And why shouldn't a middle-aged man who never had children, who never spent time with children (even as a child); why shouldn't someone who had never been a teacher in any sense of the word other than to tutor two boys (OK, that ended badly - but still) - who never stood in front of a classroom of children and who, himself, had to beg his professors to grant him his own diploma - start a school system that could help so many children who were born to uneducated parents?
More importantly, why shouldn't this man who needed a way to spread his new ideas to uneducated people accept the karma that was delivered by them to him when Emil Molt handed over masses of "Uneducated people" in the form of the workers' children? This was what Rudolf Steiner needed - and why shouldn't he run with it? Waldorf education was absolutely the best way to spread Anthroposophy!
So now, Steiner had to
Steiner used his clairvoyance to develop his ideas about (dreamy, Luciferic) large and (intellectual, Ahrimanic) small-headed children, about lefthandedness (weakness), about how the temperaments impacted behavior and about what to expect from children of color if one ever encountered them (Steiner never encountered a black person). He noticed children's teeth fell out - and decided that was serious. Puberty was serious too. He decided these things must happen at ages seven and fourteen. He decided reading was something best left for after the baby teeth fell out. Even looking at letters was bad.
Most importantly, Steiner decided that in Waldorf schools, children must learn about the spiritual world without learning Anthroposophy. That included historical things people had already forgotten - Atlantis and Lemuria for example. Or that humans evolved on other planets and the Sun before finding the Earth. He felt children could learn from struggling - so he demanded lots of working through problems - no matter how difficult. Bullying is not allowed because it never happens. When a truck overturned on a student, Steiner explained to teachers that it must be the child's karma to be standing there. Karma is at play in the school - from the school's teachers to the school's children to the school's reputation. Even so, Steiner felt he must intervene in the latter for the greater good - and told teachers they must hide information damaging to Waldorf schools and Anthroposophy from the public but never from the parents. This is one rule Waldorf schools have followed to the letter.
So, let's be clear here - Waldorf education does not teach Anthroposophy. It is intended to immerse children in a spiritual environment - which resembles Anthroposophy. Occasionally, we get to enrich one or both parents who can be introduced into Anthroposophy. But the main thing is to get the curriculum to the children.
For more on Waldorf education, see:
The Indoctrination of Waldorf Students into Anthroposophy
Is Anthroposophy taught in Waldorf Schools?
Waldorf Watch - on Waldorf schools and Anthroposophy
