Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 103
of emotion and will. During this phase its sense activity, speaking and
thinking are all connected with its movement and are therefore linked to the
body to a considerable degree. We can observe this in the four year-old child.
When it sees or hears something, it immediately has the urge to convert what
it has perceived into its own movement. This is how it learns to speak this is
how it begins to play. One cannot picture a child before the change of teeth
that would wait for a meal with crossed arms. Perception causes direct will
activity in the limbs. Inner and outer movement still belong entirely together.
With the change of teeth the child‘s inner being begins to separate itself from
its outer movement. Its own inner place of experience develops and its
rhythmic system emancipates itself from its limb system. In this stage of life
the harmonious 1:4 relationship between pulse and breath falls into place.
With puberty finally, thinking begins to become independent. The human
being awakens to critical judgment. Simultaneously the voice deepens, the
limbs become heavy, the young person has arrived on the earth, as it were,
and is seeking its individual personality. (Goetheanum, 2002)
The consequence of this theory is what critics term an ―infantilizing‖ educational plan. In
recent years research has shown that children who don‘t master reading in the primary
grades are often left behind for the rest of their lives (Snow, Burns &Griffin, 1998, p. 21).
This has led to ―pre-reading‖ activity being common in kindergarten. Today children
entering first grade are expected to recognize letters and numbers, be able to read simple
words, and count. Waldorf is vehemently opposed to what they call ―pushing‖ children ―too
early.‖ Everyone would agree with that, but what is ―too early‖? Kindergartners in Waldorf
are not only not taught letters and numbers, but many teachers make efforts to protect
them from being exposed to print at all. Stories are told to them, not read. Parents have
even been advised that questions about road signs and words on packages should be
deflected, as too-early intellectual activity will damage the children (Ercolano, 2001).
Waldorf students learn letters in first grade, and basic reading in second and third grades.
This is in accordance with Steiner, who said that in the best of all possible worlds, reading
would be delayed until after puberty, but compromises had to be made with the demands of
society. Since standardized testing is frowned upon, and slower students are expected to
catch up in their own good time, children who still can‘t read in fifth or sixth grade are not
uncommon in Waldorf.
Steiner said over and over that children‘s health later in life would be damaged if they were
intellectually stimulated too early. Consequently, reasoning, the linking of cause and effect,
is avoided till sixth or seventh grade. Science lessons, which begin in fourth grade, consist
only of observations. No theories are taught until later. But it is impossible to teach science
without theory, so what is really happening is that by being protected from the
―materialism‖ of modern thought, the pupils are left open to accept the magical world view
expressed in the mythology in which they are immersed, that nature spirits and gods are
behind the illusions that appear to be the physical universe. Whether this system is actually
successful in turning out many Anthroposophists, however, is doubtful sophisticated kids
laugh at the more ―anthropop‖ teachers behind their backs. Waldorf schools may convert
more parents than children to Anthroposophy.
Teachers are supposed to start with a first-grade class, and stay with the class all the way
through elementary and middle grades, through the eighth grade. This makes the Waldorf
experience extremely variable, depending on the talents of the teacher. Since there is no
standardized testing, and teachers are hired more on their ability to represent
Anthroposophical devotion than their teaching ability, two successive classes graduating
from the same school may have very different levels of competency.
of emotion and will. During this phase its sense activity, speaking and
thinking are all connected with its movement and are therefore linked to the
body to a considerable degree. We can observe this in the four year-old child.
When it sees or hears something, it immediately has the urge to convert what
it has perceived into its own movement. This is how it learns to speak this is
how it begins to play. One cannot picture a child before the change of teeth
that would wait for a meal with crossed arms. Perception causes direct will
activity in the limbs. Inner and outer movement still belong entirely together.
With the change of teeth the child‘s inner being begins to separate itself from
its outer movement. Its own inner place of experience develops and its
rhythmic system emancipates itself from its limb system. In this stage of life
the harmonious 1:4 relationship between pulse and breath falls into place.
With puberty finally, thinking begins to become independent. The human
being awakens to critical judgment. Simultaneously the voice deepens, the
limbs become heavy, the young person has arrived on the earth, as it were,
and is seeking its individual personality. (Goetheanum, 2002)
The consequence of this theory is what critics term an ―infantilizing‖ educational plan. In
recent years research has shown that children who don‘t master reading in the primary
grades are often left behind for the rest of their lives (Snow, Burns &Griffin, 1998, p. 21).
This has led to ―pre-reading‖ activity being common in kindergarten. Today children
entering first grade are expected to recognize letters and numbers, be able to read simple
words, and count. Waldorf is vehemently opposed to what they call ―pushing‖ children ―too
early.‖ Everyone would agree with that, but what is ―too early‖? Kindergartners in Waldorf
are not only not taught letters and numbers, but many teachers make efforts to protect
them from being exposed to print at all. Stories are told to them, not read. Parents have
even been advised that questions about road signs and words on packages should be
deflected, as too-early intellectual activity will damage the children (Ercolano, 2001).
Waldorf students learn letters in first grade, and basic reading in second and third grades.
This is in accordance with Steiner, who said that in the best of all possible worlds, reading
would be delayed until after puberty, but compromises had to be made with the demands of
society. Since standardized testing is frowned upon, and slower students are expected to
catch up in their own good time, children who still can‘t read in fifth or sixth grade are not
uncommon in Waldorf.
Steiner said over and over that children‘s health later in life would be damaged if they were
intellectually stimulated too early. Consequently, reasoning, the linking of cause and effect,
is avoided till sixth or seventh grade. Science lessons, which begin in fourth grade, consist
only of observations. No theories are taught until later. But it is impossible to teach science
without theory, so what is really happening is that by being protected from the
―materialism‖ of modern thought, the pupils are left open to accept the magical world view
expressed in the mythology in which they are immersed, that nature spirits and gods are
behind the illusions that appear to be the physical universe. Whether this system is actually
successful in turning out many Anthroposophists, however, is doubtful sophisticated kids
laugh at the more ―anthropop‖ teachers behind their backs. Waldorf schools may convert
more parents than children to Anthroposophy.
Teachers are supposed to start with a first-grade class, and stay with the class all the way
through elementary and middle grades, through the eighth grade. This makes the Waldorf
experience extremely variable, depending on the talents of the teacher. Since there is no
standardized testing, and teachers are hired more on their ability to represent
Anthroposophical devotion than their teaching ability, two successive classes graduating
from the same school may have very different levels of competency.
