The Rudolf Steiner Archive

3. Presentation for Parents of Waldorf School Children

Rudolf Steiner's lecture was preceded by the following brief address by Emil Molt:

Ladies and gentlemen! Only eight days remain until we are fortunate enough to bring to fruition what we have been looking forward to for many weeks now: the opening of the Waldorf School.

As you all know, it was in this spirit that we set out to establish this school of our own. You know that we are striving to realize a serious goal: namely, to take socialization seriously and to implement it at least in one area—first and foremost in the field where it is most urgently needed: the field of education and instruction. And I personally feel immensely fortunate that I was granted the opportunity to bring this plan to fruition.

As I say this, I am well aware of the immense responsibility that rests upon anyone who dares to undertake such a bold endeavor in this day and age. And I state here openly and clearly that it would have been impossible for me to conceive of and carry out this plan had I not been fortunate enough to be inspired by the spirit of the anthroposophical worldview for so many years. And I would like to note right away, so that there are no misunderstandings whatsoever, that our school is by no means intended to be a school based on a particular worldview, nor is it to be run as such; but it must nevertheless be stated that it was the spirit of the anthroposophical worldview that moved me to take this step. And I feel it is my profound duty at this point to express my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Steiner in particular for having offered me his counsel in this exceedingly difficult matter. And I combine this deep gratitude with a heartfelt request that he continue to grant us his advice and assistance in this new spiritual undertaking in the future as well. For I am well aware that the task is too difficult, and that we cannot accomplish it unless we are able to benefit from Dr. Steiner’s help and advice.

Ladies and gentlemen! We have invited you here today to give you the opportunity to hear directly from Dr. Steiner himself about our Waldorf School. And I would like to ask you, if any questions come to mind, to ask us those questions at the end of the lecture so that nothing remains unclear. As I mentioned earlier, we will be holding the dedication ceremony in eight days, and I would like to take this opportunity to cordially invite you to attend. You will hear more details soon.

I would just like to note that a course for teachers began about ten days ago under the guidance of Dr. Steiner, and that those of us who are fortunate enough to attend this course are increasingly aware that there is something very special about this Waldorf school. There is a deep sense of reverence and a profound sense of dedication that emanates from this course and is passed on to the teaching staff. And I feel how this, in turn, is passed on to the children, and that we can be confident that school lessons will thus become a joy and a delight for the children. And never have I regretted it as much as I have in these very days that I cannot be young again myself and belong to this school. For when one is allowed to listen in on and experience this course firsthand, one becomes aware of all that was neglected in one’s youth—in one’s upbringing and in one’s schooling—and how difficult it is in old age to fill in all these gaps, to make up for all that was missed; but also how great a blessing it is that what was missed with one’s parents and elders can now be made up for with the young.

And so you also know that it was this social ideal that guided me in particular: that you, as parents who are no longer in a position to receive all the education necessary to climb to higher levels in your professional lives, should at least have the good fortune to see how young people can acquire the education that is precisely necessary to climb to higher levels in their professional lives and in other aspects of life. That is why I was so delighted that we here are the first—not only in Stuttgart, but perhaps in all of Germany—to be in a position to establish such a comprehensive school, one that is a comprehensive school in the truest sense of the word and that brings to life what is indeed discussed everywhere today, but which has not yet been put into practice anywhere. In our case, it will certainly be the case that a rather motley little group will gather at this school: not only the children from the elementary school, the middle school, and the secondary school, but also the children from the high schools will sit at the same desks—boys and girls, all mixed together in a colorful jumble. And therein lies—as we are well aware—an extraordinary difficulty. But precisely because, on the one hand, we can be certain of Dr. Steiner’s help and support, and on the other hand, because of the selection of our teaching staff, we may hope and remain convinced that these difficulties will also be overcome. Thus, we have the courage to believe that these difficulties will be resolved.

However—and I would like to emphasize this—these difficulties can, for the most part, be overcome when there is proper communication between the school and the home. And here, it will be your particular responsibility, distinguished guests and parents, to work together in the right way with the teaching staff of the Waldorf School. Then the work we are beginning today will bear fruit and flourish, bringing blessings and benefit not only to the Waldorf-Astoria but to the community at large.

I might also note that a small number of children from among our closest anthroposophical friends will also be attending this school, though only a limited number. But we considered it a matter of course that these children, too, should be included among the children of the Waldorf community, because it was important to us to express, precisely through this, the nature of the socialization we envision—since we want children of all backgrounds to be present in the Waldorf school.

And now I would like to ask Dr. Steiner to share his remarks with us, and I would like to conclude with this heartfelt wish: May the work we are beginning today bring healing and blessings to us all!

[ 1 ] Rudolf Steiner: When Mr. Molt set out to establish a school, initially for the families of the workers at the factory he managed, his intention was likely to serve humanity during these very difficult times through a means that, above all, could contribute to the restoration of our social conditions. It is surely written in all your souls that something different must emerge from the conditions we are experiencing—conditions that have developed over the past three to four centuries within so-called civilized humanity. But it must also be deeply inscribed in your souls that, above all else and alongside the other conditions, a different approach is necessary for introducing people into the world through upbringing, education, and instruction—one that differs from the approach rooted in the old conditions over the past three to four centuries and which has now, in fact, reached its peak.

[ 2 ] We expect our social conditions in the future to be shaped in a way that is quite different from what they are today. And we have every right to expect this. We look to our children, to the next generation, and we can be certain that especially those who, as parents, look lovingly upon their children often harbor this thought in their hearts: How will our loved ones fit into an order that must be entirely different from the present one? How will they, on the one hand, be able to rise to the challenge of the new that must come to humanity? But as they themselves grow up, how will they gradually be able to contribute to shaping social conditions in such a way that those who come after us will have a different life than we ourselves have had? That those who come after us will live a life of human dignity in a completely different sense than we ourselves do?

[ 3 ] Surely every person feels that the issue of education and instruction—in the very best sense of the term, and especially in a time such as ours, a time of upheaval and transformation in social conditions—is a social issue of the utmost importance. And when we look back on the horrors that humanity has witnessed across civilized Europe in recent years, when we look at the rivers of blood that have flowed, and when we look at the vast army of people who have become unhappy—people whose bodies have been shattered and whose souls have been shattered—who have had to emerge from the unnatural conditions of recent times, then a longing surely wells up within us to ask: How must people be educated, in the broadest sense, so that such things become impossible in the future? - Out of hardship and misery, an understanding must also grow of the role that education plays in bringing about a better social structure for human relations.

[ 4 ] Basically, we hear this expressed from many quarters. But we must ask ourselves whether, when this is said here or there, it is always meant in the right sense. For today, many fine words are spoken about many things. But these many fine words do not always spring from inner strength and, above all, not always from inner truth—which are necessary to bring to fruition what is contained in those fine words. And so today, above all, those who were and are called to educate and teach our children in a school setting step forward with their opinions and views, saying: We know how to teach and how to educate. One need only teach and educate exactly as we have always wanted and as we ourselves were unable to do, and then the right result will surely follow. — And behind those who speak this way, we in turn hear those at the higher education institutions who feel called to train and educate teachers. And they assure us: “We have the correct view of how teachers should be trained. Just follow us, and we will send the right teachers out into the world so that everything proceeds correctly in education.” - But especially when one looks deeply into what has become of our social conditions, one is tempted to call out to both these teachers and these teacher-trainers: “You may mean well, but you don’t really know what you’re talking about.” For nothing helps today’s education, nothing can elevate today’s education to a better state, than if teachers admit to themselves: We have grown out of the conditions that have developed over the last three to four centuries. We have been prepared in the way that everything which has led humanity into such misfortune could possibly prepare us. - And in turn, those who trained the teachers should admit to themselves: We understood nothing other than how to apply to teachers what had emerged from industrialism, statism, and capitalism over the past centuries, and we have indeed produced the teachers of the present—teachers who fit into this present, a present that must inevitably change as it moves into the future.

[ 5 ] This means that, just as we demand a radical change—a transformation—of the entire spectrum of contemporary social conditions as we look toward the future, we must also demand a different approach to education, and we must demand a different foundation for this approach to education!

[ 6 ] In many respects, what is today a question of education is a question of teachers. One can truly sense the deeply antisocial nature inherent in humanity today precisely when one frequently discusses these matters with those who aspire to be educators and teachers. One then speaks to them about what education should be like in the future. They say: “Yes, I’ve been saying that for a long time—one should raise the child to be a capable person of the present, a useful person; one should not focus so much on vocational training, but rather on the education of the whole person.”—And they spout all sorts of things like that. And they walk away thinking they share exactly the same views as you do. But they actually think the exact opposite!

[ 7 ] In our antisocial world today, things have come to such a point that people use the same words to express opposite ideas. That is why it is so difficult to communicate. Just as someone who thinks in a truly social way thinks differently from many people today who are satisfied with and accept the old conditions, so too must we—who seek to resolve the educational and social question through a single case—think fundamentally differently about education and teaching than those who believe they can already accomplish this through their traditional methods of education. Today, one must truly think and feel more deeply than some people believe. Above all, one must be clear that one cannot create something new based on old science or old educational methods—that educational methods and science itself must change.

[ 8 ] This justifies our decision to begin the work that Mr. Molt intends to initiate for the Waldorf School by first offering a course for our teaching staff. We have tried to select for this teaching staff individuals who are, at least to a greater or lesser degree—more so in some cases, less so in others—rooted in the old educational system; but we were also careful to find individuals who have the understanding and the heart for the rebuilding of our social and cultural order; who have a sense and a passion for what it means to educate the children of today to become people of a new order tomorrow.

[ 9 ] But these teachers must also hold another conviction deep within their souls: the conviction that, given the age at which a child enters school, the child may be raised and taught solely in accordance with what human nature itself demands. In this sense, we want to establish the Waldorf School as a “unified school” in the truest sense of the word. We want to recognize nothing else in the growing child but the human being in the making. And we want to ask the human being in the making, based on his or her own nature, how he or she wishes to develop as a human being—that is, how his or her nature, his or her essence, should develop within him or her into true humanity.

[ 10 ] That is exactly what we want as well, as our veteran teachers and teacher educators tell us. After all, we have always strived to educate people and to take into account their individuality, for example.

[ 11 ] Yes, we must answer. You strove to educate people—to instill in them the mental image you had of “human beings,” what you believed should be presented as “human beings” in the old political and economic order. We cannot make sense of this concept of “human beings,” and the future of humanity will neither be able to nor want to make sense of it. A thorough renewal is needed.

[ 12 ] The educational system of the future requires, first and foremost, a new understanding of human nature. That understanding of human nature which has sprung from the quagmire of materialism of the past centuries—even if it has been dressed up in our higher educational institutions as something that truly grounds human nature—must not serve as the foundation of pedagogy, the art of education, in the future. A new understanding of human nature is needed. This can only emerge from a new science. The science taught at today’s institutions—and espoused by those who are supposed to teach—is merely a reflection of the old era. Just as a new era is to dawn, so too must a new science, a new art of teacher training, and a new pedagogy—built upon a new understanding of human nature—emerge. That is why, in this course—which is designed to prepare the teaching staff of the Waldorf School—we are now focusing above all on genuine human studies. And we hold out the hope that, as the teacher who is to teach at the Waldorf School in the future comes to know the developing human being, he or she will equip this developing human being for life with what the future will demand of the person who is to act within a socially structured human society. We regard much of what the old art of education has said about human beings as mere rhetoric. Today we study the true nature of human thinking so that proper thinking can be developed in the child. We study the true foundation of genuine human feeling so that, in proper social coexistence, people may establish justice based on true human feeling, arising from the equality of human beings. And we study the nature of the human will so that this human will can properly shape and permeate the newly structured economic life of the future. We do not study human beings from a one-sidedly materialistic perspective; we study the human body, soul, and spirit so that our teachers can truly develop the human body, soul, and spirit. We do not speak of body, soul, and spirit merely in empty phrases. We strive to understand how the different stages of human life unfold. We observe carefully what a child is like when they enter school and our teachers are entrusted with their care by their parents.

[ 13 ] How superficially has this stage of human development been observed thus far by so-called educational science! There is a significant turning point in a child’s life. It occurs around the age of seven—precisely the year when the child is to enter elementary school and the teacher takes over from the parents for part of the child’s further instruction and upbringing. Externally, this important stage of life is marked by the change of teeth, but this change of teeth is only an outward sign of something significant taking place within the human being.

[ 14 ] You have certainly already heard much about what is necessary to properly understand and interpret social reforms and the like today. But many of you have probably still been of the opinion that the leading intellectual figures, drawing on their expertise, have done everything in the kindest possible way for humanity. The most important things have not been done! So it seems quite strange to people today when they are told: At the age when a child enters school, a whole inner revolution takes place within the human soul—within the whole person—which finds its outward expression only in the changing of teeth. Up to this point, the child is an imitative being—a being who, from birth, brings with them the urge to do everything just as those around them do. It is simply part of human nature in these early years to be shaped solely by what one sees in one’s surroundings. And it is precisely with the change of teeth that the period begins in which something entirely different emerges in human nature. That is when the urge arises in human nature to learn from others out of respect for authority—because others are already capable of doing so. And this urge lasts until puberty, until the age of fourteen or fifteen. Thus, the period of elementary school is precisely the time when human nature is shaped by this urge. And one can only teach properly in elementary school if one thoroughly understands—in accordance with the new art of education—this entire revolution that takes place within the child around the age of seven. I will give you just one example of what must be thoroughly observed in the new art of education as opposed to the old.

[ 15 ] Then again, one must realize that it is only around the age of nine that a new phase begins in which fresh inner, physical, and spiritual forces emerge in the human being; thus, if—through instruction—one introduces material into the curriculum before the ninth year that is intended to be taught only after that age, one causes the child harm rather than benefit for the rest of his or her life.

[ 16 ] One needs a thorough understanding of human life if one wishes to practice a thorough, true art of education that serves humanity. One must know how to act as a teacher before the age of nine and after the age of nine. One must not, having become an old, grumpy school superintendent appointed to a ministry’s advisory board, draw up curricula based on some external considerations: this for the first grade; that for the second grade; that for the third grade, and so on—nothing will come of it that could firmly establish a person in life. Human nature itself must teach us what we are to accomplish with the child, both educationally and in terms of instruction, in each and every year of the child’s life.

[ 17 ] Just think about it: even as adults, you’re actually still learning from life. Life is our great teacher. But this opportunity to learn from life doesn’t really arise until we’re fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen at the earliest. Only then do we face the world in such a way that we learn from it ourselves. Until then, the teacher, the educator we encounter in school, is the world to us. We want to understand him, we want to love him, we want to be taught by him; he is supposed to bring us closer to what lies in the world outside. For between us and the world—between the ages of seven and fifteen—there is an abyss. The teacher is supposed to bridge that gap for us.

[ 18 ] Yes, can teachers who are not moved by all that life has to offer, who have merely withered away in what has been drummed into them—such as grammar, natural history, and so on with the other subjects—and who then pay no heed to what most deeply troubles humanity in our age—can such teachers present and reveal the whole of life to the child throughout seven to eight years of elementary school, as they ought to? — A new understanding of humanity, a new insight into human nature, is necessary. And from this understanding of humanity must come the new enthusiasm that must develop among the teaching staff.

[ 19 ] This gives you a little insight into what we do in our teacher training course to prepare for understanding children’s thinking, so that we can get to know human beings thoroughly and, based on human nature itself, help them find their place in life.

[ 20 ] The second thing that must be developed in an age when we are striving for a social structure for human society is, above all, the teacher’s social behavior toward the children already in school; this is a new love of humanity. This involves paying attention to certain forces at work between the teacher and the student—forces that cannot come into play unless the teacher is truly and fully immersed in the art of education.

[ 21 ] Yes, it is acknowledged that a painter must learn to paint, that a musician must learn to master a musical instrument—and many other things as well—and that an architect must study the principles of architecture; and certain requirements are placed on these people so that they may become artists. We must also place these same requirements on teachers who are to become true artists of humanity. But we must impose them in earnest. To do so, we must recognize that no current pedagogy and no current art of education provides the teacher with what can only be discovered through a thorough study of human nature, so that a new love of humanity can emerge in the interaction between teacher and student. We must strive for the teacher to become a true artist in his or her field.

[ 22 ] There are many factors at play here. One teacher walks into the classroom: the children feel repelled throughout the entire school year; they would prefer to leave the room right away because they find it unpleasant what the teacher is doing to them the whole time. Another teacher need only enter the classroom, and simply by being there, something stirs within the students that immediately builds a bridge between each individual student and the teacher. What does something like this depend on? The teacher who makes a repulsive impression on the students goes to school only because, as they say, he has to earn a living—because he, too, has to make a living. He has acquired the external skills needed to drill the children. He is actually just as reluctant to go into school as the children are to go in, and he is also glad when he is back outside. He goes through the motions mechanically.

[ 23 ] I am not surprised that the majority of today’s teachers conduct their lessons mechanically, for the study of human nature derived from modern science—a science that has emerged from the industrial, state, and capitalist life of the last three to four centuries—is a dead science. It has also produced nothing but a dead art of education—at best, a stultifying form of education. The understanding of human nature that we are striving for here—which we want to become the art of teaching through the Waldorf school—this insight into human nature, this understanding of human nature, penetrates so deeply into the essence of the human being that it itself generates enthusiasm, excitement, and love, so that what enters our minds as knowledge about human nature permeates our actions and our feelings. True science is not dead knowledge, as is often practiced today, but rather a kind of knowledge that permeates the human being with love for its subject.

[ 24 ] Therefore, the seminar course that teachers take to prepare themselves to educate and instruct your children should impart such an understanding of human nature to the teachers that it permeates them so deeply that, in addition to this understanding of human nature and of the developing child, love for humanity is incorporated into their teaching. And from the love that the teachers will cultivate in their students, something will spring forth within the students—a wellspring that will give them the strength to absorb the material more easily. For it is from true love—not from superficial love, but from the genuine love that permeates everything we do in the classroom or elsewhere in our teaching, instruction, and upbringing—that it depends whether the lesson comes easily or with difficulty to the child, and whether the upbringing is good or bad for the child.

[ 25 ] And thirdly, what we want to cultivate in the child—and what we prepare our teachers for so that they understand how to convey it to the children in the right way—is willpower. We want to cultivate this willpower by having children begin to engage in artistic activities at a relatively early age. For most people are completely unaware of this secret—how it is connected to the will—that of having engaged in drawing, painting, music, and other artistic pursuits in the right way during childhood. One does the child an immense favor by introducing such activities to them.

[ 26 ] Our children will learn to read and write on their own, through real-life experiences. That is the intention. They will not be pedantically required to learn to write letters, which—at first, when a child is expected to learn such an abstract concept—are essentially the same thing to every child as the letters were to the North American Indians when the “superior” Europeans arrived. Yes, isn’t that right? The “superior” European did, after all, wipe out those North American Indians root and branch. We have preserved the account of one of the last chiefs of these North American Indians—who were exterminated by the Europeans—who gave a beautiful speech: “The white man, the pale man, came to bury the dark man, limb by limb.” But the dark-skinned man also has advantages over the pale man, as this chief said back then: he doesn’t have those little devils that you have on paper. - One might even say: Today, children mostly perceive what their teachers draw on the blackboard or on paper with all their pedantry and philistinism—so that the children, too, will learn to draw it on paper—as such little devils. But all such things can be drawn from life. And if we succeed in applying what we intend to try, the children will learn to read and write more quickly, because everything is drawn from life, because writing arises from drawing and not from arbitrariness. In this way, we will simultaneously succeed in making the children strong-willed individuals, so that they can hold their own later in life.

[ 27 ] Thus, we do not simply say superficially, “We want to educate people,” but rather, with humility and honesty, and drawing on profound scholarship, we first ask ourselves: What is the essence of the human being, and how does it manifest itself in the developing human being? We do not begin by asking the existing social classes: “For what purpose should we educate and instruct people so that they may fulfill the requirements of their station?” Nor do we ask: “What does this or that political community prescribe regarding how we should educate people so that they may fulfill what it demands of them?” No, we direct our questions toward human nature as a whole and its requirements. — Yes, you see, in this regard, what people today have inherited from old social conditions often clashes with what is necessary for a more socially structured future for humanity.

[ 28 ] Today, the state takes the unborn human being—the child—from the parents at a certain age. It would take the child over earlier, but at that stage the child is not yet “clean” enough for the state; so, for the time being, it leaves the child’s upbringing and care to the parents. But once the child has developed to the point where it is no longer “too dirty,” the state takes it over and dictates what is to be drummed into the child. Naturally, it has the child indoctrinated with whatever it needs to fill its positions and to do with the person whatever it wants. People are then, once they have grown up, often quite content. For they are told: You will have a secure livelihood, and when you can no longer work, you will retire. — This retirement is something that certain leading circles of people envision as an ideal. This is what they expect from the state in terms of education. And then they also expect the state to take charge of their souls through the religion teacher, so that these souls do not have to work on their own, but rather the church takes over this work for the soul, and this church then “retires” them in regard to their souls after death. That is how people today want to have everything done for them. This is the result of a completely flawed education.

[ 29 ] True education ensures that a person’s body, soul, and spirit become inwardly free and independent. And true education ensures that a person is also prepared for life. Do not think that when we ask people themselves—that is, when we inquire into human nature and essence—how we should educate them, we are creating impractical people! No, on the contrary! We are educating people who will then be able to engage with life with true strength. We are educating people in the elementary school tradition so that, in later life, they will learn what is necessary for external, practical life; but these people have learned to think; they have learned to feel correctly; and they have learned to apply their will correctly. We want to organize all of this in such a way that truth and strength prevail within it, rather than allowing the educational theory and art to be dominated solely by the cliché: “One should educate people correctly; one should make them into true human beings.”

[ 30 ] Much must happen in the outside world to bring about better social conditions. But much must also happen precisely in the area where the Waldorf School aims to lay a foundation stone for a great edifice. It will be a wonderful thing if you join in with wholehearted commitment, saying to yourselves: Let us be pioneers for a future system of education; pioneers in the sense that we want to be the first to entrust our children to such a future-oriented education that shapes a new social life. We want to be pioneers in the sense that we do not merely believe a few external institutions will lead to socialization, but that we believe change must take place right at the very heart of science, art, and education if desirable conditions for humanity are to be brought about.

[ 31 ] What mental image do people today often have of what is actually supposed to happen? Socialization is supposed to take place, but most people who speak quite honestly about socialization think: Well, yes, but somewhere out there are the universities, and they’ve already done everything right. True, the external status of university professors may need to be adjusted somewhat, but as for science itself—we mustn’t tamper with that in any way. Middle school, high school, secondary school—people don’t even consider that what exists in the outer world has emerged from these schools. For the people educated in these schools are the ones who have shaped the outer world! At most, people think that the elementary school system needs to be organized somewhat differently than it has been so far. They indulge in rather strange notions, saying: “Education must be provided free of charge.”—I’d like to know how that’s actually supposed to be done. People are just pulling the wool over their own eyes, because education must be paid for; it cannot be free; it can only be funded indirectly through taxation or similar means. But people come up with such slogans that have no basis in reality.

[ 32 ] People think that one thing or another needs to be changed a bit in the schools. That everything must undergo a thorough transformation from top to bottom, that we need a different kind of teacher training, a different spirit in the school, and even a different kind of love than what is currently being brought into the school by the misguided teaching staff—unfortunately, far too few people give this any thought. And you will earn great merit in the eyes of all humanity if you are pioneers in this regard; if, for the good of humanity as a whole, you recognize that the school system must be renewed, and if you participate in this renewal of the school system with heartfelt interest and sincerity. The more you keep this in mind—participating in and taking an interest in what is to take place at this Waldorf School—the better the teaching staff will be able to work in harmony with you for the benefit and blessing of your children and, thereby, of all future humanity—at least within the limits we can currently envision.

[ 33 ] A person can develop ideals in solitude. These ideals can be beautiful. He can write them down. They may appeal to this or that person. True, one can think in isolation when dealing with abstract ideals. But with ideas that relate to practical matters—with ideals meant to be realized, such as the ideal of our new school system—one is dependent on finding understanding among those around us. One would wish for such understanding for the ideal of the Waldorf school, and first and foremost from the parents of the children entrusted to the Waldorf school.

[ 34 ] Mr. Molt spoke of the responsibility that falls upon him. He is right. But this responsibility is something that goes much further. We are all aware of this responsibility as we work to lay the groundwork for the Waldorf School, and we will always remain aware of it. For such a responsibility always exists when one strives toward an ideal in such a radical way as is intended by the Waldorf School, and when one is compelled, by taking on this ideal, to break with what are widely held prejudices. It is truly not easy today to determine everything that must be done to ensure that children are properly educated, especially in elementary school. For empty rhetoric has wreaked too much havoc in this regard.

[ 35 ] Children should be taught through play—that was, in particular, the ideal of bourgeois mothers who are devoted to their children with a certain kind of love, what is called “monkey love,” and who implement what can, with some justification, be emphasized from one perspective—that instruction should not become a source of disgust for the child—in such a way that they say instruction should be carried out through play. - We are all quite clear on this: play, as well as work that prepares children for life, must be properly integrated into instruction; but we are also aware that a form of play to which children are trained is no longer play. The kind of play that is widely practiced in our schools today—the kind to which children are trained, just as they were once pedantically trained to study—is no longer play. Play can only take place in freedom. But play must also alternate with other forms of activity, so that the child learns the seriousness of work and is thus able to cope with the seriousness of work in life. And so we will not resort to empty phrases on either side; we will assign a time for work and a time for play, and we will judge everything according to the revelations of the essence of the developing human being—that is, the child.

[ 36 ] For just as we are to immerse ourselves in true anthropology, it is our vision that we gradually transform the school so that children enjoy going to this school, so that they are happy to attend it. We will not instill anything unnatural. It would, of course, be unnatural to believe that children, when they are on vacation once again, would not rather run around outdoors than go to school. Nor will we be so foolish as to believe that children, after romping around for weeks on end, should sit nicely and quietly during the very first lesson. We will understand our children. But we will nevertheless ensure that, after some time—through the way we relate to the students—these students will come to enjoy what happens during school hours just as much as they enjoy romping around during the holidays. And that will be an ideal for the Waldorf school: that the children truly do what they are supposed to do out of an inner impulse. We will not see our goal as merely giving orders to the children, but rather we will see our goal as behaving toward the children in such a way that they sense from our behavior: “I am happy to do this; I am happy to go through with this together with the person who is set before me as a teacherly authority.”

[ 37 ] And then your children will come home after school, and we would like you to feel joy when they tell you about the things that brought them joy at school. We would like you to take pleasure in the children’s happy faces when they come home from school. Not because we want to turn life into one big entertainment, truly not!—but because we know how much of what are today such terrible social conditions stems from the fact that things used to be different. And because we know that even worse things would befall humanity if we did not begin, in the matter of education, to carefully strive toward new social conditions. Not to bring joy to the child, but because we know what strength joy gives the child, we want to do everything in our power to shape instruction and education in the serious sense that I took the liberty of describing to you.

[ 38 ] We would like to create this new school as a model—a school that many people actually intuitively long for, but do not have the courage to truly envision. People will have to believe, will have to understand, that what is called the “social question” is indeed closely linked to the “school question” as characterized here; that what is called “social transformation” will have to take place, not least, in the way that is being attempted at the Waldorf School. It would be a tremendous loss if the very social impulse underlying the founding of the Waldorf School were to be misunderstood. May it be recognized first and foremost by those who entrust their children to this Waldorf School. We are fully aware of our responsibility: to bring into the world something to which you are to entrust the welfare and well-being, the development and the future of your children. But we have truly not turned to what is to be accomplished under this responsibility out of any whim. We have turned to this out of the realization that our times necessitate such tasks; out of the realization of how necessary it is, especially now, to approach the developing human being—the child—with the best that humanity can comprehend.

[ 39 ] I don’t know if you’re familiar with the exact feeling [one might have had] when, during those terrible years of war—the last four or five years—you went about the world like that and saw the children growing up: the six-, seven-, and nine-year-olds, or even younger ones. At times, one could feel quite deep pain—not if one lived in the world oblivious and thoughtless, but if one was aware of what lies ahead unless a remedy is found for what has brought humanity into such a terrible situation. It weighed heavily on one’s heart to see these growing children in recent times. One could not really look at them without the deepest heartache unless, at the same time—to the extent that one is capable of doing so—one resolved to bring about a different kind of upbringing for children than the one through which so many people of the present have had to pass—a process that has also so often brought about the misfortune and hardship of the present. Through education, we shape a piece of humanity’s future in the most profound sense. But one must be clear that one must relearn and rethink many things, for even today, among educators both high and low, one encounters strange things.

[ 40 ] You see, some time ago I spoke in a town here in the neighborhood—one that has a college—about how part of the social question is, among other things, ensuring that people, weighed down by the circumstances of their lives as they are today, do not find themselves living in conditions unworthy of human dignity. I went on to elaborate on this further. Then—and you really wouldn’t believe that such a thing exists today—a university professor stood up and said he couldn’t understand why an inhuman existence should be linked to the wage conditions of today’s proletariat. He actually saw no difference whatsoever, for example, when Caruso sang and received thirty to forty thousand marks as payment for the evening; that was just the same as when a proletarian worker received his wages or when he, as a professor, received his salary. He saw no difference. Therefore, wages should not be regarded as degrading to human dignity. Caruso simply receives more for a single evening. There is only a difference in the amount of the remuneration, but no difference in principle; wages are everything.

[ 41 ] That is the kind of answer one gets today from a highly educated teacher of young people. One also hears all sorts of answers from teachers at schools of a lower level. This points very clearly to the need for a renewal of our educational system. One might say: Truly, when one goes near many schools today—especially secondary schools—and hears from this very quarter what is being said about the restructuring of our social conditions, and what is being said about the need to restructure the schools themselves, this is the most vivid proof that these schools must be restructured. For what these people say, they can truly say only because these schools have, until now, taken a form that must change.

[ 42 ] Well, two things could happen. Mr. Molt has set himself the goal of founding the school, which is to be officially opened in eight days’ time. It could be that, due to the peculiar circumstances of our time, his intention would be misunderstood, that resistance would arise, so that this ideal could not be realized; that it would be done away with after having been in effect for only a short time, and the like. Then people will say one day: Well, Mr. Molt wanted something very idealistic, but it was a utopia. Something like that simply cannot be realized just like that. — Why was it a utopia? Because people didn’t understand it, or because they put up resistance!

[ 43 ] Or the second possibility may occur: understanding may arise for that which itself is born of genuine social understanding—an understanding of the truly practical aspect of this ideal will. Then what is willed there will take root. It will take root in such a way that you will say first, and others will say afterward: There was once a person who saw things more practically than the others, who believed themselves to be entirely filled with practicality. Then people will not say: A utopia has prevailed—then they will say: Something truly practical has been brought into the world!

[ 44 ] May the latter of these two possibilities come to pass! For anyone who cares deeply about the social development of humanity—both now and in the future—it truly seems essential that this second possibility be realized. That is why we will be able to look with the deepest satisfaction upon the reality that would then come to pass if you—as the first to send your children to the Waldorf School—were to stand by the teachers working there with understanding and interest. That will be the beginning of ensuring that what is meant to flourish through this school can truly flourish.

[ 45 ] May it flourish! May it flourish in such a way that those who come to know this flourishing will very soon resolve, in a wide variety of places, to do the same. For, of course, the Waldorf School will only be able to produce what it is meant to produce if, as soon as possible, similar schools are established in many places, all born of the same spirit. Then, very soon, many will follow. Then the spirit will reign freely, and a free social system of teaching and education will spread across the civilized world. Then this spirit and this purpose will permeate the civilized world and will be an important force there for everything that is meant to help us achieve a better, more humane existence in our social structure.

[ 46 ] May people come to understand that the social question is multifaceted, and that one of its most important aspects is the issue of schooling and education. May understanding and insight arise in the hearts of many people today regarding the need to develop in children the powers of thought, feeling, and will, so that when these children become adults, they will look back with gratitude on their parents, who stood firm and were the first to recognize the social question, but who still suffered from what was denied to them, simply because they had not yet been able to undergo the new, socially oriented education. But the children will look back with gratitude upon those parents for whom the seed of such an education has become understandable; these children will carry into a new era—along with many other things—the strength they have gained through an education and instruction that are truly in keeping with human nature.

[ 47 ] People often want to make human beings fit for life. This was also stated in the old pedagogical doctrine. Through the new educational philosophy and the art of teaching, we want to help people enter life in a way that is worthy of human dignity; then, through people educated in this way, life itself will be shaped in such a way that it approaches those who truly understand human dignity in a manner worthy of human dignity. — May such a spirit prevail in the founding of the work that Mr. Molt intends to offer to a portion of humanity in his Waldorf School.

[ 48 ] Question: How are religious education classes taught at Waldorf schools? — And how are the feelings of children coming from other schools taken into consideration?

[ 49 ] Rudolf Steiner: First and foremost, it must be clearly stated that the Waldorf School is not a school based on a particular worldview. The elements drawn from the worldview that we have been advocating here for decades should not be presented to the children in a dogmatic manner. They should be used solely—because they can be used—to improve and reform teaching methods and the entire approach to instruction.

[ 50 ] On the other hand, as our times demand, we must completely refrain from imparting a worldview—in terms of its content—to the children. The Catholic child should be taught Catholic doctrine by a Catholic religion teacher; his or her religious practices should be guided by a Catholic religion teacher. The same applies to the Protestant child. We do not seek to achieve the mission of the Waldorf School through the propagation of any particular worldview; rather, we want a new teaching method, a new approach to instruction, a new educational method, and a new educational approach to spring forth from what we are able to provide.

[ 51 ] What happens to the children who are transferred from other schools is a very important question, especially for older children. We will not start with first grade and build up from there; rather, we will establish an entire elementary school right from the start. This means we will have children of all ages. Of course, thanks to the method we are now discussing in our seminar, we will be able to do some things differently later on, once we have only children whom we teach from the very first school year onward; but for now, we will take full account of what the children have already absorbed [at other schools]. In each grade level, we will definitely build upon what the children have previously learned and implement it only in the manner required by our method. — We will seek to provide the children with benefits solely by teaching in an efficient manner. The layperson does not know what can be achieved in this field. If one can proceed so efficiently, one can teach much of what is currently taught in two hours in just a quarter of an hour. This is a matter of method; one simply must know the method. It is therefore immensely important that something which can be taught in a quarter of an hour is not taught in two hours due to an incorrect method. By applying the correct method—that is, the method in accordance with human nature—we will be able to conduct our instruction efficiently and thereby achieve many things that other schools cannot, while still meeting all educational objectives. So that, as long as our current system remains in place, students who have completed their schooling with us can transfer to other educational institutions without losing any time or facing similar issues. We will also make it a priority to ensure these things.