front Black i Introduction i THE SPIRIT OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL front Black ii ii THE SPIRIT OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL [V] FOUNDATIONS OF WALDORF EDUCATION front Black iii Introduction iii RUDOLF STEINER THE SPIRIT OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL Lectures Surrounding the Founding of the First Waldorf School Stuttgart–1919 and An Essay from The Social Future February 1920 Translated by Robert F. Lathe and Nancy Parsons Whittaker Anthroposophic Press front Black iv iv THE SPIRIT OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL The publisher wishes to acknowledge the inspiration and support of Connie and Robert Dulaney ❖❖❖ This book is a translation of Die Waldorfschule und ihr Geist (volume 297 in the Collected Works) and “Die pädagogische Zielsetzung der Waldorfschule in Stuttgart,” from Soziale Zukunft, February 1920 (found in volume 24 in the Collected Works), both published by Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland, 1980 and 1982, respectively. © Copyright Anthroposophic Press, 1995 Published in the United States by Anthroposophic Press RR 4 Box 94-A1, Hudson, NY 12534 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Steiner, Rudolf, 1861–1925. [Waldorfschule und ihr Geist. English] The spirit of the Waldorf School / Rudolf Steiner ; translated by Robert F. Lathe and Nancy Parsons Whittaker. “Lectures surrounding the founding of the first Waldorf School, Stuttgart–1919, and an essay from the social future, February 1920.” Includes index. ISBN 0-88010-394-9 (pbk.) 1. Waldorf method of education. 2. Freie Waldorfschule. I. Soziale Zukunft (Stuttgart, Germany) II. Title. LB1029.W34S74 1995 94-45434371.3’9—dc20 CIP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and articles. Printed in the United States of America front Black v Introduction v Contents Translators’ Note.................................................................. ix Introduction ...................................................................... xi Foreword to the First Three Lectures....................................... 3 LECTURE ONE The Intent of the Waldorf School Freeing the schools of politics and economics. The art of education provides a means to use subject matter to develop strength of soul. Thinking, Feeling and Willing from the point of view of life before birth and after death. The inner relationship of the teacher to the child requires complete freedom in education. Kretzschmar as an example of this longing. Stuttgart, August 24, 1919......................................................... 7 LECTURE TWO The Spirit of the Waldorf School Guiding principles for education result from an anthroposophical study of humanity. Examples of child developmental stages and the form of the curriculum. The child must be guided to learn from life. Stuttgart, August 31, 1919....................................................... 32 front Black vi vi THE SPIRIT OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL LECTURE THREE A Lecture for Prospective Parents of the Waldorf School Guiding principles for founding the School. The nature of the unified school. The new understanding of humanity as a pedagogical basis— it creates a love of humanity. The goal of the education—that people become free and independent. The parents’ interest and understanding assists the success of the Waldorf School. Stuttgart, August 31, 1919....................................................... 52 LECTURE FOUR Supersensible Knowledge and Social Pedagogical Life Capacities used by Spiritual Science to see into the supersensible world. Transformation of human developmental forces into Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition. Scientific thinking and its effects upon social thinking. Educating to prepare people to learn from life. Bringing life into education. Need to be more concrete and less abstract. Stuttgart, September 23, 1919.................................................. 73 LECTURE FIVE The Social Pedagogical Significance of Spiritual Science Inability of modern intellectual life to effect positive social change. Working with, not against, human developmental forces in education. Transformation of human developmental forces into Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition. Spiritual sciencc goes beyond conventional science. Basel, November 25, 1919........................................................ 99 front Black vii Introduction vii LECTURE SIX Spiritual Science and Pedagogy Limits of scientific method. Children as imitative beings. The child’s devotion to true authority. Educating the whole person. Child’s developing capacity for judgment. Goal of spiritual science to add to existing culture, not to replace culture. Basel, November 27, 1919..................................................... 132 The Pedagogical Objective of the Waldorf School in Stuttgart An essay by Rudolf Steiner from the journal The Social Future February 1920........................................................................ 163 Index.............................................................................. 177 front Black viii viii THE SPIRIT OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL front Black ix Introduction ix Translators’ Note OUR EXPERIENCE IS THAT a vivid, imaginative relationship with Rudolf Steiner the man is more possible through his lec- tures than through his more formal written works. Whether we read the original German or an English translation (good or bad), the living quality of the moment of delivery emerges from the printed page, and, instead of reading a transcript, we find ourselves listening to a man filled with warmth for his audience, enthusiasm for his task and a clear sense of the urgency, even the desperation, of modern times. Our goal has been to render a translation that makes this living experience of a lecture hall in 1919 accessible to as many people as possible. The guiding question we have held before us throughout this work is, “How would Rudolf Steiner have spoken this thought to an American audience in 1994?” To this end, we have passed these lectures through the filter of multiple oral readings in an attempt not only to obtain a flowing presentation, but to find words that would ring true to the American ear as well as to the American eye. These lectures can, of course, be read silently to oneself with- out compromising the truths they hold. However, we suggest that a more enriching experience may be possible by reading them out loud. Our hope is that you will at least try this approach, and that, doing so, you will find yourself in a crowded lecture hall, listening to a man of profoundly uncom- mon insight address the heart of our social illnesses and point the way to a human future. front Black x x THE SPIRIT OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL We have been greatly assisted in our efforts by the valuable work of Will Marsh and Judith Sweningsen, our copyeditors at Anthroposophic Press, whose many useful suggestions have made the text clearer and more direct. For this, we are very grateful. front Black xi Introduction xi Introduction Robert F. Lathe and Nancy Parsons Whittaker BY THE SPRING OF 1919, nothing was left of what had been called Germany and little remained of what had been Europe. The dissolution of society had gone far beyond the fall of gov- ernments, beyond the collapse of institutions, beyond the blur- ring of social conventions and mores, beyond harsh economic reality. This destruction bored into the heart and mind of each individual who walked the streets of a devastated world. Despair replaced hope. Shame slouched where pride once strode. Knowledge dissolved into confusion. What had seemed a wellspring of ideas was revealed as only cracked, barren earth. Everywhere lay the rubble of old foundations. The German people believed that its Imperial structure, erected half a century ago, would last for an unlimited time. In August 1914, they felt that the immanent catas- trophe of war would prove this structure invincible. Today, only its ruins are left. After such an experience, ret- rospection is in order, for this experience has proved the opinions of half a century, especially the dominant thoughts of the war years, to be tragically erroneous.1 From all directions came not retrospection, but the struggle for control. In large and small ways, thousands of people 1. Rudolf Steiner, “Call to the German People and the Civilized World,” March 1919, in Towards Social Renewal: Basic Issues of the Social Question, Rudolf Steiner Press, London, 1977. Trans. by Frank Thomas Smith. front Black xii xii THE SPIRIT OF THE WALDORF SCHOOL engaged in an effort to replace the crumbled order with a better world. The solutions tended in opposing directions and ranged from military dictatorship to the creation of a “soviet” in Bavaria. Ideology, not ideas, became the driving force of social activity. These polar efforts tore at the shreds of Germany. The rancor of opposing opinions succeeded in claiming public attention for a struggle that could hold no hope, regardless of the outcome. Behind the din of diverging forces, human beings cried out for a better society, but the clamor was so loud it was all but impossi- ble to hear a thoughtful response. In July 1917, Rudolf Steiner had presented the German and Austrian governments with a proposal detailing how the principles of the Threefold Social Organism could be realized. Within days after it reached the German palace, internal political turmoil rendered any consider- ation of his ideas impossible. The Austrian government likewise failed to respond. Steiner