Dear Parent Community of Highland Hall,
It is with deep regret that I must inform you that Highland Hall has been teaching your children some of the racist ideas which are part of Anthroposophy. I discovered this a few years ago and had some unproductive discussions with the school. Recently, several things have happened to me personally that allowed me to engage in further discussions with Highland Hall about this issue, and subsequent unproductive discussions led to this email and the whistle-blowing campaign it launches.
1) My son turned 18. His choice of schools is his own now.
2) For over a decade Highland Hall representatives have been intentionally undermining me with my kids, with the courts and with the community. When I criticized their cult-like activities in front of the community, they did everything they could to silence me - including pressuring my kids with expulsion. As a reasonable person having to deal with unreasonable people, I waited until my son was safely an adult before taking action against them for their continued dishonest and sometimes criminal activities toward my children.
3) Part of my investigation of Highland Hall has included the review of past and current report cards and what I found was disturbing. Very strange ideas are STILL being taught to our children - Ideas I know to be rooted in Anthroposophy. I will provide some examples right off the report card descriptions in another email.
4) Some of the ideas that have been taught to our children are the racist ideas that are the foundation of Anthroposophy. Among them, that people with white skin are more evolved than people with black skin. This was taught directly to our children under the class description "physiology".
5) I tried to have a discussion about all this with Highland Hall recently. I was referred to the Board of Trustees President, Hasib Saliefendic - who referred me to Highland Hall's attorney. I explained that I am not suing Highland Hall. This didn't seem to matter to Mr. Saliefendic - he wanted nothing to do with answering my questions. Nonetheless, I was persistent in increasing levels until I could get some answers. After all, Highland Hall harmed my children and conspired to keep this information from me, I felt I was entitled to talk to their representative - not shuffled off to their attorney.
6) It was only after I began circulating a flier that discusses Highland Hall's role in promoting racism in the community, that Mr. Saliefendic agreed to discuss my grievances with me. He and board member Andy Sapin agreed to meet with me at a public location. I brought a neutral friend who is a parent at a different private school to witness. A discussion ensued.
In the course of our discussion, Mr. Saliefendic revealed several things that I was surprised to hear. Firstly, he admitted not having knowledge of Anthroposophy. This became very apparent to me as our discussions continued. Secondly, he claimed no knowledge of what is actually being taught in the classroom. Despite these two statements, he could express with great confidence that Steiner's ideas were not racist, and that they are not being taught in the classroom. This concerned me as it did my friend Emmy who witnessed this.
7) With Mr. Saliefendic's and Mr. Sapin's announcement that they are both very satisfied customer's of Highland Hall, and with their encouragement, Emmy was instructed to independently research Waldorf on the web to see what she could find out. Emmy quite naturally excluded Waldorf-owned sites in her search for information about Waldorf. That makes perfect sense when you are investigating a school because of a problem, but not necessarily when you are investigating Waldorf to put your child there. Knowing there's a problem with Waldorf is essential for parents.
So, Emmy found in a just a few clicks some very disturbing things about Waldorf and Steiner. She went to the effort of detailing these disturbing things for Mr. Saliefendic in an email. Suddenly, she became the enemy. Mr. Saliefendic couldn't understand why she didn't get all her information from Waldorf-supportive sites run by AWSNA and Waldorf enthusiast - Sune Nordwall - and indeed directed her to them and away from neutral sites. After I demonstrated to Mr. Saliefendic that the quote used by Mr. Nordwall on his website as evidence against Steiner's racism is refuted in the very next paragraph of the lecture it is extracted from, I again got the silent treatment from Mr. Saliefendic.
8) After a quick look at his responsive email, Emmy correctly concluded that Mr. Saliefendic is "in denial". I would agree that if these are the places where he gets his information about Waldorf - AND - if these are the places he is directing parents to for their information about Waldorf, then there is indeed good reason to believe we need discussions with our board members and the community at large about what Waldorf is REALLY teaching kids and why.
9) It is unfortunate that, as always, Highland Hall requires that I put their feet to the fire in public when simple private discussions could have made this all unnecessary. Instead of accepting that racism exists in Waldorf, as many educators (even Waldorf supporters Ida Oberman and Ray McDermott) warn, Highland Hall's Board President denies that it exists at Highland Hall without benefit of knowing what is being taught. He insists that they do not teach racist ideas, despite overwhelming evidence that at least some other Waldorf schools knowingly or unknowingly teach racism. Add to this the evidence that Highland Hall without question teaches Steiner's ideas and has at the very least taught racist principles to children in the past and this is good reason to demand accountability until Highland Hall identifies, faces and acknowledges what they are teaching our children and makes this clear to parents up-front.
10) I am forming C.A.R.E. Citizens Against Racism in Education. Highland Hall will be the focus of my attention. I do not think people who believe and hold racist ideas should be conducting a school in the first place (to me it's no different than exposing children who have no choice to second-hand smoke) but I acknowledge their right to exist for people who want their children to learn these things. The fact that Anthroposophists don't understand their ideas are racist worries me. Simply denying they are teaching racism isn't going to pass public scrutiny. Using strong-arm tactics against anyone who questions their ideas very loudly (in Highland Hall's case with me) makes it evident they are hiding things. Why don't they direct parents to neutral websites where legitimate reports about racism in Waldorf can be found?
Should this cult-like behavior exclude Highland Hall from being allowed to teach children? No... but when they teach racism and they don't tell parents what they're up to, it's criminal. C.A.R.E. wants Highland Hall to have full disclosure of Steiner's racist ideas to parents.
11) Part of Highland Hall's recent strong-arm tactics against me was to hand me a letter (at our meeting) that says I am no longer allowed to step foot on Highland Hall's property. This means that I cannot attend events my son participates in, or even attend my son's high school graduation. I don't think that's very nice. Additionally, I'm not supposed to email anyone in the community to talk about this. They have no right to ask this and I won't be complying with the email part, obviously.
12) In response to their actions, I have informed Highland Hall that I am expecting to demonstrate in front of the school on Wednesday, September 9th. I have applied for a permit to do so. If it goes through in time, I will be there with a group of citizens - if it doesn't, I'll wait until another school event for this protest.
I hope to gather the support of a few Highland Hall parents who realize they have been duped and will speak out that teaching racism (whether Highland Hall agrees it's racism or not) is wrong, but even if I don't have Highland Hall parent's support - I hope to get the support of people in the outer community who actually understand that what Highland Hall is doing is horrible. Again, whether or not this protest is successful, I expect to conduct additional protests at prominent events on Highland Hall's calendar until Highland Hall addresses the problems directly.
13) I feel Highland Hall has, with its refusal to self-examine its racist activities, encouraged me to shine a light on this issue within and without the community and with everyone who will hear me. If I can get local media involved, I will. National media would be better. The story is quickly becoming Highland Hall's strange behavior regarding this topic and their unwillingness to acknowledge that it exists, let alone address it openly - and their efforts to suppress me. This was the primary concern of educational expert, Howard Gardner of Harvard University, author of classics including The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach - when he withdrew his support of Waldorf Education. Like many parents, he was duped initially by Waldorf's apparent good intentions, but his eyes were opened later when he realized how Waldorf disguises itself.
14) I encourage all parents, teachers, administrators and the community at large to join me in discussions relating to the infusion of Steiner's teachings into the curriculum at Highland Hall. I'd like parents to know what Eurythmy really is, why it is taught in every Waldorf school in the world, in every grade, to every student... and why it is a 4 unit class in the high school. Is this something parents are curious about - or do you just accept it as some nutty dance program?
It's time for Highland Hall to come clean about what our kids have been taught all these years and why. If they won't tell you, I will. If you won't listen, the rest of the world will be interested. Nobody has an excuse for not knowing any more. The spotlight is on Highland Hall. Let's see if they intend to defend what they are teaching our children or not?
Please support me in revealing the truth about Steiner's roll in Highland Hall's curriculum - once and for all.
Thanks.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Why Waldorf Permits Bullying and Abuse
Every time I speak with a member of the Highland Hall community who doesn’t get it, I find myself compelled to carry on my letter-writing campaign. This time it was a Highland Hall board member who claimed we will “never agree” on the philosophy. Fair enough… but there’s still one big problem… THE PHILOSOPHY IS ABUSIVE TO CHILDREN… so simply not agreeing with Highland Hall’s philosophy is not acceptable to me – especially while they are abusing children. Those of you who know me know how close to home this particular issue strikes. Highland Hall has abused my kids for decades and that abuse continues.
There is no question that bullying and abuse have occurred regularly at Highland Hall since its inception in 1955. Back then, it was easier to cover up the occasional abuse of students by teachers (and sometimes parents) – and still cases of abuse at Highland Hall were documented throughout the years. Abuse of children is still acceptable today at Highland Hall. I have personally documented many cases of abuse and brought them to the Highland Hall Board’s attention without too much success (It was because of the combined voices of a few brave parents that a couple of the worst teachers finally left voluntarily). But the question remains, why does Highland Hall turn a blind eye to the bullying and abuse of children by its teachers – both on and off campus?
It may not come as a surprise to many who have been reading my previous letters about racism at Highland Hall, that it’s the same hidden philosophy behind Highland Hall and Waldorf – Anthroposophy, the philosophy that permits racism - which also permits Waldorf teachers to stand by while children bully children, and while teachers abuse children (and parents).
Where exactly does Anthroposophy say abuse of children is permitted? Well, first, it helps if one believes some children aren’t really “children” but “demons”.
"Demons are born through man's immoral conduct. Let us look at the difference between the demons that arise through immoral behaviour and the spiritual entities - spiritual in so far as they only achieve a watery existence on Earth - the spiritual forms that are created by moral actions." ...
"The demons created out of immoral actions also have an astral body, an ether body and a physical body, at the watery level of course, but they do not have the basis for developing an ego. They are born headless, as it were. They do not take up the basis for regular evolution to Jupiter existence but reject it. By doing so they condemn themselves to a fate of dropping out of evolution and adding to the hordes of luciferic beings, falling into their power. Unable to progress in a regular way they become parasites. This is what happens to all the spirits who reject normal evolution; they have to attach themselves to others in order to progress. Spirits who arise through immoral actions have a particular tendency to be parasites in human evolution on Earth under Lucifer's leadership, and to seize hold of the evolution of human beings before these make their physical entry into the world. They attack human beings during the embryonic stage and share their existence between conception and birth. Some of these spirits, if they are strong enough, can continue to accompany the human being after birth, creating the phenomena seen in children who are possessed.
"The criminal demons attached as parasite to unborn children cause deterioration in the succession of the generations; this eats into human beings, making them less good than they would be if these demons did not exist. There are various reasons for the decline of families, tribes, people and nations, but one of them is the existence of these criminal demon parasites during the period mentioned.
"These things play an important part in Earth evolution as a whole, and we are here touching on deep secrets of human existence. People often acquire certain prejudices and points of view even before they are born because of this. They are then tormented by doubts and uncertainties in life, and all kinds of other things, because of these demonic parasites.
"These spirits cannot do very much once human beings develop their ego, but they prey on them all the more before they are born or in their earliest years." (from "Future Jupiter Existence" (Dornach, 3 January 1915), reprinted in Angels: Selected Lectures by Rudolf Steiner; London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996 reprinted 1998). (pp 167-168))
And directly from the Waldorf Teacher Training reading list:
Dr. Steiner: “That little girl L.. in the first grade must have something very wrong inside. There is not much we can do. Such cases are increasing in which children are born with a human form, but are not really human beings in relation to their highest I [the highest element of one’s spiritual being]; instead, they are filled with beings that do not belong to the human class. Quite a number of people have been born since the [1890s] without an I, that is, they are not reincarnated, but are human forms filled with a sort of natural demon. There are quite a large number of older people going around who are actually not human beings, but only natural; they are human beings only in regard to their form. We cannot, however, create a school for demons.”
A teacher: “How is that possible?”
Dr. Steiner: “Cosmic error is certainly not impossible. The relationships of individuals coming into earthly existence have long been determined. There are also generations in which individuals have no desire to come into earthly existence and be connected with physicality, or immediately leave at the very beginning. In such cases, other beings that are not quite suited step in.... They are also quite different from human beings in regard to everything spiritual. They can, for example, never remember such things as sentences; they have a memory only for words, not for sentences....
“I do not like to talk about such things since we have often been attacked even without them. Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings. Nevertheless, these are facts. Our culture would not be in such a decline if people felt more strongly that a number of people are going around who, because they are completely ruthless, have become something that is not human, but instead are demons in human form.
“Nevertheless, we do not want to shout that to the world. Our opposition is already large enough. Such things are really shocking to people. I caused enough shock when I needed to say that a very famous university professor, after a very short time between death and rebirth, was reincarnated as a black scientist. We do not want to shout such things out into the world.” (Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, Anthroposophical Press, 1998, pp. 649-650.)
Note that in the last two paragraphs, Steiner makes it clear to Waldorf teachers that this “demon” stuff is to be kept secret from “the world”. Nonetheless, demons can appear in the form of children, according to Steiner.
So if children may be demons, who decides if they are demons? Well, that would have to be the best trained people for this – Waldorf teachers. Do some Waldorf teachers really think children’s bodies can be inhabited by demons? YES, they REALLY DO! By some unfortunate stroke of bad luck, Waldorf teacher (and now teacher trainer at Highland Hall) Christine Leonard announced my own daughter was demonically possessed when she was 10 years old. To exercise these demons, apparently exercise (running laps) was a good thing. So was cleaning toilets, having her belongings searched, labeled as a liar (for revealing what she saw), endless verbal abuse and being singled out as a… well… a demon – to the whole class. My daughter started on a path of self-destruction from that time on. Mrs. Leonard’s diagnosis has taken its toll on my daughter over the years – despite the therapy she has required. Some Waldorf teachers may believe Mrs. Leonard was right about her diagnosis of my daughter. They definitely believe Steiner when he says demons exist in children. If you ask me… there are demons at work at Waldorf – but they are not in our children. Not YET…
But what does it say about the role models we are providing for our kids when they are known to be dishonest? We know many teachers at Highland Hall have lied to the parents. We know this because under pressure, they have had to admit it. Nonetheless, we allow them to be our children’s role models. Dishonest people don’t make very good role models… in fact DISHONEST PEOPLE MAKE LOUSY ROLE MODELS.
And why are Waldorf teachers dishonest? Because Steiner TOLD THEM they should be. Again, from the paragraph above:
“I do not like to talk about such things since we have often been attacked even without them. Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings. Nevertheless, these are facts. Our culture would not be in such a decline if people felt more strongly that a number of people are going around who, because they are completely ruthless, have become something that is not human, but instead are demons in human form.”
Steiner instructed Waldorf teachers to keep their knowledge from the outside world. Does that mean parents too? On page 10 of Faculty Meetings with Rudolf Steiner:
“However, there is something else that I would ask you to be aware of. That is, that we, as the faculty—what others do with the children is a separate thing—do not attempt to bring out into the public things that really concern only our school. I have been back only a few hours, and I have heard so much gossip about who got a slap and so forth. All of that gossip is going beyond all bounds, and I really found it very disturbing. We do not really need to concern ourselves when things seep out the cracks. We certainly have thick enough skins for that. But on the other hand, we clearly do not need to help it along. We should be quiet about how we handle things in the school, that is, we should maintain a kind of school confidentiality. We should not speak to people outside the school, except for the parents who come to us with questions, and in that case, only about their children, so that gossip has no opportunity to arise.”
So secrecy is the name of the game with Waldorf. Parents aren’t given a truthful story when abuse happens… not because some teacher made bad choices during a crisis, but because that’s what Waldorf teachers are TRAINED to do. And THAT is why when they are finally fired for their bad behavior, they simply transfer to another school. They haven’t done anything wrong in Waldorf/Steiner’s view. Lying to parents and covering up bad behavior is part of Waldorf. If you have any doubts, read FACULTY MEETINGS with RUDOLF STEINER – starting at page 377. Read how, when an incident involving Waldorf students happened, Steiner himself worked with teachers to hide the truth from the public.
This is why Waldorf teachers are deceptive. They are TAUGHT to be deceptive. It’s part of Waldorf education to be deceptive… to lie to parents… even about their own children. Why? Because according to Steiner, the Waldorf teacher is more important to the spiritual development of the child than the parents are.
http://thewaldorfreview.blogspot.com/2014/06/why-waldorf-bullies.html
There is no question that bullying and abuse have occurred regularly at Highland Hall since its inception in 1955. Back then, it was easier to cover up the occasional abuse of students by teachers (and sometimes parents) – and still cases of abuse at Highland Hall were documented throughout the years. Abuse of children is still acceptable today at Highland Hall. I have personally documented many cases of abuse and brought them to the Highland Hall Board’s attention without too much success (It was because of the combined voices of a few brave parents that a couple of the worst teachers finally left voluntarily). But the question remains, why does Highland Hall turn a blind eye to the bullying and abuse of children by its teachers – both on and off campus?
It may not come as a surprise to many who have been reading my previous letters about racism at Highland Hall, that it’s the same hidden philosophy behind Highland Hall and Waldorf – Anthroposophy, the philosophy that permits racism - which also permits Waldorf teachers to stand by while children bully children, and while teachers abuse children (and parents).
Where exactly does Anthroposophy say abuse of children is permitted? Well, first, it helps if one believes some children aren’t really “children” but “demons”.
"Demons are born through man's immoral conduct. Let us look at the difference between the demons that arise through immoral behaviour and the spiritual entities - spiritual in so far as they only achieve a watery existence on Earth - the spiritual forms that are created by moral actions." ...
"The demons created out of immoral actions also have an astral body, an ether body and a physical body, at the watery level of course, but they do not have the basis for developing an ego. They are born headless, as it were. They do not take up the basis for regular evolution to Jupiter existence but reject it. By doing so they condemn themselves to a fate of dropping out of evolution and adding to the hordes of luciferic beings, falling into their power. Unable to progress in a regular way they become parasites. This is what happens to all the spirits who reject normal evolution; they have to attach themselves to others in order to progress. Spirits who arise through immoral actions have a particular tendency to be parasites in human evolution on Earth under Lucifer's leadership, and to seize hold of the evolution of human beings before these make their physical entry into the world. They attack human beings during the embryonic stage and share their existence between conception and birth. Some of these spirits, if they are strong enough, can continue to accompany the human being after birth, creating the phenomena seen in children who are possessed.
"The criminal demons attached as parasite to unborn children cause deterioration in the succession of the generations; this eats into human beings, making them less good than they would be if these demons did not exist. There are various reasons for the decline of families, tribes, people and nations, but one of them is the existence of these criminal demon parasites during the period mentioned.
"These things play an important part in Earth evolution as a whole, and we are here touching on deep secrets of human existence. People often acquire certain prejudices and points of view even before they are born because of this. They are then tormented by doubts and uncertainties in life, and all kinds of other things, because of these demonic parasites.
"These spirits cannot do very much once human beings develop their ego, but they prey on them all the more before they are born or in their earliest years." (from "Future Jupiter Existence" (Dornach, 3 January 1915), reprinted in Angels: Selected Lectures by Rudolf Steiner; London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996 reprinted 1998). (pp 167-168))
And directly from the Waldorf Teacher Training reading list:
Dr. Steiner: “That little girl L.. in the first grade must have something very wrong inside. There is not much we can do. Such cases are increasing in which children are born with a human form, but are not really human beings in relation to their highest I [the highest element of one’s spiritual being]; instead, they are filled with beings that do not belong to the human class. Quite a number of people have been born since the [1890s] without an I, that is, they are not reincarnated, but are human forms filled with a sort of natural demon. There are quite a large number of older people going around who are actually not human beings, but only natural; they are human beings only in regard to their form. We cannot, however, create a school for demons.”
A teacher: “How is that possible?”
Dr. Steiner: “Cosmic error is certainly not impossible. The relationships of individuals coming into earthly existence have long been determined. There are also generations in which individuals have no desire to come into earthly existence and be connected with physicality, or immediately leave at the very beginning. In such cases, other beings that are not quite suited step in.... They are also quite different from human beings in regard to everything spiritual. They can, for example, never remember such things as sentences; they have a memory only for words, not for sentences....
“I do not like to talk about such things since we have often been attacked even without them. Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings. Nevertheless, these are facts. Our culture would not be in such a decline if people felt more strongly that a number of people are going around who, because they are completely ruthless, have become something that is not human, but instead are demons in human form.
“Nevertheless, we do not want to shout that to the world. Our opposition is already large enough. Such things are really shocking to people. I caused enough shock when I needed to say that a very famous university professor, after a very short time between death and rebirth, was reincarnated as a black scientist. We do not want to shout such things out into the world.” (Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, Anthroposophical Press, 1998, pp. 649-650.)
Note that in the last two paragraphs, Steiner makes it clear to Waldorf teachers that this “demon” stuff is to be kept secret from “the world”. Nonetheless, demons can appear in the form of children, according to Steiner.
So if children may be demons, who decides if they are demons? Well, that would have to be the best trained people for this – Waldorf teachers. Do some Waldorf teachers really think children’s bodies can be inhabited by demons? YES, they REALLY DO! By some unfortunate stroke of bad luck, Waldorf teacher (and now teacher trainer at Highland Hall) Christine Leonard announced my own daughter was demonically possessed when she was 10 years old. To exercise these demons, apparently exercise (running laps) was a good thing. So was cleaning toilets, having her belongings searched, labeled as a liar (for revealing what she saw), endless verbal abuse and being singled out as a… well… a demon – to the whole class. My daughter started on a path of self-destruction from that time on. Mrs. Leonard’s diagnosis has taken its toll on my daughter over the years – despite the therapy she has required. Some Waldorf teachers may believe Mrs. Leonard was right about her diagnosis of my daughter. They definitely believe Steiner when he says demons exist in children. If you ask me… there are demons at work at Waldorf – but they are not in our children. Not YET…
But what does it say about the role models we are providing for our kids when they are known to be dishonest? We know many teachers at Highland Hall have lied to the parents. We know this because under pressure, they have had to admit it. Nonetheless, we allow them to be our children’s role models. Dishonest people don’t make very good role models… in fact DISHONEST PEOPLE MAKE LOUSY ROLE MODELS.
And why are Waldorf teachers dishonest? Because Steiner TOLD THEM they should be. Again, from the paragraph above:
“I do not like to talk about such things since we have often been attacked even without them. Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings. Nevertheless, these are facts. Our culture would not be in such a decline if people felt more strongly that a number of people are going around who, because they are completely ruthless, have become something that is not human, but instead are demons in human form.”
Steiner instructed Waldorf teachers to keep their knowledge from the outside world. Does that mean parents too? On page 10 of Faculty Meetings with Rudolf Steiner:
“However, there is something else that I would ask you to be aware of. That is, that we, as the faculty—what others do with the children is a separate thing—do not attempt to bring out into the public things that really concern only our school. I have been back only a few hours, and I have heard so much gossip about who got a slap and so forth. All of that gossip is going beyond all bounds, and I really found it very disturbing. We do not really need to concern ourselves when things seep out the cracks. We certainly have thick enough skins for that. But on the other hand, we clearly do not need to help it along. We should be quiet about how we handle things in the school, that is, we should maintain a kind of school confidentiality. We should not speak to people outside the school, except for the parents who come to us with questions, and in that case, only about their children, so that gossip has no opportunity to arise.”
So secrecy is the name of the game with Waldorf. Parents aren’t given a truthful story when abuse happens… not because some teacher made bad choices during a crisis, but because that’s what Waldorf teachers are TRAINED to do. And THAT is why when they are finally fired for their bad behavior, they simply transfer to another school. They haven’t done anything wrong in Waldorf/Steiner’s view. Lying to parents and covering up bad behavior is part of Waldorf. If you have any doubts, read FACULTY MEETINGS with RUDOLF STEINER – starting at page 377. Read how, when an incident involving Waldorf students happened, Steiner himself worked with teachers to hide the truth from the public.
This is why Waldorf teachers are deceptive. They are TAUGHT to be deceptive. It’s part of Waldorf education to be deceptive… to lie to parents… even about their own children. Why? Because according to Steiner, the Waldorf teacher is more important to the spiritual development of the child than the parents are.
http://thewaldorfreview.blogspot.com/2014/06/why-waldorf-bullies.html
Where do Waldorf teachers go?
Where do they go?
I'm preparing a TIMELINE of ABUSE at HIGHLAND HALL - and I'm finding that not only that there have been many abusive teachers at Highland Hall over the years, but also that they move around a lot (OK admittedly - some are still there and I'll cover this in another post). In one case, Wendy Wilkins, a teacher embroiled in a court case in a nearby Waldorf school was hired by Highland Hall.
The court battle was over her arranging sleepovers with students for her pedophile teenage son's entertainment. Yet Highland Hall, knowing this, not only hired her, but allowed her son access to the school, the children and enough private places that the inevitable happened - repeatedly. When it did, another teacher, Lisa (Scemema) Profumo not only didn't report it but covered it up and lied to an assembly of parents about alleged "signed contracts" and safeguards that were supposedly in place. Highland Hall ignored mandated reporting laws.
So - a Waldorf teacher came from a nearby school leaving a path of destruction - and then moved on to Highland Hall... leaving a path of more destruction. Where did she go? Does anyone have experience with such teachers?
Another teacher was at Highland Hall for a few years before she was finally forced to resign (Highland Hall wouldn't fire her). Christine Leonard abused children with humiliation and up to physical torture... even handed out "calming" pills provided by a parent for their child to children the medication wasn't intended for. I don't have to keep rack of her... she's still at Highland Hall providing TEACHER TRAINING.
I know there are many more cases at Highland Hall alone. These teachers didn't suddenly give up Waldorf - they went to other Waldorf schools or other areas of Waldorf.
I think Waldorf gets away with this sort of thing because we critics are not willing to name names. Why not? Teachers who abuse children are floating around from school to school and we're not doing anything about it? Are we waiting for Waldorf to do something about it?
I'm calling for two things in this post:
1) My battle is focused on Highland Hall at the moment - so I'm asking for anyone who had incidents of abuse or who knows of abusive teachers at Highland Hall, to please contact me either privately or better yet - comment on this blog.
Exposure is good. I have had a few Highland Hall alumni contact me and I'm VERY interested in filling my timeline all the way to the beginning of Highland Hall. I think I can show, graphically, that Highland Hall has been an abusive environment since its inception. Additionaly, if you have any old student handbooks from those years it will help associate the faculty and board members with those events.
2) For other schools, if anyone has encountered abusive teachers, see if you can track down where they went - if they went anywhere. Did they end up in another Waldorf school? Teacher training? Camphill? Administration / board of directors? Babysitting Wikipedia? Let me know.
I think it's time to put away the flashlight and turn on the spotlight. Some Waldorf teachers are abusive. They DEFINITELY shouldn't be training other teachers.
It's time we created a registry for these monsters. Please join me in collecting information about abuse in Waldorf - wherever and whenever it occurs.
Pete Karaiskos
I'm preparing a TIMELINE of ABUSE at HIGHLAND HALL - and I'm finding that not only that there have been many abusive teachers at Highland Hall over the years, but also that they move around a lot (OK admittedly - some are still there and I'll cover this in another post). In one case, Wendy Wilkins, a teacher embroiled in a court case in a nearby Waldorf school was hired by Highland Hall.
The court battle was over her arranging sleepovers with students for her pedophile teenage son's entertainment. Yet Highland Hall, knowing this, not only hired her, but allowed her son access to the school, the children and enough private places that the inevitable happened - repeatedly. When it did, another teacher, Lisa (Scemema) Profumo not only didn't report it but covered it up and lied to an assembly of parents about alleged "signed contracts" and safeguards that were supposedly in place. Highland Hall ignored mandated reporting laws.
So - a Waldorf teacher came from a nearby school leaving a path of destruction - and then moved on to Highland Hall... leaving a path of more destruction. Where did she go? Does anyone have experience with such teachers?
Another teacher was at Highland Hall for a few years before she was finally forced to resign (Highland Hall wouldn't fire her). Christine Leonard abused children with humiliation and up to physical torture... even handed out "calming" pills provided by a parent for their child to children the medication wasn't intended for. I don't have to keep rack of her... she's still at Highland Hall providing TEACHER TRAINING.
I know there are many more cases at Highland Hall alone. These teachers didn't suddenly give up Waldorf - they went to other Waldorf schools or other areas of Waldorf.
I think Waldorf gets away with this sort of thing because we critics are not willing to name names. Why not? Teachers who abuse children are floating around from school to school and we're not doing anything about it? Are we waiting for Waldorf to do something about it?
I'm calling for two things in this post:
1) My battle is focused on Highland Hall at the moment - so I'm asking for anyone who had incidents of abuse or who knows of abusive teachers at Highland Hall, to please contact me either privately or better yet - comment on this blog.
Exposure is good. I have had a few Highland Hall alumni contact me and I'm VERY interested in filling my timeline all the way to the beginning of Highland Hall. I think I can show, graphically, that Highland Hall has been an abusive environment since its inception. Additionaly, if you have any old student handbooks from those years it will help associate the faculty and board members with those events.
2) For other schools, if anyone has encountered abusive teachers, see if you can track down where they went - if they went anywhere. Did they end up in another Waldorf school? Teacher training? Camphill? Administration / board of directors? Babysitting Wikipedia? Let me know.
I think it's time to put away the flashlight and turn on the spotlight. Some Waldorf teachers are abusive. They DEFINITELY shouldn't be training other teachers.
It's time we created a registry for these monsters. Please join me in collecting information about abuse in Waldorf - wherever and whenever it occurs.
Pete Karaiskos
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Anthroposophical Medicine and Tobacco
Taken from
Tobacco in Anthroposophical Medicine
"Simonis emphasizes that the alkaloid nicotine destroys the qualities of smell and taste in the human being, thus restricting sensory perceptions. It causes an acceleration of heart rate (sympathetic tonus) without a parallel increase in respiratory frequency. Thus it literally tears the human being apart inside. In a weakened rhythmic system the lungs and heart become dissociated, and thus too the nerve-sense system and the metabolic-limb system. The smoker lives in a state of constant oxygen debt, which leads on the soul level to persistent anxiety. (Angst and anxiety are etymologically derived from a root meaning "narrow" > narrowing of the blood vessels). Rudolf Steiner (5) attributes nicotine addiction to a lack of interest in the life of the spirit. Only the sense organs are stimulated, not the blood system. Practical applications of tobacco by Rudolf Steiner in anthroposophical medicine are reported by Hilma Walter in her three books (6 – 8). These show how highly he valued it for practical treatment purposes, as almost 10% of the cases described in them receive therapy with tobacco (in most cases combined with other remedies). It was administered variously as an enema or a compress and in various homeopathic potencies. The reasons for the different forms of administration, however, are not (yet) completely clear to me personally. "
• Case 75: 10-year-old girl, congenital stiffening of the joints, baths with Nicotiana etc.
• Case 31: Abnormal 14-year old asthmatic boy, injections of Nicotiana etc.
• Case 135: 2-year-old child, bowlegs, Nicotiana D15 every 3 days internally and Hypophysis D6 1x/week
Steiner said tobacco corrects the deformation of the astral body.
My daughter's disassociation from me was helped along by her addiction to tobacco. Her mother had been smoking cigarettes since she was a student at Highland Hall. She used to brag that Harrison Ford (a parent trying to quit smoking) bummed cigarettes from her (a student) while on a river-rafting trip.
When my daughter started smoking at 13, her mother had NO objections. She was permitted to smoke at her mother's home. I wouldn't allow my daughter to smoke in my home... and when I found out she was smoking, I insisted she quit. My daughter was even cited by police for being a minor in possession of cigarettes. Her mother's permissive view on cigarettes started driving a wedge between my daughter and me. She preferred to live with her mother where she was allowed to smoke freely. This, of course, led to more and more dangerous behavior. More on that soon...
Tobacco in Anthroposophical Medicine
"Simonis emphasizes that the alkaloid nicotine destroys the qualities of smell and taste in the human being, thus restricting sensory perceptions. It causes an acceleration of heart rate (sympathetic tonus) without a parallel increase in respiratory frequency. Thus it literally tears the human being apart inside. In a weakened rhythmic system the lungs and heart become dissociated, and thus too the nerve-sense system and the metabolic-limb system. The smoker lives in a state of constant oxygen debt, which leads on the soul level to persistent anxiety. (Angst and anxiety are etymologically derived from a root meaning "narrow" > narrowing of the blood vessels). Rudolf Steiner (5) attributes nicotine addiction to a lack of interest in the life of the spirit. Only the sense organs are stimulated, not the blood system. Practical applications of tobacco by Rudolf Steiner in anthroposophical medicine are reported by Hilma Walter in her three books (6 – 8). These show how highly he valued it for practical treatment purposes, as almost 10% of the cases described in them receive therapy with tobacco (in most cases combined with other remedies). It was administered variously as an enema or a compress and in various homeopathic potencies. The reasons for the different forms of administration, however, are not (yet) completely clear to me personally. "
• Case 75: 10-year-old girl, congenital stiffening of the joints, baths with Nicotiana etc.
• Case 31: Abnormal 14-year old asthmatic boy, injections of Nicotiana etc.
• Case 135: 2-year-old child, bowlegs, Nicotiana D15 every 3 days internally and Hypophysis D6 1x/week
Steiner said tobacco corrects the deformation of the astral body.
My daughter's disassociation from me was helped along by her addiction to tobacco. Her mother had been smoking cigarettes since she was a student at Highland Hall. She used to brag that Harrison Ford (a parent trying to quit smoking) bummed cigarettes from her (a student) while on a river-rafting trip.
When my daughter started smoking at 13, her mother had NO objections. She was permitted to smoke at her mother's home. I wouldn't allow my daughter to smoke in my home... and when I found out she was smoking, I insisted she quit. My daughter was even cited by police for being a minor in possession of cigarettes. Her mother's permissive view on cigarettes started driving a wedge between my daughter and me. She preferred to live with her mother where she was allowed to smoke freely. This, of course, led to more and more dangerous behavior. More on that soon...
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