What Is Waldorf Education?

CONTENTS:

Introduction by Stephen Sagarin:
“Recovering the Quality of Rudolf Steiner’s Educational Work”

1. A Lecture for Prospective Parents
2. A Public Lecture on Waldorf Education
3. A Lecture to English Educators

Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861–1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe’s scientific writings. Steiner termed his spiritual philosophy anthroposophy, meaning “wisdom of the human being.” As an exceptionally developed seer, he based his work on direct knowledge and perception of spiritual dimensions. He initiated a modern, universal “spiritual science” that is accessible to anyone willing to exercise clear and unbiased thinking. From his spiritual investigations, Steiner provided suggestions for the renewal of numerous activities, including education (general and for special needs), agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, philosophy, Christianity, and the arts. There are currently thousands of schools, clinics, farms, and initiatives in other fields that involve practical work based on the principles Steiner developed. His many published works feature his research into the spiritual nature of human beings, the evolution of the world and humanity, and methods for personal development. He wrote some thirty books and delivered more than six thousand lectures throughout much of Europe. In 1924, Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches around the world.

Stephen Keith Sagarin

Stephen Keith Sagarin, PhD, is faculty chair, a cofounder, and a teacher at the Berkshire Waldorf High School in western Massachusetts, where he teaches history. A former teacher and administrator at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School and the Waldorf School of Garden City, New York, the high school from which he graduated, Dr. Sagarin writes, lectures, mentors teachers, and consults with Waldorf schools on teaching and administration. An associate professor and Director of the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program at Sunbridge Institute, New York, he is also the former editor of the Research Bulletin of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education and has taught history of education at Teachers College, Columbia University; human development at the City University of New York; and U.S. and World History at Berkshire Community College, Massachusetts. Dr. Sagarin holds a BA in art history from Princeton University and a PhD in history from Columbia University. He is married and the father of two.