountered within the kindergarten was incidental or
accidental or done on a whim or against the book – small things that seemed to
bear no significance suddenly made perfect sense – every detail of the
experience had been designed and executed to open the senses and heighten the
effectiveness of the anthroposophy influence. Even Steiner's delayed literacy
practice – the same as the admired European academic model – or so we thought –
turned out to have very different motives altogether.
Reinterpreting some advice we had been given for the home (in the interest of
our child's creative development), seemed to suggest other agendas, and
relationships that we were encouraged to build within the Steiner community
hinted at strategic manoeuvres to make or break inter-group factions.
Re-reading the literature we received in the beginning, with the benefit of
hindsight, was a fascinating exercise – it contained nothing which could alert
even the sharpest of senses to anything outlandish, and yet information about
the school's actual agenda was really there, hidden in euphemisms and between
the lines.
We likened the whole experience to a vegetarian discovering that what they had
been told was soya, was actually meat all along.
We desperately wanted to speak out, but we didn't know which parents were aware,
and which weren't. Caught between inciting a witch-hunt on one side and breaking
other families' dreams on the other, we felt completely paralysed. Needless to
say, an overwhelming sense of isolation and distrust swallowed us up, and to get
out was the only way we felt we could go. It was heartbreaking to resigning from
our warm and loving extended family, and although we aimed a good deal of blame
at ourselves, the feeling of betrayal and manipulation by some of our most
trusted family members was too much to stomach.
We consider ourselves to be broad-minded and spiritually open people, and
ironically, discovery of the anthroposophical teachings themselves weren't
actually the main problem for us – the issue was the concealment, the deception,
and mostly, the conditioning of our child in ways which we had neither knowledge
of, nor consented to. Whatever the area, whatever the outcome, this is entirely
irresponsible and unacceptable, and it was for this reason above all that we had
to withdraw.
A few years ago my partner and I were the victims of a long-standing deception,
at the hands of someone very close and trusted. It devastated our lives
emotionally and financially, and the post-traumatic effects still haunt us
almost daily. The series of events and the shock, disbelief, humiliation,
betrayal, dismay and anger we have felt in our experience with Steiner were
remarkably similar.
Had we read a comment such as Jan Rush's puzzling `"No Steiner values" claim
before our `discovery', we would have been deeply concerned that the school we
were investing in wasn't being based on the principles we wanted.
`Post-discovery', it is just as upsetting to read, and although it is now no
surprise, it is still a great disappointment to see that a newly proposed place
of learning in Leeds, however competent the education turns out to be, will be
built on a foundation of deception, manipulation, remorselessness and dangerous
means of self-preservation. There should simply be no place for these in
education.
Coming back to the meat analogy, it wouldn't be possible these days for food
producers to trade under such clandestine and deceptive methods, and food
standards agencies enforce their legislation to give protection from potential
abusers. The same can be said for all industries – tobacco, alcohol, healthcare,
motoring, travel, leisure, cosmetics, consumer goods, financial, property, civil
service and, tellingly, mainstream education.
It is imperative now that the very highest education authorities intervene here,
and under no uncertain terms ensure that all Steiner establishments publish full
and precise disclosure of their beliefs and intentions. It is paramount that the
uninformed and unsuspecting are given protection. Personally, we count ourselves
among the lucky ones. The number of victims this cover-up has claimed over the
past 90-odd years of Steiner schooling doesn't bear thinking about, but in these
times of the nanny-state, litigation, think-tanks and watch-dogs, it is almost
inconceivable that this problem can still exist.
Davis Waldorf School Reviews - by Parents
http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=9658&state=CA#from..Hea\
derLink
8/9/2011
After leaving this school and having my kids tested, I would never go back
again. You think your paying to give your kids a head start while passing on the
love of learning, come to find out 6 years latter your really crippling them in
"this" program. (Test scores showed, child three years behind due to lack of
instruction. When child was instructed the scores jumped two grade levels in a 6
month period.)
Davis has incredible public schools, that help children excel academically and
have a lot of the same feel as this place, once did.
Check out one great school, Patwin.
Posted August 2, 2011
Our child spent four years at this school. After a few positive experiences in
the beginning, we had a miserable time at this school. Our child was bullied,
subjected to hate speech, beaten by a bully while being held by the bully's
sidekick. The teacher had zero previous teaching experience, pigeon-holed
children and treated all according to what she thought she "knew" about them as
though she had some special psychological insight into their karma. The teacher
was a disaster on the level of personal interaction and in terms of academics.
The principal is in a position of doling out financial favors to members of the
school board and therefore, rules supreme without any meaningful supervision,
and acts arbitrarily. Extremely hurtful environment and academically a disaster.
—Submitted by a parent
Posted February 5, 2011
Horrible experience. My son came from a very bad experience in the Davis School
system and transferred to Davis Waldorf in November. He said goodbye to his
teacher in June and in July we received a termination letter about his
enrollment. We did not receive any contact prior to this letter. I contacted the
office but they did not respond at all. My son has now been diagnosed with high
functioning autism and could have used the support of this school but they
dropped him as fast as they could after taking our tuition money.
—Submitted by a parent
Wow! It looks like the sudden attention to the Waldorf school reviews is
prompting parents to make their voices heard. This review appeared on the Davis
Waldorf School board within the last few minutes:
http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=9658&state=CA#from..Hea\
derLink
Posted today
Davis Waldorf has been a true disappointment. After a few years it has become
clear that it is not simply a school with an emphasis on the Arts. Though almost
never mentioned the school is founded on the philosophy of one Rudolf Steiner
(labelled an educator but had no credentials), called Anthroposophy. This theory
is almost never mentioned but forms the basis for everything which goes on at
the school. Anthroposophy is an esoteric philosophy which incorporates karma,
racial hierarchies, categorizing children into the four temperaments, and plenty
of other Anthro nonsense. Children are encouraged to look back into antiquity
rather than modern knowledge for answers. They are taught the ancient 4 element
theory is fact, that myths and stories are fact. They are not taught to read
until at least 7 years old. Parents are told this is to avoid rushing education.
The reality is that Anthroposophy teaches that a child does not incarnate into
their Astral body until adult teeth form, this happens around the age of 7, that
only once the Astral body has fully incarnated can any intellectual faculty be
exercised. This education is not right for my children. Do you feel it's right
for yours? —Submitted by a parent
WE'RE LISTENING! Is WALDORF?
Chicago Waldorf School Reviews - by Parents
I'm hoping, by posting all these critical reviews of Waldorf, that I am
answering the age old question of whether Waldorf Critics are a "small group of
disgruntled secular humanists in California." The problems in Waldorf are
international. We hear the SAME complaints from Waldorf schools everywhere -
whether public or private, whether in California or the UK... The SAME behavior
by Waldorf teachers and administrators EVERYWHERE is identified in these
criticisms... criticisms NOT by critics, but by ORDINARY PARENTS!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-waldorf-school-chicago
6/1/2010
The Chicago Waldorf School....although I have much to say, I will leave this
brief and to the point.
The school is poorly ran, they don't know how to accept change, they use people
that willingly volunteer their limited free time until the person feels so used
they never return to the "community".
I happen to think that the philosophical base behind Waldorf education is way
ahead of the curve; however, the people running the Chicago school are way
behind.
Maybe one day everything will click for them and the students can get the
education they deserve without the distractions that have constantly plagued the
school.
- Alum
6/1/2011
My daughter was at CWS for 11 years, making it halfway through high school. I
was an extremely active volunteer. The best part of the place is the community.
The school itself has many internal issues that need to be resolved. Waldorf
education is a great thing and its founder, Rudolf Steiner, a brilliant
innovator. But CWS as an example of Waldorf learning falls down, especially in
the middle/high grades. Maybe other Waldorf schools are more satisfyingly run.
If those in charge of CWS were open to real change, such as the painful but
necessary retirement of some instructors, it would help. They advertise
constantly, rather than letting the education/school speak for itself. The
tuition is disturbingly high. In the end we were deeply disappointed with how
they handled our child's situation, despite having been a long-term attendee.
Some kids there do have it very good--keeping the same teacher all the way
through, for instance, or being on the receiving end of someone's favoritism.
(The happiest families usually have students still in the lower grades.) But the
teachers of our child changed 3 times through 8th grade, and the class kept
accepting new students who brought in disruptive behavior and a sorry lack of
the philosophy of the place. I'm a little sad to find that neither my child nor
us, her parents, miss the place.
5/4/2011
They talk a great game but it is a bizarre education philosophy. My children
needed extensive tutoring to bring them up to grade level when they transferred
to regular schools.
My kind of town...
http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=5235&state=IL#from..Hea\
derLink
Posted June 7, 2011
When one reads the Waldorf curriculum, it sounds great and those morning lesson
books look fantastic. One feels that his/her child is going to great this
creative education that fosters critical thinking, but don't kid yourself!
Mostly, the kids are copying from the board. There is no thinking and one is not
allowed to question the philosophy. —Submitted by a parent
Posted May 4, 2011
This school really does not teach anything. After several years of attending
CWS, my son had to go to a reading specialist, not because he had any learning
disabilities, but because Waldorf had not really taught him to read. They say
that they are all about creativity but really the lessons are about copying
lessons from the board. Needless to say, we transferred our child and had to
send him to extra tutoring to get him on grade level. —Submitted by a parent
Posted May 4, 2011
My child has serous learning disabilities that they failed to even recognize!
They did some weird "birthing" investigation and then wanted to have my child
realigned. My child has dyslexia! My child is now getting the correct help, but
stay away from Chicago Waldorf!
—Submitted by a parent
Posted March 20, 2011
This school preaches tolerance and understanding, but they are Neo-Pagan
fundamentalists. They are judgmental and arbitrary in their decisions. The
administration is incompetent and weak. The school lacks process and procedures
for any difficulty. And the education quality is very disappointing. —Submitted
by a parent
Posted July 30, 2010
Our son attended the parent-child and early childhood programs which were truly
excellent and enriching experiences . He continued to the grade school where
problems began. His teacher appeared to have a bias against boys as well as
reported anger management issues which erupted in the classroom. She was also
very condescending and defensive with us in our attempts to discuss our son's
increasing distress. We realized that he needed to leave this school and began
searching for options. We found a much better fit for him at a small private
school that was not only much kinder, but provided a genuinely grounded
educational philosophy with a stronger academic curriculum. To summarize, this
school has an outstanding early childhood program, but be very wary of
continuing into the grade school. It is all about getting an excellent, caring
teacher and having a positive classroom environment. Unfortunately, our son had
neither. —Submitted by a parent
Posted December 23, 2009
There is a vague spiritual quasi - religous vision that guides every decision a
teacher and the administrators rely on to both teach and run this school. It was
our experience that the teachers do not want to partner with parents at all and
parents are barely welcome to step foot inside the school, it is all very
precious. Academics are faulty and if your child has a learning disability this
is NOT the place for them, they don't have the resources or training to assist
or identify a learning disabled child. —Submitted by a parent
Posted June 11, 2009
The teachers are given the most power over your children and you 'ideally' have
the same teacher for 8 years. The teacher will interpret and treat your child
based on their opinion of your child. They believe they are somehow qualified to
assess your child's soul or that they know more about the spiritual realm than
anyone else could. A lot of parents seem to crumble at the mystique that is
portrayed by teachers but it is really just a fallacy. They are teaching and
thus interacting with your child based upon esoteric studies that they
wholeheartedly believe in but are they really what you believe? Money talks at
this school although you'll find some pretty poor people who receive assistance
who are there basically because they totally believe in 'the way' and make the
place seem ideal and authentic. Proceed with caution. Don't believe the hype no
matter how pretty —Submitted by a parent
Posted January 11, 2008
Our daugher was enrolled in the pre-school parent teacher program. The original
teacher had a gift for recognizing the individual traits of the chilren; she
also appeared to be well attuned to Steiner's philosophy, with special emphasis
on nature, the outdoors, and the individual traits of each child. Alas, she
moved on. Now, the program is quite mechanical. Little attention is paid to
nature - the children do not even go outdoors. The teacher is not inclined or
able to recognize the invididual traits and characteristics of each child. And
the parents are quite competitive among themselves - a function, perhaps, of the
rather mechanical approach that now pervades the classroom. —Submitted by a
parent
Posted April 15, 2006
The CWS is a school based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, but is
interpreted by teachers so there is room for error. The staff runs the school
and parents have little room to do anything that involves themself in their
children's lives except volunteering for fundraisers. Parents are not easily
welcomed into the classrooms and have little knowledge of what goes on. The
quality of the education varies from teacher to teacher and parents do not have
a choice in the selection of the grades teachers. All first grade classes fill
up to a capacity of 32 children even with the high tuition.
—Submitted by a parent
Posted February 16, 2006
For those interested in Waldorf education, this is the only school available in
the Chicago area. Unfortunately it's wildly expensive (approx. $12,000/year).
The quality of the academic program varies from teacher to teacher and subject
to subject. The school emphasizes art and music, incl. instrumental. The level
of parent involvement is high, but it's gone down over the years due to burn-out
and the fact that some parents get paid while others don't. Those interested
should be sure to at least know who Rudolf Steiner was, since Waldorf schools
are based on his philosophy. Definitely not for parents who want a high-tech
approach for their kids' school, e.g. computers, or who are very attached to the
media. I rated the Principal Leadership 'don't know' because they're looking for
a new one now. —Submitted by a parent
http://www.localschooldirectory.com/private-school/8428/IL
answering the age old question of whether Waldorf Critics are a "small group of
disgruntled secular humanists in California." The problems in Waldorf are
international. We hear the SAME complaints from Waldorf schools everywhere -
whether public or private, whether in California or the UK... The SAME behavior
by Waldorf teachers and administrators EVERYWHERE is identified in these
criticisms... criticisms NOT by critics, but by ORDINARY PARENTS!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-waldorf-school-chicago
6/1/2010
The Chicago Waldorf School....although I have much to say, I will leave this
brief and to the point.
The school is poorly ran, they don't know how to accept change, they use people
that willingly volunteer their limited free time until the person feels so used
they never return to the "community".
I happen to think that the philosophical base behind Waldorf education is way
ahead of the curve; however, the people running the Chicago school are way
behind.
Maybe one day everything will click for them and the students can get the
education they deserve without the distractions that have constantly plagued the
school.
- Alum
6/1/2011
My daughter was at CWS for 11 years, making it halfway through high school. I
was an extremely active volunteer. The best part of the place is the community.
The school itself has many internal issues that need to be resolved. Waldorf
education is a great thing and its founder, Rudolf Steiner, a brilliant
innovator. But CWS as an example of Waldorf learning falls down, especially in
the middle/high grades. Maybe other Waldorf schools are more satisfyingly run.
If those in charge of CWS were open to real change, such as the painful but
necessary retirement of some instructors, it would help. They advertise
constantly, rather than letting the education/school speak for itself. The
tuition is disturbingly high. In the end we were deeply disappointed with how
they handled our child's situation, despite having been a long-term attendee.
Some kids there do have it very good--keeping the same teacher all the way
through, for instance, or being on the receiving end of someone's favoritism.
(The happiest families usually have students still in the lower grades.) But the
teachers of our child changed 3 times through 8th grade, and the class kept
accepting new students who brought in disruptive behavior and a sorry lack of
the philosophy of the place. I'm a little sad to find that neither my child nor
us, her parents, miss the place.
5/4/2011
They talk a great game but it is a bizarre education philosophy. My children
needed extensive tutoring to bring them up to grade level when they transferred
to regular schools.
My kind of town...
http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=5235&state=IL#from..Hea\
derLink
Posted June 7, 2011
When one reads the Waldorf curriculum, it sounds great and those morning lesson
books look fantastic. One feels that his/her child is going to great this
creative education that fosters critical thinking, but don't kid yourself!
Mostly, the kids are copying from the board. There is no thinking and one is not
allowed to question the philosophy. —Submitted by a parent
Posted May 4, 2011
This school really does not teach anything. After several years of attending
CWS, my son had to go to a reading specialist, not because he had any learning
disabilities, but because Waldorf had not really taught him to read. They say
that they are all about creativity but really the lessons are about copying
lessons from the board. Needless to say, we transferred our child and had to
send him to extra tutoring to get him on grade level. —Submitted by a parent
Posted May 4, 2011
My child has serous learning disabilities that they failed to even recognize!
They did some weird "birthing" investigation and then wanted to have my child
realigned. My child has dyslexia! My child is now getting the correct help, but
stay away from Chicago Waldorf!
—Submitted by a parent
Posted March 20, 2011
This school preaches tolerance and understanding, but they are Neo-Pagan
fundamentalists. They are judgmental and arbitrary in their decisions. The
administration is incompetent and weak. The school lacks process and procedures
for any difficulty. And the education quality is very disappointing. —Submitted
by a parent
Posted July 30, 2010
Our son attended the parent-child and early childhood programs which were truly
excellent and enriching experiences . He continued to the grade school where
problems began. His teacher appeared to have a bias against boys as well as
reported anger management issues which erupted in the classroom. She was also
very condescending and defensive with us in our attempts to discuss our son's
increasing distress. We realized that he needed to leave this school and began
searching for options. We found a much better fit for him at a small private
school that was not only much kinder, but provided a genuinely grounded
educational philosophy with a stronger academic curriculum. To summarize, this
school has an outstanding early childhood program, but be very wary of
continuing into the grade school. It is all about getting an excellent, caring
teacher and having a positive classroom environment. Unfortunately, our son had
neither. —Submitted by a parent
Posted December 23, 2009
There is a vague spiritual quasi - religous vision that guides every decision a
teacher and the administrators rely on to both teach and run this school. It was
our experience that the teachers do not want to partner with parents at all and
parents are barely welcome to step foot inside the school, it is all very
precious. Academics are faulty and if your child has a learning disability this
is NOT the place for them, they don't have the resources or training to assist
or identify a learning disabled child. —Submitted by a parent
Posted June 11, 2009
The teachers are given the most power over your children and you 'ideally' have
the same teacher for 8 years. The teacher will interpret and treat your child
based on their opinion of your child. They believe they are somehow qualified to
assess your child's soul or that they know more about the spiritual realm than
anyone else could. A lot of parents seem to crumble at the mystique that is
portrayed by teachers but it is really just a fallacy. They are teaching and
thus interacting with your child based upon esoteric studies that they
wholeheartedly believe in but are they really what you believe? Money talks at
this school although you'll find some pretty poor people who receive assistance
who are there basically because they totally believe in 'the way' and make the
place seem ideal and authentic. Proceed with caution. Don't believe the hype no
matter how pretty —Submitted by a parent
Posted January 11, 2008
Our daugher was enrolled in the pre-school parent teacher program. The original
teacher had a gift for recognizing the individual traits of the chilren; she
also appeared to be well attuned to Steiner's philosophy, with special emphasis
on nature, the outdoors, and the individual traits of each child. Alas, she
moved on. Now, the program is quite mechanical. Little attention is paid to
nature - the children do not even go outdoors. The teacher is not inclined or
able to recognize the invididual traits and characteristics of each child. And
the parents are quite competitive among themselves - a function, perhaps, of the
rather mechanical approach that now pervades the classroom. —Submitted by a
parent
Posted April 15, 2006
The CWS is a school based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, but is
interpreted by teachers so there is room for error. The staff runs the school
and parents have little room to do anything that involves themself in their
children's lives except volunteering for fundraisers. Parents are not easily
welcomed into the classrooms and have little knowledge of what goes on. The
quality of the education varies from teacher to teacher and parents do not have
a choice in the selection of the grades teachers. All first grade classes fill
up to a capacity of 32 children even with the high tuition.
—Submitted by a parent
Posted February 16, 2006
For those interested in Waldorf education, this is the only school available in
the Chicago area. Unfortunately it's wildly expensive (approx. $12,000/year).
The quality of the academic program varies from teacher to teacher and subject
to subject. The school emphasizes art and music, incl. instrumental. The level
of parent involvement is high, but it's gone down over the years due to burn-out
and the fact that some parents get paid while others don't. Those interested
should be sure to at least know who Rudolf Steiner was, since Waldorf schools
are based on his philosophy. Definitely not for parents who want a high-tech
approach for their kids' school, e.g. computers, or who are very attached to the
media. I rated the Principal Leadership 'don't know' because they're looking for
a new one now. —Submitted by a parent
http://www.localschooldirectory.com/private-school/8428/IL
- Reviewed by Parent/Guardian on July 24, 2010
- This school does not tolerate other points of view. Their academics are weak, particularly in math and science. The administration is incompetent and does not follow their own policies and procedures.
- Reviewed by Parent/Guardian on April 30, 2010
- This school is disorganized and chaotic. The administration is inexperienced and incompetent. As much as they say they have your child's best interests at heart, they do not. All they care about is their philosophy and have no respect for the parents or other points of view.
Journey School Reviews - by Parents
Here are some reviews for another big loser - the Journey School charter in
California. Notice, one poster confirms that many of the negative reviews have
already been DELETED... and that administrators are making the positive reviews.
That's exactly what I've encountered when reviewing Highland Hall. Anyway, this
is supposed to be a PUBLIC charter school.
http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=11988&state=CA#from..He\
aderLink
Posted April 10, 2012
Based on our experience, we are giving this school two stars. Our children spent
three years at Journey, with the 2011-2012 year being their first year at a new
school. We experienced positive and negatives during those three years.
Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives. Lack of teaching core
curriculum in one class put one of our children an entire year behind. The other
major issue was administration and the lack of discipline for bullies with no
consistent policy enforced. Further, the parents who had real concerns were
often overlooked. For us, you can't judge a book by its cover...it looked great
on the outside but the interior is very flawed and isn't nurturing the whole
child. We recommend keeping an eye on your children and their preparedness for
high school. We cannot recommend this school at this time. —Submitted by a
parent
Posted January 19, 2012
There are a lot of unhappy parents at Journe watching stuff all this. Events do
not happen in a closet, parents who vol. etc are watching and see the travesties
that occur to others and are frustrated. This is reflected in lower donation
rates and parent vol., etc. All the negative reviews below are correct. Huge
egos, 'big talk' but little action, wishy washy decisions. We will be leaving at
end of year. This school has lost the heart it once had. Newbie Admin has done a
couple of good things but made huge, bad judgement calls, sweeping stuff under
rug. IF school gets rechartered, school council / teachers need to insist on a
proven track record of experienced, ethical, stable Admin otherwise this school
won't make it. Stop the nepotism, go outside Waldorf ville. —Submitted by a
parent
Posted January 16, 2012
The negative reviewers are spot on. Negative reviews do 'disappear...' i watched
when we left in the spring and 3-4 disappeared. We left last year with others
due to the substandard teacher in our class as our child was academically
behind. Check out STAR scores to verify 2 classes who suffered. To be fair,
recent hires are great but there are several grades that are suffering from
years past. Admin promises and doesn't deliver. Unfinished website, important
survey we've been told still not out, FAVORTISM of special families whose kids
get off scott free. Admin Incompetence, inexperienced, etc. but happy to take
your money. Middle school very unprepared for real world. School currently works
for K-5, just doesn't have it for beyond that despite some good teachers
efforts. This school really needs a really experienced, strong admin who won't
waffle and is an educator at heart. We are soooo happy we left. i pray for the
others in our old class to 'open their eyes.''
—Submitted by a parent
Posted December 11, 2011
This school has some serious administration issues. There are a few good
teachers who are trying their best so teach in the Waldorf Method but they have
very little training in this method as compared to the private Waldorfs. The
parents are mostly nice but very naive regarding Waldorf education so they don't
realize that the administration is applying watered-down standards. This school
could be better under a different administration who are vastly unqualified in
comparison to all other administrators in county. If you have standards, another
school would be a better choice. —Submitted by a parent
Posted May 9, 2011
Reading the reviews, its startling. One grade was given a WALDORF assessment
recently, which showed that particular grade to be failing math. As one post
said below, its not a race, but you would certainly hope your child would not be
failing at the end of an upper grade. Clearly, the time is not being taken to
investigate and hear the facts. All of us need to pull together at Journey and
help those families that have suffered this fall out. This failure was due to
lack of instruction and lack of intervention by administration. This is a big
issue at Journey with parents just not being aware. I'm a Waldorf supporter and
do not see this example as an accurate representation of a Waldorf education.
Most parents agree at Journey that education is not a race, but they still do
want their children learning at school and becoming educated. This example
described leaves me to feel utterly embarrassed. Most schools would never allow
an entire grade to fail a core subject. —Submitted by a parent
Posted April 26, 2011
Wow where do i begin? I will start out on the positive. I think the idea of how
Journey says they are going to teach children is great ( if it worked, and they
were doing what they said they would do! ie: see the schools test scores SCARY!)
Umm..the school has a great music program. The positive comments on here have to
be from the administration or parents that sadly just don't have a clue. There
is no accountability or organization at Journey, this is what they call the
Waldorf way. Kids need structure or there is chaos. Journey's name should be
CHAOS. The administration is constantly putting out fires that never seem to
stop. It is sad and scary to me that this school is able to stay open and be
responsible for children learning or lack there of in this case. There is also
no text books at this school the kids write there own, no computers, and they
ask all the parents to donate $100.00 a month. I will be shocked if this school
is still open in the next 5 years. If you have very low standards for your child
education this is the school for you! Journey were education is not a race its a
joke! —Submitted by a parent
Posted April 18, 2011
This school could be so good, if only the Waldorf philosophy was actually put
into practice effectively. Unfortunately, Journey lacks consistency, has no
apparent curriculum that is followed, and what the child is taught is highly
dependent on who they have has a teacher. Teacher to parent communication on
what is being learned in the classroom (and therefore should be reinforced at
home) has been completely missing. This may be a different experience from class
to class, but with no standard to follow, there is no consistency. I like the
playful, cheerful environment, but it is a lot of play and not a lot of work. If
the purpose of school is to prepare our children for the future and to build the
foundation for a strong work ethic and a successful career, then Journey falls
dreadfully short. The influence I see being indirectly taught to the children is
that of mediocrity and laziness, which is such a shame. Executed correctly,
Journey could be a place where children learn to care for each other, care for
the earth, find joy in simple things, AND work hard, develop a love for
learning, and a desire to always do their best work. Unfortunately, that is not
what it is today. —Submitted by a parent
Posted February 8, 2011
If you want even a moderate amount of focus on academic learning and aquisition
of basic language and math skills, look elsewhere, anywhere else will be better.
There is absolutely no desire to teach the students anything remotely close to
basic academics. To have a school in the middle of Aliso Viejo ranked 375 out of
381 elementary schools in Orange County is criminal. How parents can want their
children to be so disadvantaged is hard to understand. And yet Capo Valley
renewed their charter. Go to the Journey school website and look for anything
that relates to academic achievement. There is nothing. They do learn how to
knit and compost, however.
Posted March 2, 2010
CAUTION, BEWARE, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK, these are my words of advice for any parent
who is thinking about enrolling their children in Journey. If you want quality
education that makes sense this is not the place . My children attend Journey
and I have no idea what they do during the day. No work ever comes home, there
is little homework which reflects what they are doing in class, and you have to
beg the teaches to tell you anything. There is no communication. There is little
disapline. My children are getting hit and punched often and nothing is done
even after I have meetings with the teacher and administration. Taking my
children out at this time is not an option because they are behind academically.
I often wish I never got my children involved at this school. I hope they can
catch up before its to late. —Submitted by a parent
Posted February 3, 2010
Parents, if you are planning to enroll your child in Journey, please know what
you are getting into before you take this big step. The school is very
disorganized and nobody seems to know what is going on. Nobody takes
resposibility for anything. On paper and in theory this school looks ideal for
all children, but once you look a little closer at the staff and the curriculm
you will realize it is not what it appears to be. —Submitted by a parent
Posted June 7, 2009
It is a blessing to have a charter school in Aliso Viejo, however this
particular charter school is certainly not for everyone. Yes, there is a lot of
confusion in the administration, events get cancelled and the parents get
notified at the last minute. But the reason why I am taking my child out is due
to the lack of mental stimulation. I did not fully understand what the Waldorf
system entails. And it does teach children the basics of reading and writing
about 1 or 2 years later than a public school. I still believe it is a great
school for kids that just would not fit into the public school system. And the
public schools are certainly not inviting, so it's a shame that the only charter
school we have is so extreme. I am still looking and hoping for a middle ground
—Submitted by a parent
Posted April 29, 2009
If only Journey School had realized its potential! But over the past 3 years
there has been turmoil in almost every grade, an almost constant exodus of
teachers, uneven qualifications, 3 administrators in a row resigning, and
consistent unprofessionalism in everything they do. With the charter up for
renewal next year, heart surgery might be a good thing. Please do your homework.
We've paid a fortune in tutors to catch our children up to state standards after
leaving Journey. —Submitted by a parent
Posted March 30, 2008
I had high hopes for this school, but was instead very disappointed. The school
lacks leadership and the hole at the top is sorely felt throughout the school.
The Waldorf theory is wonderful- but how it is put into practice is everything
and this school is not what is shown in the inspiring DVD production or quick
tours of the classes. The cirriculum is very slow. This cannot be emphasized
enough. I understood it was slow- but I had no idea how slow 'slow' really is at
Journey. Specifics: The administration is disorganized and events are
calendared, moved and cancelled constantly. Playgound equipment was broken for
six months with no one taking any lead on getting it fixed. For the first four
months of the school year they rang the bell 10-15 minutes late every single
day. Lots of problems and virually no leadership to get things solved. Can't
reccomend it.
—Submitted by a parent
Posted August 29, 2005
I would hesitate in sending my child to [sic] this school unless you are
completly aware of the teachings of Waldorf. It isn't as wonderful as it
seems.—Submitted by a parent
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/CA/schools/0744008542/school.aspx
by a parent
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
"We spent many years at Journey. Unfortunately, most of it was dealing trying to
bring to the ever-changing administrators (5 diff in 7 yrs) attention the
deficits of the very weak teacher my child had. Finally, after about 10 families
left the class due to substandard teaching, she was re-assigned to a lower
position. Those that left had to tutor their children up to grade level as I am
now my child who is now at another school. Admin didn't take many parents
complaining seriously and tried to sweep issues under rug. Lots of IEPs in this
class. The school has some great teachers but very inconsistent standards and
policies, weak and erratic administrators, loose discipline procedures and lots
of double standards. Fun atmosphere for kids but this is SCHOOL. Very
unprofessionally run. Would NOT recommend."
http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/california/aliso-viejo/journey/?page=re\
views
This so called school is a camp for raising losers! It should be shut down.
They are putting innocent children in danger in more ways than one. Totally
irresponsible to be able to get funds from tax payers to pay for this so called
school, its a small group of irresponsible parents. Submitted by a Parent on
Oct 22, 2010
http://www.century21.com/schools/aliso-viejo-ca-schools/journey-school/O04933849\
-LCCAALISOVIEJO
Posted 2011-12-12
"The posting from the Journey School parent yesterday is spot on. The
administration has watch dogs scanning this website daily to counter all
negative postings or they contact this website to have any negative postings
removed. The truth of the matter: parents, students and faculty are unhappy with
the administration and this is reflected by the enrollment, donations, low test
scores, attendance, and high teacher turn around. The majority of the parents
complain in the parking lot, feel they do not have another option and are hoping
to see a turn around with the administration if the school gets re-chartered."
Posted 2011-05-06
"I'm not surprised at the amount of controversy & the polar opposite reviews.
The majority of parents don't understand what type of school this is but admin
is working to survey our community. Which leads me to correct the last post
about this being a "waldorf inspired" school. Journey is a "waldorf charter" NOT
inspired because the programs are all taught based on Steiner's principles and
main lesson is all Waldorf. Everything is Waldorf, not inspired. Also, that same
parent posted that it's a "classical ed". A classical education is not the model
here. A classical education is rigorous, appreciates deadlines for reports & is
very specific about language arts & grammar in the early years (1-4), very
opposite of Journey. There are budget cuts that have effected all but that
doesn't take away the fact that the curriculum is scattered & teacher
subjective. There's a new hire on campus reworking to solidify curriculum for
possible implementation next year. If your child has an IEP they may surpass the
kids who don't. Great resource teacher for upper grades. Either way, don't
neglect keeping track of your child's progress at this school. It's hit or
miss!"
Posted 2007-05-04
"My child has been in this school for almost 4 years, and if you are really
looking for you child to get an education, make sure you know what your getting
into. I am still not happy with the results, and they dont seem to be changing
anytime soon. It is very hard to get into , and is a good childcare for younger
children, but is not doing great in the academics. If i started over again i
would never send my child to this place."
Posted 2005-03-08
"My child attended Journey for three years. I had hopes of a wonderful
educational and social experience for my child. This school was a big
disappointment. The teaching staff is predominantly uncertified, the director
lives in Northern California and upper grades in elementery are combination
classes. Temporary staff is brought in on a half hazard schedule to provide
extracurricular classes, most never materialize. This school is very
disorganized, supervision is lax and leadership is not present. Parent
involvment is not allowed in the classroom however you may financial support in
the way of donations or volunteer at the yearly festivals. The school has been
in existance for 6 years and done poorly each year on the state and district
mandated tests. If you are looking for a day-care environment for your child
this would be the perfect place, if you want your child to receive an education,
avoid Journey School."
California. Notice, one poster confirms that many of the negative reviews have
already been DELETED... and that administrators are making the positive reviews.
That's exactly what I've encountered when reviewing Highland Hall. Anyway, this
is supposed to be a PUBLIC charter school.
http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=11988&state=CA#from..He\
aderLink
Posted April 10, 2012
Based on our experience, we are giving this school two stars. Our children spent
three years at Journey, with the 2011-2012 year being their first year at a new
school. We experienced positive and negatives during those three years.
Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives. Lack of teaching core
curriculum in one class put one of our children an entire year behind. The other
major issue was administration and the lack of discipline for bullies with no
consistent policy enforced. Further, the parents who had real concerns were
often overlooked. For us, you can't judge a book by its cover...it looked great
on the outside but the interior is very flawed and isn't nurturing the whole
child. We recommend keeping an eye on your children and their preparedness for
high school. We cannot recommend this school at this time. —Submitted by a
parent
Posted January 19, 2012
There are a lot of unhappy parents at Journe watching stuff all this. Events do
not happen in a closet, parents who vol. etc are watching and see the travesties
that occur to others and are frustrated. This is reflected in lower donation
rates and parent vol., etc. All the negative reviews below are correct. Huge
egos, 'big talk' but little action, wishy washy decisions. We will be leaving at
end of year. This school has lost the heart it once had. Newbie Admin has done a
couple of good things but made huge, bad judgement calls, sweeping stuff under
rug. IF school gets rechartered, school council / teachers need to insist on a
proven track record of experienced, ethical, stable Admin otherwise this school
won't make it. Stop the nepotism, go outside Waldorf ville. —Submitted by a
parent
Posted January 16, 2012
The negative reviewers are spot on. Negative reviews do 'disappear...' i watched
when we left in the spring and 3-4 disappeared. We left last year with others
due to the substandard teacher in our class as our child was academically
behind. Check out STAR scores to verify 2 classes who suffered. To be fair,
recent hires are great but there are several grades that are suffering from
years past. Admin promises and doesn't deliver. Unfinished website, important
survey we've been told still not out, FAVORTISM of special families whose kids
get off scott free. Admin Incompetence, inexperienced, etc. but happy to take
your money. Middle school very unprepared for real world. School currently works
for K-5, just doesn't have it for beyond that despite some good teachers
efforts. This school really needs a really experienced, strong admin who won't
waffle and is an educator at heart. We are soooo happy we left. i pray for the
others in our old class to 'open their eyes.''
—Submitted by a parent
Posted December 11, 2011
This school has some serious administration issues. There are a few good
teachers who are trying their best so teach in the Waldorf Method but they have
very little training in this method as compared to the private Waldorfs. The
parents are mostly nice but very naive regarding Waldorf education so they don't
realize that the administration is applying watered-down standards. This school
could be better under a different administration who are vastly unqualified in
comparison to all other administrators in county. If you have standards, another
school would be a better choice. —Submitted by a parent
Posted May 9, 2011
Reading the reviews, its startling. One grade was given a WALDORF assessment
recently, which showed that particular grade to be failing math. As one post
said below, its not a race, but you would certainly hope your child would not be
failing at the end of an upper grade. Clearly, the time is not being taken to
investigate and hear the facts. All of us need to pull together at Journey and
help those families that have suffered this fall out. This failure was due to
lack of instruction and lack of intervention by administration. This is a big
issue at Journey with parents just not being aware. I'm a Waldorf supporter and
do not see this example as an accurate representation of a Waldorf education.
Most parents agree at Journey that education is not a race, but they still do
want their children learning at school and becoming educated. This example
described leaves me to feel utterly embarrassed. Most schools would never allow
an entire grade to fail a core subject. —Submitted by a parent
Posted April 26, 2011
Wow where do i begin? I will start out on the positive. I think the idea of how
Journey says they are going to teach children is great ( if it worked, and they
were doing what they said they would do! ie: see the schools test scores SCARY!)
Umm..the school has a great music program. The positive comments on here have to
be from the administration or parents that sadly just don't have a clue. There
is no accountability or organization at Journey, this is what they call the
Waldorf way. Kids need structure or there is chaos. Journey's name should be
CHAOS. The administration is constantly putting out fires that never seem to
stop. It is sad and scary to me that this school is able to stay open and be
responsible for children learning or lack there of in this case. There is also
no text books at this school the kids write there own, no computers, and they
ask all the parents to donate $100.00 a month. I will be shocked if this school
is still open in the next 5 years. If you have very low standards for your child
education this is the school for you! Journey were education is not a race its a
joke! —Submitted by a parent
Posted April 18, 2011
This school could be so good, if only the Waldorf philosophy was actually put
into practice effectively. Unfortunately, Journey lacks consistency, has no
apparent curriculum that is followed, and what the child is taught is highly
dependent on who they have has a teacher. Teacher to parent communication on
what is being learned in the classroom (and therefore should be reinforced at
home) has been completely missing. This may be a different experience from class
to class, but with no standard to follow, there is no consistency. I like the
playful, cheerful environment, but it is a lot of play and not a lot of work. If
the purpose of school is to prepare our children for the future and to build the
foundation for a strong work ethic and a successful career, then Journey falls
dreadfully short. The influence I see being indirectly taught to the children is
that of mediocrity and laziness, which is such a shame. Executed correctly,
Journey could be a place where children learn to care for each other, care for
the earth, find joy in simple things, AND work hard, develop a love for
learning, and a desire to always do their best work. Unfortunately, that is not
what it is today. —Submitted by a parent
Posted February 8, 2011
If you want even a moderate amount of focus on academic learning and aquisition
of basic language and math skills, look elsewhere, anywhere else will be better.
There is absolutely no desire to teach the students anything remotely close to
basic academics. To have a school in the middle of Aliso Viejo ranked 375 out of
381 elementary schools in Orange County is criminal. How parents can want their
children to be so disadvantaged is hard to understand. And yet Capo Valley
renewed their charter. Go to the Journey school website and look for anything
that relates to academic achievement. There is nothing. They do learn how to
knit and compost, however.
Posted March 2, 2010
CAUTION, BEWARE, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK, these are my words of advice for any parent
who is thinking about enrolling their children in Journey. If you want quality
education that makes sense this is not the place . My children attend Journey
and I have no idea what they do during the day. No work ever comes home, there
is little homework which reflects what they are doing in class, and you have to
beg the teaches to tell you anything. There is no communication. There is little
disapline. My children are getting hit and punched often and nothing is done
even after I have meetings with the teacher and administration. Taking my
children out at this time is not an option because they are behind academically.
I often wish I never got my children involved at this school. I hope they can
catch up before its to late. —Submitted by a parent
Posted February 3, 2010
Parents, if you are planning to enroll your child in Journey, please know what
you are getting into before you take this big step. The school is very
disorganized and nobody seems to know what is going on. Nobody takes
resposibility for anything. On paper and in theory this school looks ideal for
all children, but once you look a little closer at the staff and the curriculm
you will realize it is not what it appears to be. —Submitted by a parent
Posted June 7, 2009
It is a blessing to have a charter school in Aliso Viejo, however this
particular charter school is certainly not for everyone. Yes, there is a lot of
confusion in the administration, events get cancelled and the parents get
notified at the last minute. But the reason why I am taking my child out is due
to the lack of mental stimulation. I did not fully understand what the Waldorf
system entails. And it does teach children the basics of reading and writing
about 1 or 2 years later than a public school. I still believe it is a great
school for kids that just would not fit into the public school system. And the
public schools are certainly not inviting, so it's a shame that the only charter
school we have is so extreme. I am still looking and hoping for a middle ground
—Submitted by a parent
Posted April 29, 2009
If only Journey School had realized its potential! But over the past 3 years
there has been turmoil in almost every grade, an almost constant exodus of
teachers, uneven qualifications, 3 administrators in a row resigning, and
consistent unprofessionalism in everything they do. With the charter up for
renewal next year, heart surgery might be a good thing. Please do your homework.
We've paid a fortune in tutors to catch our children up to state standards after
leaving Journey. —Submitted by a parent
Posted March 30, 2008
I had high hopes for this school, but was instead very disappointed. The school
lacks leadership and the hole at the top is sorely felt throughout the school.
The Waldorf theory is wonderful- but how it is put into practice is everything
and this school is not what is shown in the inspiring DVD production or quick
tours of the classes. The cirriculum is very slow. This cannot be emphasized
enough. I understood it was slow- but I had no idea how slow 'slow' really is at
Journey. Specifics: The administration is disorganized and events are
calendared, moved and cancelled constantly. Playgound equipment was broken for
six months with no one taking any lead on getting it fixed. For the first four
months of the school year they rang the bell 10-15 minutes late every single
day. Lots of problems and virually no leadership to get things solved. Can't
reccomend it.
—Submitted by a parent
Posted August 29, 2005
I would hesitate in sending my child to [sic] this school unless you are
completly aware of the teachings of Waldorf. It isn't as wonderful as it
seems.—Submitted by a parent
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/CA/schools/0744008542/school.aspx
by a parent
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
"We spent many years at Journey. Unfortunately, most of it was dealing trying to
bring to the ever-changing administrators (5 diff in 7 yrs) attention the
deficits of the very weak teacher my child had. Finally, after about 10 families
left the class due to substandard teaching, she was re-assigned to a lower
position. Those that left had to tutor their children up to grade level as I am
now my child who is now at another school. Admin didn't take many parents
complaining seriously and tried to sweep issues under rug. Lots of IEPs in this
class. The school has some great teachers but very inconsistent standards and
policies, weak and erratic administrators, loose discipline procedures and lots
of double standards. Fun atmosphere for kids but this is SCHOOL. Very
unprofessionally run. Would NOT recommend."
http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/california/aliso-viejo/journey/?page=re\
views
This so called school is a camp for raising losers! It should be shut down.
They are putting innocent children in danger in more ways than one. Totally
irresponsible to be able to get funds from tax payers to pay for this so called
school, its a small group of irresponsible parents. Submitted by a Parent on
Oct 22, 2010
http://www.century21.com/schools/aliso-viejo-ca-schools/journey-school/O04933849\
-LCCAALISOVIEJO
Posted 2011-12-12
"The posting from the Journey School parent yesterday is spot on. The
administration has watch dogs scanning this website daily to counter all
negative postings or they contact this website to have any negative postings
removed. The truth of the matter: parents, students and faculty are unhappy with
the administration and this is reflected by the enrollment, donations, low test
scores, attendance, and high teacher turn around. The majority of the parents
complain in the parking lot, feel they do not have another option and are hoping
to see a turn around with the administration if the school gets re-chartered."
Posted 2011-05-06
"I'm not surprised at the amount of controversy & the polar opposite reviews.
The majority of parents don't understand what type of school this is but admin
is working to survey our community. Which leads me to correct the last post
about this being a "waldorf inspired" school. Journey is a "waldorf charter" NOT
inspired because the programs are all taught based on Steiner's principles and
main lesson is all Waldorf. Everything is Waldorf, not inspired. Also, that same
parent posted that it's a "classical ed". A classical education is not the model
here. A classical education is rigorous, appreciates deadlines for reports & is
very specific about language arts & grammar in the early years (1-4), very
opposite of Journey. There are budget cuts that have effected all but that
doesn't take away the fact that the curriculum is scattered & teacher
subjective. There's a new hire on campus reworking to solidify curriculum for
possible implementation next year. If your child has an IEP they may surpass the
kids who don't. Great resource teacher for upper grades. Either way, don't
neglect keeping track of your child's progress at this school. It's hit or
miss!"
Posted 2007-05-04
"My child has been in this school for almost 4 years, and if you are really
looking for you child to get an education, make sure you know what your getting
into. I am still not happy with the results, and they dont seem to be changing
anytime soon. It is very hard to get into , and is a good childcare for younger
children, but is not doing great in the academics. If i started over again i
would never send my child to this place."
Posted 2005-03-08
"My child attended Journey for three years. I had hopes of a wonderful
educational and social experience for my child. This school was a big
disappointment. The teaching staff is predominantly uncertified, the director
lives in Northern California and upper grades in elementery are combination
classes. Temporary staff is brought in on a half hazard schedule to provide
extracurricular classes, most never materialize. This school is very
disorganized, supervision is lax and leadership is not present. Parent
involvment is not allowed in the classroom however you may financial support in
the way of donations or volunteer at the yearly festivals. The school has been
in existance for 6 years and done poorly each year on the state and district
mandated tests. If you are looking for a day-care environment for your child
this would be the perfect place, if you want your child to receive an education,
avoid Journey School."
Sunday, January 1, 2012
NY Times Article Rebuttal
http://xpostfactoid.blogspot.com/2011/10/times-leaves-out-waldorf-in-waldorf.html
My wife and I worked as dorm parents in a Steiner School for special needs children in Scotland for the 1981-82 school year. On the plus side, I can vouch that the curriculum overview on the Waldorf School of the Peninsula is likely quite accurate as far as it goes:
In a second psychological typology, as summarized by Wikipedia, "Waldorf teachers use the concept of the four temperaments to help interpret, understand and relate to the behaviour and personalities of children under their tutelage. The temperaments, choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic, and sanguine, are thought to express four basic personality types, each possessing its own fundamental way of regarding and interacting with the world." That's typical Steinerism: Treat a set of mystical formulations reworked from medieval and/or far eastern doctrines as definite facts, the physiological phenomena aligned with spiritual counterparts.
Other Steinerite nostrums: a) That human physical activity is more or less spiritual depending on how close to the head it originates. Hence soccer is bad, because it's centered on foot action; similarly, most human dance as we know it needs a revamping, provided by Steiner's "eurythmy," which emphasizes arm and upper body movement. b) In drawing and painting, hard lines defining shapes are verboten until a certain age/level of spiritual development -- hence the Steinerite classroom art products that are all pale pastel shadings reminiscent of the drawings of William Blake, whom Steiner admired. c) In woodworking, children are not allowed to hammer nails until a specific age -- I think about 10 or 12 -- until, again, their spirits enter a defined new stage.** An account of how these strictures can play out when a child doesn't fit the Anthroposophist mold is here.
At the Scottish school, many of our fellow volunteers were Germans who had been educated in the system. One of them told me that in her teens she was surprised to learn that the Greek gods were not historical figures, so thoroughly did the curriculum meld myth and history. Another Waldorf school vet (American) told me that Waldorf schools generally included study of the phone system in their science curriculum -- because Steiner had a great enthusiasm for it. The hot new technology of the late nineteenth century was reified for another century because it caught the founder's fancy.
The Scottish school, part of the Steinerite Camp Hill organization, did create an aesthetically attractive and culturally coherent environment, a warm and rich cocoon that screened out the surrounding junk culture. For mentally retarded children in particular, it was a nurturing and stimulating environment, full of song, short and accessible prayer, spiritually accented appreciations of nature, and arts & crafts produced to Steinerite specs. It was also quite pleasant for the emotionally disturbed kids of normal mental ability. The children, considering their emotional disturbances, were quite kind to each other -- a notable accomplishment I appreciated afterward, working in the far crueler environment of an American special needs school -- though it's impossible to say how much of the difference was due to a milder degree of emotional disturbance in Camp Hill school.
As indicated in Richtel's article, Waldorf schools allow a good deal of free play and self expression, albeit through the subtly coercive anthroposophist modes. Today, to varying degrees, in different countries and communities, they do equip graduates to deal with the modern world (though the Scottish school where my wife and I worked did not do so for children of normal mental ability or higher). Certainly, affluent American parents in places like Silicon Valley demand no less.
But Waldorf education also exerts a form of mind control, an inculcation of religious belief as fact, as is done in fundamentalist schools of all stripes. Waldorf schools are not obviously "fundamentalist," because the truly controlling scriptures are the writings of Steiner, through which the Christian Bible is filtered. But those writings have served as the basis for a cult, abiding by a set of spiritual dictates straining credibility less than Mormonism only insofar as Rudolph Steiner confined his storymaking to the spiritual history of the universe at large and did not make up whoppers about himself. Still...however subtle and in some ways humane the indoctrination at Steiner schools, it's still indoctrination.
* My allegation of racism is based on my own experience at a Camp Hill Waldorf school in Scotland, derived from staff discussions of anthroposophist readings, at least one of which extrapolated the hysteric/epileptic polarity to different races, and in which there was, as I say, a clear bias toward the hysteric, which extended to long-term staff's reactions to particular children whose physiognomy allegedly conformed to type. Steiner's explicit racism is heavily documented in this essay.
** Update: from a site devoted to exposing core Steinerite doctrine underpinning Waldorf ed, a summary of the alleged spiritual stages that determine curriculum, down to specific e tasks like hammering nails and drawing outlines as well as more fundamental approaches:
My comment:
The Times leaves out the 'Waldorf' in Waldorf School portrayal
Matt Richtel, a technology reporter for the New York Times, has a front-page story about a school in Silicon Valley, popular among tech execs, that keeps computers out of the elementary school classroom. That's interesting as far as it goes -- if my children were elementary school age, I would be open to putting them in a computer-free classroom. Yet the article is quite odd, in that Richtel seems to have very little idea of what kind of school he is affording a 1500-word front-page article. The school is the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in Los Altos, California -- that is, per its name, a Waldorf School, i.e. a school based on the educational theory that the Anthroposophist sect founder Rudolph Steiner derived from his own idiosyncratic fusion theology, which combines elements of eastern mysticism (reincarnation, karma) with Christianity (overlaid by what C.S. Lewis called a "reassuring Germanic dullness") . That means that students' education is shaped by a set of religious beliefs quite as specific and literal-minded as those at an evangelical Christian school.My wife and I worked as dorm parents in a Steiner School for special needs children in Scotland for the 1981-82 school year. On the plus side, I can vouch that the curriculum overview on the Waldorf School of the Peninsula is likely quite accurate as far as it goes:
Waldorf education is a path of self-development. It is also training for responsible and enthusiastic participation in the world. The Waldorf curriculum supports the child’s developmental stages, and children experience this curriculum through repetition and rhythm. Beauty and a mood of reverence flow through the lessons and the environment. A variety of academic and arts-integrated experiences develops movement and sensory motor skills—skills in perceiving self and the outside world. This cultivates trust, social skills and consciousness, and spiritual awareness. The social climate and students’ behavior are equal in importance to the students’ academic progress. The individual child is an integral part of the wider school community where adults and children of all ages work together, with the older children acting as role models for the younger ones.The rub is that the Waldorf understanding of those "developmental stages" is shaped by the occult thinking of Rudolph Steiner and underpinned by Steiner's pseudo-scientific mystical formulas. These include a psychological typology that pegs children between the poles of "hysteria" and "epilepsy" -- a duality with racist overtones, biased toward the light-skinned, outgoing, nervous "hysterical" and against the dark, interior earth-bound "epileptic" (the hysteric suffers from a lack of boundaries between self and the outside world; the epileptic, from a lack of connection).* See here for an application of this classification system to a particular classroom problem.
In a second psychological typology, as summarized by Wikipedia, "Waldorf teachers use the concept of the four temperaments to help interpret, understand and relate to the behaviour and personalities of children under their tutelage. The temperaments, choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic, and sanguine, are thought to express four basic personality types, each possessing its own fundamental way of regarding and interacting with the world." That's typical Steinerism: Treat a set of mystical formulations reworked from medieval and/or far eastern doctrines as definite facts, the physiological phenomena aligned with spiritual counterparts.
Other Steinerite nostrums: a) That human physical activity is more or less spiritual depending on how close to the head it originates. Hence soccer is bad, because it's centered on foot action; similarly, most human dance as we know it needs a revamping, provided by Steiner's "eurythmy," which emphasizes arm and upper body movement. b) In drawing and painting, hard lines defining shapes are verboten until a certain age/level of spiritual development -- hence the Steinerite classroom art products that are all pale pastel shadings reminiscent of the drawings of William Blake, whom Steiner admired. c) In woodworking, children are not allowed to hammer nails until a specific age -- I think about 10 or 12 -- until, again, their spirits enter a defined new stage.** An account of how these strictures can play out when a child doesn't fit the Anthroposophist mold is here.
At the Scottish school, many of our fellow volunteers were Germans who had been educated in the system. One of them told me that in her teens she was surprised to learn that the Greek gods were not historical figures, so thoroughly did the curriculum meld myth and history. Another Waldorf school vet (American) told me that Waldorf schools generally included study of the phone system in their science curriculum -- because Steiner had a great enthusiasm for it. The hot new technology of the late nineteenth century was reified for another century because it caught the founder's fancy.
The Scottish school, part of the Steinerite Camp Hill organization, did create an aesthetically attractive and culturally coherent environment, a warm and rich cocoon that screened out the surrounding junk culture. For mentally retarded children in particular, it was a nurturing and stimulating environment, full of song, short and accessible prayer, spiritually accented appreciations of nature, and arts & crafts produced to Steinerite specs. It was also quite pleasant for the emotionally disturbed kids of normal mental ability. The children, considering their emotional disturbances, were quite kind to each other -- a notable accomplishment I appreciated afterward, working in the far crueler environment of an American special needs school -- though it's impossible to say how much of the difference was due to a milder degree of emotional disturbance in Camp Hill school.
As indicated in Richtel's article, Waldorf schools allow a good deal of free play and self expression, albeit through the subtly coercive anthroposophist modes. Today, to varying degrees, in different countries and communities, they do equip graduates to deal with the modern world (though the Scottish school where my wife and I worked did not do so for children of normal mental ability or higher). Certainly, affluent American parents in places like Silicon Valley demand no less.
But Waldorf education also exerts a form of mind control, an inculcation of religious belief as fact, as is done in fundamentalist schools of all stripes. Waldorf schools are not obviously "fundamentalist," because the truly controlling scriptures are the writings of Steiner, through which the Christian Bible is filtered. But those writings have served as the basis for a cult, abiding by a set of spiritual dictates straining credibility less than Mormonism only insofar as Rudolph Steiner confined his storymaking to the spiritual history of the universe at large and did not make up whoppers about himself. Still...however subtle and in some ways humane the indoctrination at Steiner schools, it's still indoctrination.
* My allegation of racism is based on my own experience at a Camp Hill Waldorf school in Scotland, derived from staff discussions of anthroposophist readings, at least one of which extrapolated the hysteric/epileptic polarity to different races, and in which there was, as I say, a clear bias toward the hysteric, which extended to long-term staff's reactions to particular children whose physiognomy allegedly conformed to type. Steiner's explicit racism is heavily documented in this essay.
** Update: from a site devoted to exposing core Steinerite doctrine underpinning Waldorf ed, a summary of the alleged spiritual stages that determine curriculum, down to specific e tasks like hammering nails and drawing outlines as well as more fundamental approaches:
The pedagogy of Waldorf schools is informed by Steiner’s esoteric scheme of karma and reincarnation. The child ‘incarnates’ in 7 year cycles: the ‘etheric’ body is born at 7, the astral body at 14 and the ‘ego’ or the individuality that returns from past lives, at 21. Abstract reasoning is discouraged too early (before 14) because it interferes with the anthroposophical – spiritual – vision of human development
My comment:
- Waldorf schools today do indeed teach Steiner's racist philosophy as science. I have documented my own child's "physiology" lesson extensively. His teacher, at Highland Hall Waldorf school in California, presented the lesson that "the blood of people from Europe is more evolved than the blood of people from Africa and Asia". When I questioned this lesson with the school, it was required that I had several meetings with teachers and administrators from Highland Hall - and they DEFENDED the lesson. They continue to claim no racism is being taught at Highland Hall rather than revise their curriculum. When people don't recognize racism in the first place, they are hardly in a position to suggest racism doesn't exist in their school. http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2011/05/awsna-comments-on-racism.html BTW, my ex worked at Camphill in Scotland... as an exchange student from the U.S.A. I've heard a few stories about the treatment of the children there.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Control.Halt.Delete Article Comments
I tend to respond to articles praising Waldorf... This article the Colorado Springs Times is one of several praising non-computer use in Waldorf and ignoring the underlying philosophy. My comment produced an interesting response from the author and a deceitful post from Waldorf teacher and Wikipedia editor Harlan Gilbert.
http://www.csindy.com/colorado/the-device-is-not-ready/Content?oid=2398491
My initial post:
"But the end results are striking. According to its site, 94 percent of Waldorf graduates attend colleges or universities."
Why is it OK to misrepresent this sort of thing in a "news" article. Getting statistics off their website? Did the reporter look at how many kids actually attend college after Waldorf? Most Waldorf schools stop at the 8th grade. Are they taking credit for their grads going to college?
At Highland Hall Waldorf school, it was reported that 25% of students are withdrawn from the school EACH YEAR. 25% of the parents are dissatisfied enough - EVERY YEAR to abandon their child's education, not to mentions thousands of dollars invested, and simply walk away. Last year they lost closer to 50%. Somebody isn't telling parents everything before they enroll their kids in these schools.
It has been my experience with Waldorf that they are dishonest in representing their schools, their movement and what they actually teach children. There is a reason for this... Waldorf is the missionary arm of Anthroposophy - Rudolf Steiner's quasi-religious philosophy that teaches, among other things, that "the white race is the race of the future". They teach this sort of nonsense in Waldorf as science. People signing up for Waldorf may be getting a whole lot more than they bargained for. Many, many parents find out too late that Waldorf is NOT for them.
Parents, PLEASE research Waldorf more thoroughly than the author of this article before considering this nightmare for your children. Waldorf is not what it appears to be.
Submitted by Pete Karaiskos / former Waldorf parent, Waldorf critic and parent advocate.
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/
Posted by Pete K on November 23, 2011 at 7:05 AM
***
***
http://www.csindy.com/colorado/the-device-is-not-ready/Content?oid=2398491
My initial post:
"But the end results are striking. According to its site, 94 percent of Waldorf graduates attend colleges or universities."
Why is it OK to misrepresent this sort of thing in a "news" article. Getting statistics off their website? Did the reporter look at how many kids actually attend college after Waldorf? Most Waldorf schools stop at the 8th grade. Are they taking credit for their grads going to college?
At Highland Hall Waldorf school, it was reported that 25% of students are withdrawn from the school EACH YEAR. 25% of the parents are dissatisfied enough - EVERY YEAR to abandon their child's education, not to mentions thousands of dollars invested, and simply walk away. Last year they lost closer to 50%. Somebody isn't telling parents everything before they enroll their kids in these schools.
It has been my experience with Waldorf that they are dishonest in representing their schools, their movement and what they actually teach children. There is a reason for this... Waldorf is the missionary arm of Anthroposophy - Rudolf Steiner's quasi-religious philosophy that teaches, among other things, that "the white race is the race of the future". They teach this sort of nonsense in Waldorf as science. People signing up for Waldorf may be getting a whole lot more than they bargained for. Many, many parents find out too late that Waldorf is NOT for them.
Parents, PLEASE research Waldorf more thoroughly than the author of this article before considering this nightmare for your children. Waldorf is not what it appears to be.
Submitted by Pete Karaiskos / former Waldorf parent, Waldorf critic and parent advocate.
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/
Posted by Pete K on November 23, 2011 at 7:05 AM
***
We've been very, very happy with the education our children (now 6th and 8th grades) are receiving at the Waldorf school near us. We did get much, much more than we bargained for -- in the best sense possible! This is, at least, the school of the future.
Posted by Harlan Gilbert on November 23, 2011 at 10:28 AM***
Pete K,
I am aware, of course, of the backlash against Waldorf from yourself and others.
In fact, I was careful to note some of the criticisms against Waldorf in my story, despite the fact that it had little to do with my central theme on technology.
It's true that Waldorf has few high schools, and that I relied on their study to determine how many of their graduates go to college. Since these are private schools, there is no other source for this information. The 94 percent figure has also been used in national publications.
You may have noticed a high attrition rate at a high school near you — I assume you do not live in Colorado, since there are no Colorado Waldorf High Schools — however, we are not basing our information on a single school. Also, no other school that I've heard of, whether public or private, would include attrition in its graduation rate, or college acceptance rate. I see no reason to hold Waldorf to a higher standard.
What's more, while a high attrition rate may look bad, it's not necessarily that telling. We have schools here that serve children of soldiers. The attrition rates are high, but I wouldn't say that's a judgement on their performance. Similarly, I'd note that Waldorf schools are private, and generally quite expensive, so it would seem that there would be many reasons other than the ones you provided for a school to have a high attrition rate.
Your other complaints are more of what I saw on the Web.
It's true that Waldorf uses some of Steiner's philosophy and his focus on a child's spirit in the classroom. To some, who may be rooted in a different religion, or strictly atheist, that could be viewed as offensive.
You also note the race issue, which seems to crop up a lot. Best I could tell, Steiner was a product of his time, and he did hold beliefs that favored whites. However, he was also noted for loudly opposing racism and anti-Semitism, which was rather progressive for the late 1800s and early 1900s. In fact, Waldorf Schools across Europe were shut down by the Germans during World War II.
In short, I found no evidence that the schools taught any racism in the classroom, and it actually appeared that the schools strove to be open to all colors and religions, both in staff and students. It seemed as though the arguments that the school system is racist were based on some of the antiquated beliefs personally held by Steiner a century ago.
By that logic, our Founding Fathers' beliefs shouldn't be shared with school kids, because many of them were slave holders. I think we assume that teachers can show the wisdom of the Constitution while still condemning slavery. Similarly, it would seem that Waldorf teachers can apply Steiner's educational principles without showing any favoritism for whites.
I certainly would not have written anything vaguely positive about a school system that was considered racist. However, I recognize that individual experiences vary. Teaching involves a human element, and teachers and principals can be bad eggs just like anyone else. If you had a bad experience, that's upsetting and I hope you took whatever actions were appropriate.
For our readers, here's what Wikipedia says about Steiner and race (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steine…
"Race and ethnicity
Steiner's work includes both universalist, humanist elements and historically influenced racial assumptions.[80] Due to the contrast and even contradictions between these elements, "whether a given reader interprets Anthroposophy as racist or not depends upon that reader's concerns."[81] Steiner considered that every people, by dint of a shared language and culture, has a unique essence, which he called its soul or spirit,[76] saw race as a physical manifestation of humanity's spiritual evolution and at times seemed to place races into a complex hierarchy largely derived from contemporary theosophical views, yet he consistently and explicitly subordinated the role of hereditary factors, including race and ethnicity, to individual factors in development.[81] The human individuality, for Steiner, is centered in a person's unique spiritual biography (i.e., the vast sum of an individuality's experiences and development not bound by waking hours or a single lifetime), not the body's accidental qualities.[22] More specifically:
Steiner characterized specific races, nations, and ethnicities in ways that have been termed racist by critics[82] including characterizations of various races and ethnic groups as flowering, others as backward or destined to disappear;[81] and hierarchical views of the spiritual evolution of different races,[83] including—at times, and inconsistently—portraying the white race, European culture, or the Germanic culture as representing the high point of human evolution as of the early 20th century, though describing these as destined to be superseded by future cultures.[81] Nevertheless, his views about German culture were not ethnically based; he saw this culture, in particular Goethe and the German transcendentalists, as the source of spiritual ideals that were of central importance both for the immediate region and for the world.[84]
Throughout his life, Steiner consistently emphasized the core spiritual unity of all the world's peoples and sharply criticized racial prejudice. He articulated beliefs that the individual nature of any person stands higher than any racial, ethnic, national or religious affiliation;[7][47] that race and ethnicity are transient and superficial, not essential aspects of the individual;[81] that each individual incarnates among / as part of many different peoples and races over successive lives, thus bearing within him- or herself a range of races and peoples;[81][85] and that race is rapidly losing any remaining significance for humanity.[81]
Above all, Steiner considered "race, folk, ethnicity and gender" to be general, describable categories into which individuals may choose to fit, but from which free human beings can and will liberate themselves.[22]"
J. Adrian Stanley
Posted by J. Adrian Stanley on November 23, 2011 at 12:01 PMI am aware, of course, of the backlash against Waldorf from yourself and others.
In fact, I was careful to note some of the criticisms against Waldorf in my story, despite the fact that it had little to do with my central theme on technology.
It's true that Waldorf has few high schools, and that I relied on their study to determine how many of their graduates go to college. Since these are private schools, there is no other source for this information. The 94 percent figure has also been used in national publications.
You may have noticed a high attrition rate at a high school near you — I assume you do not live in Colorado, since there are no Colorado Waldorf High Schools — however, we are not basing our information on a single school. Also, no other school that I've heard of, whether public or private, would include attrition in its graduation rate, or college acceptance rate. I see no reason to hold Waldorf to a higher standard.
What's more, while a high attrition rate may look bad, it's not necessarily that telling. We have schools here that serve children of soldiers. The attrition rates are high, but I wouldn't say that's a judgement on their performance. Similarly, I'd note that Waldorf schools are private, and generally quite expensive, so it would seem that there would be many reasons other than the ones you provided for a school to have a high attrition rate.
Your other complaints are more of what I saw on the Web.
It's true that Waldorf uses some of Steiner's philosophy and his focus on a child's spirit in the classroom. To some, who may be rooted in a different religion, or strictly atheist, that could be viewed as offensive.
You also note the race issue, which seems to crop up a lot. Best I could tell, Steiner was a product of his time, and he did hold beliefs that favored whites. However, he was also noted for loudly opposing racism and anti-Semitism, which was rather progressive for the late 1800s and early 1900s. In fact, Waldorf Schools across Europe were shut down by the Germans during World War II.
In short, I found no evidence that the schools taught any racism in the classroom, and it actually appeared that the schools strove to be open to all colors and religions, both in staff and students. It seemed as though the arguments that the school system is racist were based on some of the antiquated beliefs personally held by Steiner a century ago.
By that logic, our Founding Fathers' beliefs shouldn't be shared with school kids, because many of them were slave holders. I think we assume that teachers can show the wisdom of the Constitution while still condemning slavery. Similarly, it would seem that Waldorf teachers can apply Steiner's educational principles without showing any favoritism for whites.
I certainly would not have written anything vaguely positive about a school system that was considered racist. However, I recognize that individual experiences vary. Teaching involves a human element, and teachers and principals can be bad eggs just like anyone else. If you had a bad experience, that's upsetting and I hope you took whatever actions were appropriate.
For our readers, here's what Wikipedia says about Steiner and race (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steine…
"Race and ethnicity
Steiner's work includes both universalist, humanist elements and historically influenced racial assumptions.[80] Due to the contrast and even contradictions between these elements, "whether a given reader interprets Anthroposophy as racist or not depends upon that reader's concerns."[81] Steiner considered that every people, by dint of a shared language and culture, has a unique essence, which he called its soul or spirit,[76] saw race as a physical manifestation of humanity's spiritual evolution and at times seemed to place races into a complex hierarchy largely derived from contemporary theosophical views, yet he consistently and explicitly subordinated the role of hereditary factors, including race and ethnicity, to individual factors in development.[81] The human individuality, for Steiner, is centered in a person's unique spiritual biography (i.e., the vast sum of an individuality's experiences and development not bound by waking hours or a single lifetime), not the body's accidental qualities.[22] More specifically:
Steiner characterized specific races, nations, and ethnicities in ways that have been termed racist by critics[82] including characterizations of various races and ethnic groups as flowering, others as backward or destined to disappear;[81] and hierarchical views of the spiritual evolution of different races,[83] including—at times, and inconsistently—portraying the white race, European culture, or the Germanic culture as representing the high point of human evolution as of the early 20th century, though describing these as destined to be superseded by future cultures.[81] Nevertheless, his views about German culture were not ethnically based; he saw this culture, in particular Goethe and the German transcendentalists, as the source of spiritual ideals that were of central importance both for the immediate region and for the world.[84]
Throughout his life, Steiner consistently emphasized the core spiritual unity of all the world's peoples and sharply criticized racial prejudice. He articulated beliefs that the individual nature of any person stands higher than any racial, ethnic, national or religious affiliation;[7][47] that race and ethnicity are transient and superficial, not essential aspects of the individual;[81] that each individual incarnates among / as part of many different peoples and races over successive lives, thus bearing within him- or herself a range of races and peoples;[81][85] and that race is rapidly losing any remaining significance for humanity.[81]
Above all, Steiner considered "race, folk, ethnicity and gender" to be general, describable categories into which individuals may choose to fit, but from which free human beings can and will liberate themselves.[22]"
J. Adrian Stanley
Hi J. Adrian Stanley,
Thanks for your comments. Yes, Waldorf teacher Harlan Gilbert (who posted above my previous post pretending to be a parent - any wonder his kids are doing great?) wrote a wonderful piece in Wikipedia about Steiner (check the edit pages to find him controlling the article). If you like that one, read his article about Waldorf Education. Unfortunately, all the articles Mr. Gilbert has participated in on Wikipedia are, as one would expect, very biased... and that bias rubs off, again as one would expect, on readers. You say, for example, Waldorf schools were shut down by the Nazis. Do you know they were favored schools by many Nazis and were the very last non-state schools to be shut down? In fact, many Waldorf parents petitioned the Nazis claiming their ideas were in alignment. Peter Staudenmaier PhD is an historian who specializes in this particular area. Here's a link to what *really* happened with regard to the closing of Waldorf schools during the Nazi era... in case you're interested. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-crit…
Now, getting back to Harlan Gilbert's Wikipedia piece on Steiner, here's what it boils down to... Steiner believed the "individual" was represented in spiritual form, and that each individual incarnates in multiple lifetimes ever-progressing from the lower races upward until achieving the perfect (for now) form of the white race (although some people or peoples could regress). So, the "individual" is only visiting this incarnation... for karmic reasons. This is what Waldorf teachers are taught - whether they are Anthroposophists or not. Waldorf teacher training reading lists reveal what's on the menu for new Waldorf teachers.
Now, how does this affect what Waldorf teachers do in the classroom? Well, for one thing, they are guidelines set forth by Steiner about what to expect from children of the various races, how to deal with children with disabilities and why those disabilities are basically karma from a previous lifetime, how to deal with demonic (non-human) children, how to deal with large-headed children differently than small-headed children, when children should be broken of lefthandedness, and so forth. This ridiculous stuff is REQUIRED reading for all Waldorf teacher trainees (it's contained in every published Waldorf teacher training reading list I've seen at least and I've seen many). That, to me, means somebody thinks this stuff is still important - even if you don't.
Steiner advised Waldorf teachers that they have a deeper karmic connection with the children than their own parents. Waldorf teachers I've experienced have tended to take liberties with other people's children. Their karma with the child is stronger after all. And, the child may have SOME karma to experience in this lifetime. No matter what harm comes to the child... it's their karma... This plays well with Waldorf teachers who can shake off the harm they've done to children. One who did immeasurable harm to my daughter went into Waldorf teacher TRAINING. There is something seriously wrong with a system that doesn't admonish but rather promotes the worst teachers.
Attrition is something Waldorf doesn't like to talk about. And I'm sorry, I don't agree their attrition rates are normal. There are many good reasons parents leave any school... but Waldorf has the particular distinction of hiding the underlying philosophy behind it. When parents find out what's really driving Waldorf education (Steiner's Anthroposophy), many pull their kids. Others have kids who don't fit. They may spend a couple years (or many more) bored out of their minds. Parents believe they're doing the best for their kids... and believe me... You won't find many Waldorf schools willing to give up tuition by admitting a child doesn't fit... especially if there are siblings that fit better. Then, it's the child's "karma". Kids that don't fit? Smart kids! Steiner had no use for anything "intellectual". If you have a smart kid, it's Waldorf's job to dumb them down. It really isn't about education, it's about indoctrination. Oh, and they don't care if they get kids or their parents... the more people they can draw in, the better.
Speaking of attrition... lest anyone believes all this problematic stuff is isolated to my local Waldorf school... there is lots of attrition of teachers too! Problematic teachers are passed around from one school to the next. Highland Hall recently lost 22% of teachers and staff to attrition. I won't name the names of the schools Highland Hall's teachers migrated to, but they are all across the country. Were these the good teachers who left a problematic school, or the bad teachers who were forced out? Let's face it... they're the NEW teachers at some other Waldorf schools... maybe in Colorado?
Pete Karaiskos - Former Waldorf parent / Waldorf critic / Activist
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/
Posted by Pete K on November 23, 2011 at 6:22 PMThanks for your comments. Yes, Waldorf teacher Harlan Gilbert (who posted above my previous post pretending to be a parent - any wonder his kids are doing great?) wrote a wonderful piece in Wikipedia about Steiner (check the edit pages to find him controlling the article). If you like that one, read his article about Waldorf Education. Unfortunately, all the articles Mr. Gilbert has participated in on Wikipedia are, as one would expect, very biased... and that bias rubs off, again as one would expect, on readers. You say, for example, Waldorf schools were shut down by the Nazis. Do you know they were favored schools by many Nazis and were the very last non-state schools to be shut down? In fact, many Waldorf parents petitioned the Nazis claiming their ideas were in alignment. Peter Staudenmaier PhD is an historian who specializes in this particular area. Here's a link to what *really* happened with regard to the closing of Waldorf schools during the Nazi era... in case you're interested. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-crit…
Now, getting back to Harlan Gilbert's Wikipedia piece on Steiner, here's what it boils down to... Steiner believed the "individual" was represented in spiritual form, and that each individual incarnates in multiple lifetimes ever-progressing from the lower races upward until achieving the perfect (for now) form of the white race (although some people or peoples could regress). So, the "individual" is only visiting this incarnation... for karmic reasons. This is what Waldorf teachers are taught - whether they are Anthroposophists or not. Waldorf teacher training reading lists reveal what's on the menu for new Waldorf teachers.
Now, how does this affect what Waldorf teachers do in the classroom? Well, for one thing, they are guidelines set forth by Steiner about what to expect from children of the various races, how to deal with children with disabilities and why those disabilities are basically karma from a previous lifetime, how to deal with demonic (non-human) children, how to deal with large-headed children differently than small-headed children, when children should be broken of lefthandedness, and so forth. This ridiculous stuff is REQUIRED reading for all Waldorf teacher trainees (it's contained in every published Waldorf teacher training reading list I've seen at least and I've seen many). That, to me, means somebody thinks this stuff is still important - even if you don't.
Steiner advised Waldorf teachers that they have a deeper karmic connection with the children than their own parents. Waldorf teachers I've experienced have tended to take liberties with other people's children. Their karma with the child is stronger after all. And, the child may have SOME karma to experience in this lifetime. No matter what harm comes to the child... it's their karma... This plays well with Waldorf teachers who can shake off the harm they've done to children. One who did immeasurable harm to my daughter went into Waldorf teacher TRAINING. There is something seriously wrong with a system that doesn't admonish but rather promotes the worst teachers.
Attrition is something Waldorf doesn't like to talk about. And I'm sorry, I don't agree their attrition rates are normal. There are many good reasons parents leave any school... but Waldorf has the particular distinction of hiding the underlying philosophy behind it. When parents find out what's really driving Waldorf education (Steiner's Anthroposophy), many pull their kids. Others have kids who don't fit. They may spend a couple years (or many more) bored out of their minds. Parents believe they're doing the best for their kids... and believe me... You won't find many Waldorf schools willing to give up tuition by admitting a child doesn't fit... especially if there are siblings that fit better. Then, it's the child's "karma". Kids that don't fit? Smart kids! Steiner had no use for anything "intellectual". If you have a smart kid, it's Waldorf's job to dumb them down. It really isn't about education, it's about indoctrination. Oh, and they don't care if they get kids or their parents... the more people they can draw in, the better.
Speaking of attrition... lest anyone believes all this problematic stuff is isolated to my local Waldorf school... there is lots of attrition of teachers too! Problematic teachers are passed around from one school to the next. Highland Hall recently lost 22% of teachers and staff to attrition. I won't name the names of the schools Highland Hall's teachers migrated to, but they are all across the country. Were these the good teachers who left a problematic school, or the bad teachers who were forced out? Let's face it... they're the NEW teachers at some other Waldorf schools... maybe in Colorado?
Pete Karaiskos - Former Waldorf parent / Waldorf critic / Activist
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/
Monday, June 6, 2011
It was early one morning in the month of May
Friends,
Many 5th grade parents have, by now, received an ominous phone call from someone on the Crisis committee letting us know that Mrs. Leonard will not be in on Thursday and Friday. Some of us got no explanation, others got the explanation that Mrs. Leonard is perhaps exhausted or tired and needed a rest. For some of us, the fact that the Crisis committee was making the call was a sign that something was amiss. Indeed, something was.
As this mailing is going out to some people who didn't receive my mailing last night, I will reprint the song Mrs. Leonard's handed out to the children in her class at the end of this letter. At least one parent contacted Mrs. Leonard and asked her to please collect this song from the children as it seemed inappropriate. In last night's email, I distributed the song to other parents of the class so that they might be aware of the material that was given to their children and make their own decision about its appropriateness. I also directed the letter to Ed Eadon, some faculty members, college members and board members.
It turns out that today, Mrs. Leonard chose to SING the song to the children in her class. I can't imagine what would compel her to do this - defiance, perhaps, or another case of poor judgement on her part, but in any case, clearly she had yet another opportunity to pause before exposing our children to this material and chose not to, this time after having received objections from some of the parents. I believe she willfully and arrogantly exposed our children to this material.
I try to have an open mind about most things but I find the contents and tone of the song below disturbing especially in light of the recent issues involving Mrs. Leonard's reading of other inappropriate material to the children of her class. While these types of songs were, perhaps, acceptable in the 19th century, they certainly don't have a place in schools of today. This particular song introduces themes of male dominance over women through violence and murder and the mutilation and dismemberment of a woman's body. I find it distressing that these are similar themes to the ones contained in the material for which Mrs. Leonard was supposedly reprimanded recently.
Highland Hall has had ample and repeated opportunities to take action regarding this issue. Instead they continue to characterize Mrs. Leonard's regular behavior as "atypical". The only thing that would be "atypical" in this case would be if Highland Hall admitted openly that they have made a mistake and terminated Mrs. Leonard. For that would be the right thing to do, and for Highland Hall, doing the right thing, the thing that puts the children above all else, is behavior that, sadly, is "atypical".
I pray for Mrs. Leonard and hope she gets the help she so desperately needs.
Pete Karaiskos
Here are the lyrics to the song Mrs. Leonard sang to our children today:
It was early one morning in the month of May
Oh the wind and the rain
Two lovers went walking on a hot summer's day
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
He said to the lady "won't you marry me"
Oh the wind and the rain
"And my little wife you'll always be"
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
Then he knocked her down and he kicked her around
Oh the wind and the rain
Then he knocked her down and he kicked her around
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
He hit her in the head with a battering ram
Oh the wind and the rain
He hit her in the head with a battering ram
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
He threw her in the river to drown
Oh the wind and the rain
He threw her in the river to drown
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
He watched her as she floated down
Oh the wind and the rain
He watched her as she floated down
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
She floated on down to the miller's millstream
Oh the wind and the rain
He watched her as she floated down
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
The miller fished her out with a long fishing pole
Oh the wind and the rain
The miller fished her out with a long fishing pole
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
He made fiddle pegs of her long finger bones
Oh the wind and the rain
He made fiddle pegs of her long finger bones
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
He made a fiddle bow of her long curly hair
Oh the wind and the rain
He made a fiddle bow of her long curly hair
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
The only tune that fiddle would play was
Oh the wind and the rain
The only tune that fiddle would play was
A crying the dreadful wind and rain
The Story of Geb
INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL - NOT FOR CHILDREN
Friends,
Below is the text of the Egyptian story that Mrs. Leonard read to our children. I feel that it is every parent's right and responsibility to know what their child has been exposed to so that they can address issues or be watchful for problems with regard to their child. Accordingly, it is the school's responsibility to make this information available to the parents. Yet Highland Hall's administration has kept this information from me even though I requested it on five different occasions. I finally received a copy of this story from another parent, not from Highland Hall. It occurs to me, especially after reading the March 4th letter from the Evaluation committee and the March 5th letter commending Mrs. Leonard on her fine work, that other parents may not have had the opportunity to read the story below.
***
GEB
Geb, the grandson of Atum, was the Earth God; his sister, Nut, was his counterpart as the Sky Goddess. He was often depicted as a recumbent male figure lying beneath a woman, who is Nut. Sometimes he appears as a goose; at other times, as a goose-headed man, or a man carrying a goose on his head. In predynastic times, he was probably worshipped in the form of a sacred goose.
It is perhaps surprising that Geb, the Earth God par excellence, should be male in gender. In most cultures, the earth, the bringer forth of vegetation and living things, is regarded as female: Mother Earth. In at least one place, his shrine at Bata in Heliopolis, Geb was worshipped as a bisexual god and credited with having laid the Great Egg from which the sun emerged at the dawn of time in the form of the Benu Bird (p. 47). One of Geb's epithets was 'The Great Cackler', a reference to the cackle he gave as he produced this Egg.
The Phakussa Stele (p. 52) tells of how Geb fell in love with his mother, Tefnut. He yearned for her and wandered about the land in great distress until the day that his father, Shu, departed the earth. On that day, Geb came upon his mother, Tefnut, in the palace of Shu at Memphis. He seized hold of her with great violence and raped her.
Geb does not seem to have been punished for the rape of his mother. Instead, he became King of Egypt in his father's palace, and reigned successfully for many years. He was given the title, unique to him, of Iry-paat-neteru or 'Heir of the Gods'. Geb named as his heir his eldest son, Orisis, who thus became the first of many Kings, both mythological and human, to sit upon the Egyptian thrown, known as 'the Throne of Geb'; and the first to hold the title 'Heir of Geb', which was later borne by the mortal Kings of Egypt.
***
I can see now why my daughter felt so violated by Mrs. Leonard after being exposed to this story which is clearly not meant for children. As I read it for the first time, I too felt violated - that Mrs. Leonard, a trusted person would not have the good sense to stop reading this to my child. Clearly, during the reading of the story above, there were many places where anyone reading it to children might have taken pause to read ahead. That someone of responsibility could read this in its complete form to 11-year-olds one day and be commended by the school on the next day is beyond belief. Two years ago, after the Wendy Wilkins incident, I came to terms with the fact that Jeffrey Wilkins was a disturbed teenage boy who could and should be forgiven for his verbal sexual abuse of our children. But Mrs. Leonard is not a disturbed 15 year old, she is an influential adult teacher at this school who is entrusted with the wellbeing of our children. I do not easily forgive her for this, the most recent of many lapses of judgement. I also hold Highland Hall accountable for why this issue is not being dealt with more severly AND why covering up the incident is still the primary focus of their behavior. Perhaps it's time for a lesser-known quote from our friend, Rudolf Steiner:
"We tried to be aware how far our present civilization is removed from the search for the truth. We may say that the times are crying out for the spirit but that people are too arrogant or narrow-minded to search for the true spirit with a real will. The degree of truthfulness which is essential if we are to perceive what the spirit has to say needs to be taught and developed. Such truthfulness is not to be found in the educated world today, and, what is worse, people do not realize that it is lacking." Rudolf Steiner - The Fifth Gospel
Here's one not by Steiner:
The Devil's greatest trick was convincing the world he doesn't exist.
Friends, please join me in calling for light in the darkness that has, once again, shrouded Highland Hall. Truth and openness are nothing to be feared. Deceit and misdirection are not the tools of honest people.
Pete Karaiskos
Sunday, June 5, 2011
A Father's :Plea - To Highland Hall Board Member
This was a plea for help to Highland Hall board of trustees member Hal Sazzman. You can see how desperate I was - begging Highland Hall to stop interfering with my daughter's safety.
Hal,
I'm sorry for involving you in this, but if you're really a friend, please talk with Hasib. Find out what Angela and Jim have allowed to be done to my daughter. I have enough on them to have them both thrown in jail along with the 29 year old crystal meth dealer they knowingly allowed {my daughter} to have as a boyfriend. My daughter has been hooked on crystal meth for over a year. I saw her Saturday - and I doubt she weighs 80 lbs.
If you still can't tell right from wrong after finding out what Angela and Jim have done to {my daughter}, then something is very wrong. Again... your words ring in my ears - ENOUGH already!
Please, Hal, work with Hasib. Help me get {my daughter} away from these two nuts and into rehab without any more interference from Highland Hall. This is a human plea from one father to another. Here's why...
So far, Hasib has run interference for Angela. He won't speak to me unless I threaten him. He ignored me when I asked for the names of mandated reporters at Highland Hall - when I had to report a crime concerning my OWN DAUGHTER. I can prove all of this of course. That's very bad behavior that I'm willing to report to the police. I'm asking you to intervene before this escalates even further. I need a responsible person to act as a contact to Highland Hall.
I would prefer to work with Hasib, but he needs to get out of his denial phase and work positively. You saw what his denial and refusal to talk with me did over the issue of racism in the classroom, didn't you? That's still brewing BTW... Now he's trying to come between me and my daughter's safety. You can imagine, I'm sure, that I'm not about to take much more crap from him before connecting him to this issue. He did, after all, come in to run interference with me at Jim Pedroja's request. I'm ready to point all this out to the community as well. I don't like threats, but Hasib has trained me well - that this is the only thing he responds to - if anything.
Anyway, bottom line is - Highland Hall needs to take responsibility for what has happened to my daughter. There is WAY too much connecting what happened here throughout her childhood and what has happened since. {My daughter} needs rehab in a safe facility. Highland Hall needs to pay for it. I'd like it to just happen quietly and hopefully you've seen enough by now to know that if it needs to be a community effort, I'll make it one. I'd prefer that nobody goes to jail over what happened to my daughter... but to be honest, I think a few people should.
Hasib will probably tell you not to answer me Hal. All I can say is there is a right side of this issue and a wrong side. A few people thinking they are defending Angela have been on the wrong side of this issue. They will, I'm sure, regret it.
You once confided in me, after a particularly bad display, that Christine Leonard had finally "stepped on her own dick". Now - Angela has finally done that Hal. Please help me to get my daughter to safety with as little further incident as possible. It's in everyone's best interest.
Thanks Hal,
Pete
Hal,
I'm sorry for involving you in this, but if you're really a friend, please talk with Hasib. Find out what Angela and Jim have allowed to be done to my daughter. I have enough on them to have them both thrown in jail along with the 29 year old crystal meth dealer they knowingly allowed {my daughter} to have as a boyfriend. My daughter has been hooked on crystal meth for over a year. I saw her Saturday - and I doubt she weighs 80 lbs.
If you still can't tell right from wrong after finding out what Angela and Jim have done to {my daughter}, then something is very wrong. Again... your words ring in my ears - ENOUGH already!
Please, Hal, work with Hasib. Help me get {my daughter} away from these two nuts and into rehab without any more interference from Highland Hall. This is a human plea from one father to another. Here's why...
So far, Hasib has run interference for Angela. He won't speak to me unless I threaten him. He ignored me when I asked for the names of mandated reporters at Highland Hall - when I had to report a crime concerning my OWN DAUGHTER. I can prove all of this of course. That's very bad behavior that I'm willing to report to the police. I'm asking you to intervene before this escalates even further. I need a responsible person to act as a contact to Highland Hall.
I would prefer to work with Hasib, but he needs to get out of his denial phase and work positively. You saw what his denial and refusal to talk with me did over the issue of racism in the classroom, didn't you? That's still brewing BTW... Now he's trying to come between me and my daughter's safety. You can imagine, I'm sure, that I'm not about to take much more crap from him before connecting him to this issue. He did, after all, come in to run interference with me at Jim Pedroja's request. I'm ready to point all this out to the community as well. I don't like threats, but Hasib has trained me well - that this is the only thing he responds to - if anything.
Anyway, bottom line is - Highland Hall needs to take responsibility for what has happened to my daughter. There is WAY too much connecting what happened here throughout her childhood and what has happened since. {My daughter} needs rehab in a safe facility. Highland Hall needs to pay for it. I'd like it to just happen quietly and hopefully you've seen enough by now to know that if it needs to be a community effort, I'll make it one. I'd prefer that nobody goes to jail over what happened to my daughter... but to be honest, I think a few people should.
Hasib will probably tell you not to answer me Hal. All I can say is there is a right side of this issue and a wrong side. A few people thinking they are defending Angela have been on the wrong side of this issue. They will, I'm sure, regret it.
You once confided in me, after a particularly bad display, that Christine Leonard had finally "stepped on her own dick". Now - Angela has finally done that Hal. Please help me to get my daughter to safety with as little further incident as possible. It's in everyone's best interest.
Thanks Hal,
Pete
Thursday, May 5, 2011
AWSNA Comments on Racism
Joan Jaeckel represents AWSNA. She commented on the blog below:
http://smrtlernins.com/2010/11/16/ask-a-smrt-homeschooler-about-the-waldorf-method/#comments
Here are her comments and my response to them (Below hers):
While the people on this discussion can and will think what they wish, I did want you to know that the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) undertook a study of exactly what Steiner said that either is or could be construed to be racist and declared Steiner as flat-out wrong on those statements. The two documents describing the sequence of events are here in case anyone has interest to read them. My wish, as someone working to move public Waldorf education for people who wish it for their children, is for people who don’t choose it for whatever reason to at least not have a demonic view of it as appears to be the consensus on this page. Also that there is a community of Waldorf educators who are working on factors for accrediting Waldorf schools, updating the science curriculum, blending in a developmental approach to technology, etc. in order address the all-over-the-map experience many of you describe.
(1) “Racism and Waldorf Education”
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/RB1201.pdf
(2) “Reflections on the Evolution of Consciousness
Inspired by Ray McDermott’s “Racism and Waldorf Education”
Douglas Sloan
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/RB1202.pdf
If these studies were conducted by AWSNA, then why are they still being touted as “independent” studies by Waldorf Educators? Can you please describe the circumstances by which AWSNA “undertook” the study? AWSNA perhaps “accepted” the findings – as they weren’t so bad – considering McDermott and Oberman are both Anthrophists…
Here’s the problem with what you are suggesting here (that racism has been removed from Waldorf)… you still require Waldorf teachers, TODAY, to read Steiner’s racist comments about skin color – AND to APPLY those ideas to children through the concept ALL Waldorf teachers apply to children… the Temperaments! The temperaments were Steiner’s way of dividing children by body type. The temperaments are used TODAY to divide Waldorf children – by BODY TYPE – for the Greek Olympic games (pentathlon) in the 5th grade. Why Joan? If Waldorf has addressed racism, why are children divided by temperaments, why are teachers instructed to read Steiner’s VERY DUMB ideas about body types (even Steiner’s own Anthroposophical doctors couldn’t distinguish “small-headed” children from “large-headed” children). It’s one of many distinctions Waldorf teachers use to separate children from each other.
Secondly, speaking of accreditation… How does that work exactly? I know the AWSNA accreditation committee asked Highland Hall to supply computers and update their science department IN 1998!!! They have “passed” several “inspections” since then… but still no science equipment and no computer equipment. So what EXACTLY does the accreditation committee do when schools simply don’t comply with their recommendations?
Thanks Joan.
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=4
“Waldorf Schools are independent schools committed to developing the human
potential of each child to its fullest. Admission to the schools is open to everyone, without regard to race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, or ethnicity. In company with many other tuition-based independent schools, Waldorf schools are actively seeking ways to increase the economic and ethnic diversity of their student populations.
It is a fundamental goal of our education to bring students to an
understanding and experience of the common humanity of all the world’s
peoples, transcending the stereotypes, prejudices, and divisive barriers of classification by sex, race, and nationality.
We most emphatically reject racism in all its forms, and embrace the
principles of common humanity expressed by the founder of Waldorf education, Rudolf Steiner:
“(We) must cast aside the division into races. (We) must seek to
unite people of all races and nations, and to bridge the divisions
and differences between various groups of people.”
– The Universal Human, Lecture 1″
I can understand why they would have to publish such disclaimers – the Waldorf school in Harlem, for example, has (had) no black students at all. Kinda makes you wonder… But the statement does NOT address racism in Waldorf.
The quote AWSNA uses from Steiner – above is out of context BTW. The entire lecture can be found here: http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/UniHuman/19091204p02.html
Here’s the whole three sentences around AWSNA’s quote:
“Therefore, in its fundamental nature, the anthroposophical movement, which is to prepare the sixth period, must cast aside the division into races. It must seek to unite people of all races and nations, and to bridge the divisions and differences between various groups of people. The old point of view of race has a physical character, but what will prevail in the future will have a more spiritual character.”
Steiner is talking about casting aside the divisions of races and treating humans as individuals IN THE NEXT EPOCH, NOT this one. So, in 1000 years, Waldorf schools will stop teaching children in accordance with their race. But for now, they will continue to deceive us – even using Steiner’s own words out of context – in order to bring children to Anthroposophy.
Here are the next few paragraphs after AWSNA’s quote – from Steiner:
“That is why it is absolutely essential to understand that our anthroposophical movement is a spiritual one. It looks to the spirit and overcomes the effects of physical differences through the force of being a spiritual movement. Of course, any movement has its childhood illnesses, so to speak. Consequently, in the beginning of the theosophical movement the earth was divided into seven periods of time, one for each of the seven root races, and each of these root races was divided into seven sub-races. These seven periods were said to repeat in a cycle so that one could always speak of seven races and seven sub-races. However, we must get beyond the illnesses of childhood and understand clearly that the concept of race has ceased to have any meaning in our time.
Humanity is becoming evermore individual, and this has further implications for human individuality. It is important that this individuality develop in the right way. The anthroposophical movement is to help people become individualities, or personalities, in the right sense. How can it accomplish this? Here we must look to the most striking new quality of the human soul that is being prepared. People often ask why we do not remember our former incarnations. I have often answered this question, which is like saying that because a four-year-old child cannot do arithmetic, human beings cannot do arithmetic. When the child reaches ten, he or she will be able to multiply with ease. It is the same with the soul. If it cannot remember our former incarnations today, the time will come when it will be able to do so. Then it will possess the same capacity initiates have.
This new development is happening today. There are numerous souls nowadays who are so far advanced that they are close to the moment of remembering their former incarnations, or at least the last one. A number of people are at the threshold of comprehensive memory, embracing life between birth and death as well as previous incarnations. Many people will remember their present incarnation when they are reborn in their next life. It is simply a question of how they remember. The anthroposophical movement is to help and guide people to remember in the right way.”
http://smrtlernins.com/2010/11/16/ask-a-smrt-homeschooler-about-the-waldorf-method/#comments
Here are her comments and my response to them (Below hers):
While the people on this discussion can and will think what they wish, I did want you to know that the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) undertook a study of exactly what Steiner said that either is or could be construed to be racist and declared Steiner as flat-out wrong on those statements. The two documents describing the sequence of events are here in case anyone has interest to read them. My wish, as someone working to move public Waldorf education for people who wish it for their children, is for people who don’t choose it for whatever reason to at least not have a demonic view of it as appears to be the consensus on this page. Also that there is a community of Waldorf educators who are working on factors for accrediting Waldorf schools, updating the science curriculum, blending in a developmental approach to technology, etc. in order address the all-over-the-map experience many of you describe.
(1) “Racism and Waldorf Education”
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/RB1201.pdf
(2) “Reflections on the Evolution of Consciousness
Inspired by Ray McDermott’s “Racism and Waldorf Education”
Douglas Sloan
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/RB1202.pdf
Hide the reply to Joan Jaeckel's comment
Leaving a comment on my comment.
I meant to end by saying thank you for reading and for an interesting discussion.
Joan
Firstly, Joan,If these studies were conducted by AWSNA, then why are they still being touted as “independent” studies by Waldorf Educators? Can you please describe the circumstances by which AWSNA “undertook” the study? AWSNA perhaps “accepted” the findings – as they weren’t so bad – considering McDermott and Oberman are both Anthrophists…
Here’s the problem with what you are suggesting here (that racism has been removed from Waldorf)… you still require Waldorf teachers, TODAY, to read Steiner’s racist comments about skin color – AND to APPLY those ideas to children through the concept ALL Waldorf teachers apply to children… the Temperaments! The temperaments were Steiner’s way of dividing children by body type. The temperaments are used TODAY to divide Waldorf children – by BODY TYPE – for the Greek Olympic games (pentathlon) in the 5th grade. Why Joan? If Waldorf has addressed racism, why are children divided by temperaments, why are teachers instructed to read Steiner’s VERY DUMB ideas about body types (even Steiner’s own Anthroposophical doctors couldn’t distinguish “small-headed” children from “large-headed” children). It’s one of many distinctions Waldorf teachers use to separate children from each other.
Secondly, speaking of accreditation… How does that work exactly? I know the AWSNA accreditation committee asked Highland Hall to supply computers and update their science department IN 1998!!! They have “passed” several “inspections” since then… but still no science equipment and no computer equipment. So what EXACTLY does the accreditation committee do when schools simply don’t comply with their recommendations?
Thanks Joan.
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=4
Smrt Mama: Here’s AWSNA’s OFFICIAL statement or “racism” – it’s not about racist ideas being taught or applied to children – it’s really about racial discrimination for admitting students into Waldorf schools.
“Waldorf Schools are independent schools committed to developing the human
potential of each child to its fullest. Admission to the schools is open to everyone, without regard to race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, or ethnicity. In company with many other tuition-based independent schools, Waldorf schools are actively seeking ways to increase the economic and ethnic diversity of their student populations.
It is a fundamental goal of our education to bring students to an
understanding and experience of the common humanity of all the world’s
peoples, transcending the stereotypes, prejudices, and divisive barriers of classification by sex, race, and nationality.
We most emphatically reject racism in all its forms, and embrace the
principles of common humanity expressed by the founder of Waldorf education, Rudolf Steiner:
“(We) must cast aside the division into races. (We) must seek to
unite people of all races and nations, and to bridge the divisions
and differences between various groups of people.”
– The Universal Human, Lecture 1″
I can understand why they would have to publish such disclaimers – the Waldorf school in Harlem, for example, has (had) no black students at all. Kinda makes you wonder… But the statement does NOT address racism in Waldorf.
The quote AWSNA uses from Steiner – above is out of context BTW. The entire lecture can be found here: http://wn.rsarchive.org/Lectures/UniHuman/19091204p02.html
Here’s the whole three sentences around AWSNA’s quote:
“Therefore, in its fundamental nature, the anthroposophical movement, which is to prepare the sixth period, must cast aside the division into races. It must seek to unite people of all races and nations, and to bridge the divisions and differences between various groups of people. The old point of view of race has a physical character, but what will prevail in the future will have a more spiritual character.”
Steiner is talking about casting aside the divisions of races and treating humans as individuals IN THE NEXT EPOCH, NOT this one. So, in 1000 years, Waldorf schools will stop teaching children in accordance with their race. But for now, they will continue to deceive us – even using Steiner’s own words out of context – in order to bring children to Anthroposophy.
Here are the next few paragraphs after AWSNA’s quote – from Steiner:
“That is why it is absolutely essential to understand that our anthroposophical movement is a spiritual one. It looks to the spirit and overcomes the effects of physical differences through the force of being a spiritual movement. Of course, any movement has its childhood illnesses, so to speak. Consequently, in the beginning of the theosophical movement the earth was divided into seven periods of time, one for each of the seven root races, and each of these root races was divided into seven sub-races. These seven periods were said to repeat in a cycle so that one could always speak of seven races and seven sub-races. However, we must get beyond the illnesses of childhood and understand clearly that the concept of race has ceased to have any meaning in our time.
Humanity is becoming evermore individual, and this has further implications for human individuality. It is important that this individuality develop in the right way. The anthroposophical movement is to help people become individualities, or personalities, in the right sense. How can it accomplish this? Here we must look to the most striking new quality of the human soul that is being prepared. People often ask why we do not remember our former incarnations. I have often answered this question, which is like saying that because a four-year-old child cannot do arithmetic, human beings cannot do arithmetic. When the child reaches ten, he or she will be able to multiply with ease. It is the same with the soul. If it cannot remember our former incarnations today, the time will come when it will be able to do so. Then it will possess the same capacity initiates have.
This new development is happening today. There are numerous souls nowadays who are so far advanced that they are close to the moment of remembering their former incarnations, or at least the last one. A number of people are at the threshold of comprehensive memory, embracing life between birth and death as well as previous incarnations. Many people will remember their present incarnation when they are reborn in their next life. It is simply a question of how they remember. The anthroposophical movement is to help and guide people to remember in the right way.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
