Who are Waldorf Critics? Why are they critical of Waldorf Education?

A letter to a prospective parent querying the “critical” nature of subscribers to a Waldorf critics forum.

“Critics *are* the people here who are critical of Waldorf education. We are the ones who, on the whole, enrolled our children in Waldorf schools (both private and public) with great enthusiasm for the "arts-based, non-sectarian, developmentally appropriate" curriculum and approach the schools promised us.

Unfortunately, we "critics" (then Waldorf enthusiasts and very involved Waldorf parents) found that those promises were, on the whole, false. Instead of a gentle, loving, creative, educational environment that respected our children for who they are and for their unique talents, we found a rigid, authoritarian, dysfunctional and esoteric system that did not work for our children, or for us. We found teachers who knew little to nothing about teaching, but a great deal about what Steiner said *about* teaching and about children, and were willing to enforce those things by any method necessary, from shaming children in front of their peers to making up rumors about their parents to physical punishment. We watched as our children's personalities changed, going from happy, normal kids to children who hated to go to school, or who cried a lot, or worse. We despaired when, finally realizing that Waldorf was not at all what was promised and we had better get our children out, we discovered that our children were, on the whole, woefully undereducated in most areas, making the transition to other schools at their present grade levels difficult to impossible.

And underscoring all of the above was one basic fact: the people representing the Waldorf schools did not tell us the truth. They did not tell us the one crucial fact: that Waldorf schools are parochial schools for anthroposophy. Just as Catholic schools are framed by and promote the Catholic faith, so are Waldorf schools framed by and promote the anthroposophic faith. To call a Waldorf school "non sectarian" is a lie – a very big, very irresponsible and very immoral lie.

So we critics -- the parents of children who were harmed in one way or another by Waldorf's lies --are on a mission. We want to make sure, first of all, that no one else has the same horrible experiences that our children and we had. We want to talk as much about this whole thing as we can, so that only people who are OK with anthroposophy and the way it educates children will enroll their children. We also want Waldorf schools to own who they are, and thus, to tell prospective and current parents about their religious, occultist nature. (This way, people who agree with that approach will enroll their children, and those who don't will not. Simple.) Michelle, I ask you: If a school lied to you, if it deliberately hid from you things that deeply effected your child and his/her education, if it promised you one thing and then delivered something quite different and if your child ended up the worse for it, would you be a little upset or mad? You bet you would! So I beg you: Before you enroll your child in a Waldorf school, research it as thoroughly as you can. Make absolutely certain that you agree with and are comfortable with knowing that Anthroposophy dictates everything from the color of the classroom walls to the snacks the children eat to the color the teachers wear on what day to the verses the children learn, and at what age. Make sure you understand that the teachers' view of your child's karma will have a strong bearing on how that teacher works with your child. Understand that "art" is not "art" as most of us know it in Waldorf. (One critic, a professional artist, was told, once her daughter was in the school for awhile, that there *really* is NO art in Waldorf.) Art in Waldorf is an exercise in color and form intended to prepare your child's spirit for his or her next life. (No joke; we can provide you with the Steiner references.)

In other words, PLEASE read what is on this list, and on the PLANS Web site, and be open to listening. Don't make the mistake of liking what you know of Waldorf right now so much that you put your fingers in your ears and refuse to hear anything about it that is not in line with your good impression. Once you have the whole picture, if it still looks good to you, well, then obviously you and your family are right for Waldorf. Know this: we critics are not trying to rid the world of Waldorf education. We are simply, as I said above, trying to provide prospective parents with the information that most of the schools do not provide, so that others not suited for that environment do not enroll, and so that those who *are* suited do.

Lastly, I would be very happy to hear any questions you may have and to do my best to answer them.”


Lisa Ercolano