Warm and Woolly?
An anthroposophical
experiment.
By Kristín A. Sandberg and Trond K. O. Kristoffersen
Is Järna the society of the future? asks
A-magasinet (24.nov. 2006)
presenting children joyfully playing outdoors, eating
organic food. Wool for the children and apples for all. How
romantic! It’s almost enough to make us wish we were there
by the cosy fire in a community lost in the mists of time.
The Steiner movement appears ever so
charming: Postman Pat’s Greendale meets the musical Hair.
With its funny architecture, natural materials, soft colours
and organic food they appear to be an important, valuable
alternative for people who hold a child centred view of
development and want only the best for their children. Green
values and art! If only that were true!
However, all that glistens is not gold
and it is not the case that Rudolf Steiner invented green
values, antimaterialism, baking bread and joyful outdoor
play. Hats off to all schools and nurseries offering
children play based learning, indoors and out. The Steiner
movement, in common with the Scientologists, offers a
so-called scientological approach to the religious. Like the
Adventists they care for healthy food, and have pictures of
the Virgin Mary in the classroom as the Catholics do. For
the anti-consumerist among us, the Steiner- movement is one
of several religious communities with a focus on
environmental issues. It is, however, most disturbing when
A-Magasinet stands on the soapbox for a religious sect
without revealing their spiritual worldview.
It is a human right to believe in angels,
demons and the divine visions of one single person, but the
way this was presented by A-magasinet could clearly leave
one with the impression that Järna is a political
alternative for environmentally aware people. The
Steiner-movement bases its experiment on Rudolf Steiner’s
occult visions found in the passing phase from sleep to
awakening. They choose to hold obscure their religious
foundation and secure 85% state funding for an alternative
science of education, even though their pedagogical methods
and their whole worldview is faith-based.
The Steiner-school presents its pedagogy
as independent of their religious views. This is, in fact,
contrary to the actual praxis and the teachings of Rudolf
Steiner himself:
“ It is obvious that knowledge of the
human being must be the basis for a teacher's work; that
being so, he must acquire this knowledge for himself, and
the natural thing will be that he acquires it through
Anthroposophy. If,
therefore, we are asked what the basis of a new method of
education should be, our answer is:
Anthroposophy must be that basis. But how many people there
are, even in our own circles, who try to disclaim
Anthroposophy as much as possible, and to propagate an
education without letting it be known that Anthroposophy is
at the back of it.”
A-magasinet’s article chose to present
the facade of anthroposophical effects without questioning,
not even explaining, concepts like reincarnation,
archangels, anthroposophical medicine, eurhythmy,
biodynamics and cosmic forces. Why on earth not?
R. Steiner made the soul a subject of
research. His research, however, was by no means scientific,
in the sense we know it. Steiner had, as far as we know, no
children. He never undertook any educational scientific
research and he never actually taught children. Steiner
teachers call this Spiritual Science. R. Steiner maintained
that there were people living at the same time as the
dinosaurs, and that these people were incorporeal. These
revelations underpin the teaching of Steiner teachers,
implying that they have a conviction that the development of
the child is a microcosm of the historical development of
humankind. They believe the pupils have been reincarnated
from previous lives. This entails the need for children to
learn about historical events at the right time so
that their subconscious recognizes them from their previous
lives.
The Steiner Schools claim they bring up
children to be free. According to R. Steiner, and Steiner
teachers themselves, anthroposophy is the only way to obtain
true freedom. The so-called “experiment” of the Steiner
movement exists in a very hierarchical world of ideas. The
true freedom will enable you to free yourself from the vices
preventing your advancement in your earthly lives. Steiner’s
thoughts about reincarnation imply also the rather
interesting observation that European culture, funnily
enough, is seen as more advanced than other cultures.
African and Asian cultures have not, as yet, reached the
higher evolvement of enlightenment. But beware! This is
nobody’s fault; we’ve all been there. It’s just one of those
things.
We shall not dwell upon what Steiner
claims about the Indians and the Jews here and now. But
according to Steiner’s spiritual science some races are more
developed than others due to their geographical placement on
earth.
The Steiner School’s idea of
differentiated teaching rests upon the teacher’s analysis of
the child’s process of incarnation. This can lead to
most interesting experiences for the child and the parents.
If, for instance, the child does not place their foot down
firmly, it means the child probably was superficial in his/
her previous life.
Steiner teachers refer to children with
ADHD or Aspergers syndrome as children with difficulties
incarnating. That is, somehow a beautiful image, but oh so
open to analysis... The child with ADHD is a part of the
millennium mythology and struggles with forces of death
(Luciferic forces). Not so beautiful, perhaps? It is ever so
possible Ritalin is not the ultimate answer for all these
children, but as a parent you should know that eurhythmy
(magical movements stimulating body and soul) seek to help
your child to incarnate, and that learning difficulties or
Special Educational Needs are seen as difficulties inherited
from a previous life. Why does the journalist not ask about
these things?
The worldview of the Steiner movement is
truly experimental! Orchards and organic food are far more
mainstream. Anthroposophical medicine too bases
itself on an epistemy that is an alternative to a Western
biological outlook; holistically alluring. Therefore head
lice, measles and whooping cough flower epidemically in
these communities. All is part of the development of the
soul. Freedom? Experiment? They speak of children as souls
with different, but mapped personalities, as if the soul
itself is in fact a scientific matter only the
anthroposophists can truly understand.
The man guiding the journalist in Järna
states that the Steiner movement has more to offer curious
people than simply psalms. Funny, isn’t it, that these
Steiner Schools, unlike any other Norwegian or Swedish
school, start each day with a religious prayer!
But is it always this religious? Always.
Not outspoken, not declared, but always implied. In all the
rituals, the celebrations, the decorations and in the
teachers’ views on child development.
At the moment we are all looking forward
to Christmas. In the Steiner nurseries and pre-schools the
children bring their candle into the advent spiral, marking
the end of the Atlantic and the beginning of the Aryan era.
Easily confused with the lighting of advent candles in
Nordic winter darkness. The anthroposophical kindergartens
and schools are an offer to people wanting an
anthroposophical upbringing of their child. In addition they
offer their own church, food production and grocers, bank,
doctors – even a whole little village in Sweden which the
journalist from A-magasinet covered with seven pages of
dreams of apples, star signs, breast-feeding and wool.
Seduced by the appearance of spiritual pilgrims who already
know where they’re headed.
|