The Story Behind OpenWaldorf Who am I?

The Story Behind
OpenWaldorf
Presented by John Holland
AFF
Understanding Cults, New Religious
Movements, and Other Groups
Atlanta, Georgia
October 15, 2004
1
Who am I?
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I am a Waldorf parent.
•
•
•
My daughter was a Waldorf student
•
My daughter lives in a Waldorfinspired home
My daughter has Waldorf friends
My daughter still participates in
Waldorf events (day camps,
festivals, etc.)
John Holland,
OpenWaldorf
3
My daughter fell out of a Waldorf tree! My daughter is prescribed
Anthroposophical medicine.
Who gets to define a
“Waldorf parent”?
• The school?
• The “critics”
• The parent?
4
I deserve to be included in the Waldorf community. I will not allow myself to be disenfranchised.
My Story
5
Our Waldorf School
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This is the school where my daughter attended Waldorf. It is really beautiful, overlooking the San
Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever in the area, you should definitely visit it.
Little things...
Big questions
7
There were a few things I began noticing at the school that got me asking questions about
Waldorf. They weren’t very important in and of themselves, but they made me feel like there
was a bigger question that I was not asking. 1. At other schools, there are usually tons of parents
jockeying for the best position to get pictures of their kids. But at Waldorf parents weren’t
taking pictures of their kids, and photography at special performances were forbidden. 2. There
were gnomes ~everywhere~!
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle
?
8
I felt like I was missing pieces of the puzzle, and there was something going on that I did not
understand.
: “Waldorf Criticism”
http://www.waldorfcritics.org
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I went to the Internet and typed in “Waldorf criticism” and found the PLANS web site. This site
raised a lot of questions for me. I talked with the president of PLANS for a little bit before I set
out on my own journey.
Discovery
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I began my own process of discovery about Waldorf.
Seeking Answers
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I felt PLANS site, though very helpful initially, was not entirely helpful. I wanted unbiased
information, so I went to the primary sources on Waldorf that are on the web.
Reincarnation
“The curriculum of the
Waldorf School aids
the process of the
child's development
from the aspect of
reincarnation.”
Audrey McAllen
Sleep, p.32-33
12
I began to discover other aspects of Waldorf’s educational foundation that I had not previously
been aware of.
Conferences On
Reincarnation & Karma
“The conference focused on karma and
reincarnation and their implications for
education today.”
AWSNA
International Waldorf Teachers’ Conference
Dornach, Switzerland, April 1996.
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW3001.pdf
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I was surprised to see that there had been a conference on karma and reincarnation and their
implications for education today. Since the reincarnation and karma of my daughter had not
been a key consideration for us when choosing Waldorf, I found it interesting that it was
appeared to be a key concern of Waldorf teachers.
Physical, Etheric, and
Astral Bodies
14
I discovered that Waldorf’s child development theory is based on a model of incarnating bodies:
the physical, etheric, and astral bodies. I discoverd that this belief impacts the content and timing
of the Waldorf curriculum.You can read a lot about this in the Waldorf teacher training texts.
Delayed Academics For
Spiritual Reasons
“The theme [of discouraging reading before age 7] is
difficult because to really understand the problem one
would have to go deep into Steiner's so-called
‘Knowledge of Man’ ..., involving his soul and spiritual
model of each human being.”
Valdemar and Sonia Setzer
“Why Should Children Learn How to Read at Approximately
Age 7?”
The Waldorf
Teacher’s
Survival Guide
Eugene Schwartz
“Yes many of those conventional, intellectual methods of
teaching language arts really do work! As for how they
work, I wonder if many of your colleagues have tried to
assess the effect of a reading comprehension exercise on
a child’s etheric body.”
Eugene Schwartz
The Waldorf Teacher’s Survival Guide
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How would one make such an assessment? I was surprised to hear a master Waldorf teacher
suggest that early reading methods do teach kids how to read, but that the concern is on the
effect of the etheric body. everything else I had heard from Waldorf argued that early reading
methods were not as effective as Waldorf methods.
Lucifer and Ahriman
“This generation has been under serious
attack... . One cannot help but think that
those adversarial beings whom Rudolf
Steiner describes as seeking to hinder the
evolution of humanity, Ahriman and Lucifer,
are playing a part in this attack on our
young people.”
Joan Almon, Chair
Waldorf Kindergarten Association of North America
Ahriman
Rudolf Steiner
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW3001.pdf
What is this doing on the official web site for an educational movement?!
16
Spiritual Beings Linked
to Media Restriction
http://www.waldorfresources.org/cgi-bin/reviews/board-auth.cgi?file=/115/115.html&lm=1053789004
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I started to realize that (a) there was much more to the Waldorf movement below the surface
that I had not heard of, (b) whatever it was, it was essential to Waldorf.
Anthroposophy is the
DNA of Waldorf.
“It is my feeling that anthroposophy
permeates Waldorf education in the
same way yeast permeates bread.You
cannot pick it out of the bread, but it is
literally in every aspect. As a teacher, I
work out of anthroposophy in
everything I do with the school or the
children or the parents or colleagues or
the world.”
Marsha Johnson, Director
Shining Star [Waldorf] School
Portland, OR
Post to SJU Waldorf School List, Wed, 7 Apr 2004 13:35:59 EDT
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The Educational Basis
for Waldorf
Pedagogy
Waldorf Theory
“Knowledge of Man”
Rudolf Steiner’s Clairvoyant Sight
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The Waldorf pedagogy can be traced back to a foundation based on Rudolf Steiner’s clairvoyant
spiritual investigations.
Gagged!
20
I began asking questions about these things I was discovering on the SJU
Waldorf Education list, but no one wanted to talk to me and I got kicked o! the
list! I was a new Waldorf parent trying to learn about Waldorf. I was paying
$1,000 a month to send my daughter to Waldorf, and no one would talk to me.
This turn of events bolstered my opinion that there was more to Waldorf than
meets the eye.
Tug-of-War at Home
21
At the same time as I was on my process of discovery, there was a tug-of-war
at home over whether Waldorf was a good match for our family. I would like to
keep the details of this private out of courtesy to my daughter, her mom, her
teacher, and our Waldorf school. Eventually, her mom and I came to a mutual
decision the Waldorf was not a good match for our family.
Communication
Problems
22
I believe Waldorf has some serious communication problems, and Waldorf has
known about it for years. It’s not getting better, and if it continues, it has the
potential to damage the Waldorf movement. Parents are going to discover these
things. It doesn’t matter whether they are true or not, or how much they impact
Waldorf education. The issue for Waldorf is that some parents experience a
“disconnect” when they make these discoveries, and these discoveries lead to
confusion and discord for everyone: the parents, the child, the teacher, and the
school community.
Waldorf has real
communication problems.
It can feel like being on the outside
of a one-way mirror.
23
Full Disclosure
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In America, we’re used to people being honest to us about what they’re doing. Christian schools
will post their foundational beliefs for all to see. And whether you believe them or not, these are
weird things. To paraphrase the apostle Paul, Christian schools are not ashamed of their gospel.
How is reincarnation or etheric bodies, or the belief in spiritual beings any weirder than
someone believing they were god, who died and rose from the dead? Why not share things like
reincarnation, etc. with parents? What’s the big deal?
Influence and Revelation
Of Philosophical Backgrounds
Catholic School
(Catholicism)
Influence
Waldorf
(Anthroposophy)
Revelation
25
Catholicism has a strong influence on Catholic schools, which is explicitly revealed in school
literature, etc. But at Waldorf, Anthroposophy has a similarly strong influence, but this influence
is not revealed very well.
Waldorf’s
Communication Issues
• Waldorf Jargon
• Topic neglect
• Minimization of Anthroposophy
• Culture of dialog restriction
• Broken information architecture
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By broken information architecture I mean that Waldorf does a poor job at sourcing into
Steiner, elib.com, and helping parents connect the dots between the pedagogy and
Anthroposophy.
Parents hear
one thing...
Waldorf teachers
mean something else.
“philosophy”
“child
development”
“verse”
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Margaret Singer calls this “loading the language” with “key words” that have internal meanings
unknown to outsiders.
Meaningful Topics
Neglected by Waldorf
• Complete profile of Rudolf Steiner
• Child Development Theory
• Reincarnation
• Physical, etheric, and astral bodies
• Eurythmy
• Temperaments
• Ahriman & Lucifer
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Neglecting these topics causes problems when parents start to discover these things after their
children are in Waldorf. Wouldn’t it be easier if we all just talked about these things more?
Rudolf Steiner
“Educator,
OccultScientist,
Scientistand
andPhilosopher”
Mystic
29
This slide is garbled because it is an animated build. At first, it shows that Steiner is described by
most Waldorf schools as an “educator, scientist, and philosopher.” First, he wasn’t really a great
scientist or philosopher. More interesting, if you check out other Anthroposophical initiatives
like Biodynamic gardening, they also describe Rudolf Steiner as an Occult Scientist and mystic.
Other Anthroposophical initiatives tell it like it is. Why doesn’t Waldorf tell this very meaningful
fact about Steiner? What’s wrong with sharing this with parents?
“Rudolf Steiner was born in
Austria, and grew up with
the clairvoyant certainty of
a spiritual world.”
I
H
O
N
E
S
T
Y
N
T
E
G
http://www.waldorfpeninsula.org/html/philosophy.html
Honesty and integrity is the encyclopedia term for full-disclosure.
R
I
T
Y
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Waldorf Teacher Training
Is an Esoteric Path
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Waldorf Extreme Makeover #1
Douglas Sloan
“Based on a
comprehensive,
integrated understanding
of the human being, a
detailed account of child
development, and with a
curriculum and teaching
practice that seek the
unity of intellectual,
emotional, and ethical
development at every
point, Waldorf education
deserves the attention
of all concerned with
education and the
human future.”
Douglas Sloan
AWSNA
“Waldorf teachers
Faculty/Director
to develop
at Waldorf itor, Waldorf need
their inner life
creates
Institute of Edsearch Bulletin which
the possibility of
Sunbridge Coll Re
working on
ege
Partner, Allia
nc
Director, Nature for Childhood e
Institute
earthly tasks in
partnership with
spiritual beings.”
Douglas
Sloan
Waldorf Research
Bulletin
Douglas Sloan, Ph.D.
Professor of Education “A person who is an anthroposophist and
deeply committed to Waldorf education.”
Teacher College
Autobiographical, Douglas Sloan
Columbia University
32
This slide is cluttered because it is the result of animated builds. Basically, on
the AWSNA site, they have a very mainstream quote from Douglas Sloan
praising Waldorf. This gives the appearance of outside validation. But AWSNA
forgot to mention the most meaningful credentials with regards to Waldorf.
Why is that? Why minimize the credentials? Why create a the specter of conflict
of interest?
Waldorf Extreme Makeover #2
Arthur Zajonc
“By the time they
(Waldorf students)
reach us at the college
and university level,
these students are
grounded broadly and
deeply and have a
remarkable enthusiasm
for learning. Such
students possess the ey
of discoverers and the
compassionate heart of
the reformer which,
when joined to a task,
can change the planet.”
Arthur Zajonc
AWNSA.COM
General Secret
Anthroposophicary,
al
Society
ard:
Author, Forwow
Kn
to
ow
H
s
Higher World
President,
Barfield School
“[Waldorf teachers] are
being paid to think and
to live an esoteric life.
When you look at the
children you teach, you
are supposed to think
about their subtle
bodies, their past lives,
your karmic relationship
to this child, your
karmic relationship to
your colleagues at the
children’s parents.You
get paid to do this...”
Arthur Zajonc
Annals of Earth
Arthur Zajonc
Professor of Physics
Amherst College
33
The same goes for a quote from Arthur Zajonc.
Waldorf Extreme Makeover #3
Alliance for Childhood
Joan Almo
n,
Chair
l General
Internationa
y
ar
et
cr
Se
hical
Anthroposopy
et
ci
So
Chair, Waldorf
Kindergarten
Association
34
The Alliance for Childhood is an Anthroposophical initiative, but they make no
mention of that fact on their web site. Again why the stealth?
Joan Almon as International General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society,
http://www.anthroposophy.org/Gov/072004GSInternet.htm
Joan Almon as Chair of the Waldorf Kindergarten Association of North America,
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:ekcHvsyvCN8J:www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/
GW3001.pdf+%22joan+almon%22&hl=en
Censorship of Discussion
About Anthroposophy
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 14:26:51 -0500
Subject: Re: ADMIN NOTICE Re:
Understanding Advent Spiral
“There are other lists devoted to
Anthroposophy. This one is about
Waldorf Education.”
Arthur Fink, Administrator
SJU Waldorf Education List
35
Before OpenWaldorf, there was no Waldorf community that encouraged or even allowed the
discussion of Anthroposophy and it’s relationship with Waldorf education.
Broken Information
Architecture
• Poor content organization
• Incomplete information
• No links to primary sources
36
In Search of a Solution
37
Because I care about Waldorf, I went searching for a solution to their communication problem.
What do families need in order
to choose the right school?
• Real-time, face-to-face, meatspace
get-to-know-your-school time!
• Develop a context for evaluating schools
• Welcome access to complete information
• Open dialog with other parents
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School visits. 1-on-1s with teachers, parents, ex-parents.
Concerns About
Existing Internet Models
•
Waldorf
•
•
•
•
Incomplete (e.g. never Steiner occult scientist)
Divorce from Anthroposophy (e.g. mission statement from Christian school)
Controlling of community
Critics
•
•
•
Single-issue focus
Organization of content
Could improve integraton of primary sources
39
Waldorf promoters sanitize Rudolf Steiner.
Critics wasn’t user friendly - Old school site put together by researchers.
What I Wished For
• A comprehensive directory to Waldorf
resources online
• Tools to help me better understand Waldorf
• A community that welcomed all points of
view without a missionary agenda
40
A New Paradigm
41
The Internet is changing everything, they way we talk, the way we shop, even
the way we have sex! It also is changing the way parents learn and talk about
Waldorf education. Some examples of this are (1) Napster (2) Abu Ghraib prison
scandal. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.
OpenWaldorf Vision
To help match the right families
with the right schools
Waldorf
Public School
Other Private
42
I’ve gotten feedback from Waldorf families that OpenWadorf has deepened their
commitment to Waldorf. And, I’ve gotten feedback from other families that my
site helped them understand that Waldorf’s might not be the right choice for
them.
“Information wants to be free.”
Stewart Brand
43
Case Study:
Nike “Sweat Shop”
SWEATSHOP
NIKE ID
44
Culture Jamming
Waldorf
• Focus on freely available primary sources
• Waldorf’s own words
• Schools
• Rudolf Steiner
• Other Anthroposophists
• Forum for discussing esoteric subjects
45
My goal is not to ruin Waldorf, so this “culture jamming” metaphor is a little
misplaced. But I do want to work within the existing Waldorf infrastructure to
help improve the way they communicate about Waldorf.
The Answer
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http://www.openwaldorf.com
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I set out to build the site that I wished had existed when I first started
researching Waldorf education. I say the things Waldorf won’t say. I link places
Waldorf doesn’t link. I allow dialog Waldorf typically doesn’t allow.
The “Open” Approach
• Put the onus of truth on the parent
• Challenge parents to think critically and
independently
• Provide Information
• A whole picture of Waldorf education
• Direct links to primary sources
• Include and allow all opinions and points of
view
48
Onus of truth on the parent: not Waldorf, not “critics” but the PARENT.
I refuse to take responsibility for the parent’s own definition of truth. It’s not up
to me, “Waldorf”, or the critics. ~It is up to the parent.~
(Additional note: during the conference, Michael Langone talked about the
di!erence between “extraction” and “conflict resolution” with regards to group
movements. I am much more interested in the “conflict resolution” approach:
open dialog that empowers free decision.
OpenWaldorf Goals
• Liberate information
• Empower parents with new tools
• Grow the global Waldorf community
• Respect the Anthroposophical foundation
• Name-brand in the Waldorf world
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Liberate Information
Insulate new parents
from freely available
information
Introduce parents to
new information
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Waldorf : Don’t talk about it. Don’t link to it
Who gets to choose what the parent reads? The school? Or, the parent?
Wanted to market Waldorf in encyclopedia form
A Waldorf
Encyclopedia
• For anyone
• Any subject
• Any time
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Empower Parents
Avoid rigorous
comparison
Facilitate rigorous
comparison
52
Some examples of this are how OpenWaldorf helps parents explore Waldorf’s child
development theory against other child development theories. There are also links to public
school curriculums and other art education methods so parents can better compare
approaches.
Steiner Says...
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Waldorf will often explain away difficult Steiner quotes by saying they are taken out of context.
OpenWaldorf links to the original context as much as possible.
Google-Caching Highlighted Terms
54
Google Image Searches
55
Grow the Global
Community
Wall-off and censor
dialog
Break down walls,
encourage open
dialog
56
examples. sju no anthroposophy
OpenWaldorf Forums
100 Registered Users
57
The OpenWaldorf forums are organized by topic to focus conversations, and also help new
parents explore these different topics in the archives.
OpenWaldorf Mailbag
500+ Subscribers to OpenWaldorf update.
58
The OpenWaldorf forums include the good, the bad and the ugly. OpenWaldorf is not afraid of
criticism, while critics of OpenWaldorf are afraid to link back to OpenWaldorf.
Waldorf News
The first worldwide Waldorf syndicated newsfeed.
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The OpenWaldorf Waldorf News page is the best way to get a snapshot of what’s going on in
the Waldorf community.
Respect the
Anthroposophical Foundation
“Bottom-up”
approach to the
Anthroposophical
foundation
“Top-down”
approach to the
Anthroposophical
foundation
60
Waldorf : Don’t talk about it. Don’t link to it
Who gets to choose what the parent reads? The school? Or, the parent?
Gateway to Anthroposophy
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Links to Teacher Training Texts
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Before OpenWaldorf, there was no easy way to for parents to read the same books their
teachers read. OpenWaldorf is the only site on the Internet that links to the Waldorf Teacher
training texts. The OpenWaldorf reading room links to primary texts freely available online, and
to order pages on Amazon.com. This is also a great place for Waldorf teachers, and the only site
that associates the proper GA catalog numbers with each text.
Commitment to
Accuracy
• Complete
• Accurate
• Invitation to correct errors publicly in the
OpenWaldorf forums
63
OpenWaldorf Strategy
• Top search engine placement
• Best content online
• Tolerance and respect in the forums
• The OpenWaldorf flyer
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Strategic Goals
• Google ranking
• Robust discussion boards
• Innovative use of Internet technologies
• Inculturation of OpenWaldorf values
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Measuring Success
66
Success Metrics
• Traffic and subscribers
• Press mentions
• Credibility from within the Waldorf
community
• Touching lives
67
Traffic Through the Roof!
• 400,000 page views per year
• 100 members in the forums
• 500 members on the mailing list
• Most popular pages:
•
•
•
•
•
Art
Eurythmy
Antroposophy
News
Academics
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Controversial Salon Article
69
Pockets of Credibility
• Waldorf and mainstream sites
• Official Anthroposophy sites
• Education Portals
• Schools
• Waldorf School of SouthWest London
• Waters Edge Initiative
• Parents
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credibility: I can go places PLANS can’t go.
Success Stories
• Seekers
• E - Confused parent
• Supporters
• J - Alumni
• P - Satisfied parent
• Critics
• P - Unhappy Parent
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I get mail from all sides thanking me for creating OpenWaldorf
Recommendations to Waldorf
• Accept the reality of the Internet
• Steiner didn’t anticipate the
democratization of information
•
Address key controversies openly and
completely
• Accusations of racism
• Religious nature of Waldorf
• Get on board with the National Program
for Playground Safety
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•
•
•
•
What’s Next?
Book
New features
Merchandise
Activism
•
•
•
•
•
Background checks for teachers
AWSNA Policy on Corporal Punishment
Playground/Treeclimbing Safety
Diversity Initiative
Outside consulting to Waldorf schools
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Contact Info
Web site address:
http://www.openwaldorf.com
Email address:
[email protected]
OpenWaldorf forums:
http://p087.ezboard.com/bopenwaldorf
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