Faculty Meetings with Rudolf Steiner
GA 300c
27 March 1924, Stuttgart
Sixty-Third Meeting
Dr. Steiner: I would like to propose that we begin today with the disciplinary problems.
A teacher: F.R. threw a stone at another student and hit him on the head. He has been suspended.
Dr. Steiner: I do not agree with the proposal that was made to deal with this problem. It would look as though we thought we could have a strong effect upon such boys by dealing with them in a way that is something of a caricature. We actually know only from what other students have said how bad the situation was. Now, however, things are better. We can hardly do more than require F.R. to appear before a committee or perhaps the entire faculty over Easter, and then we can question him. I would like to speak with him then, also. Has his father reacted?
A teacher: The father has given up leaving him at school.
Dr. Steiner: I think we should decide that I will speak to F.R. when I come. The situation is, of course, not good, but I would not recommend expelling him. He always behaves well after you speak with him, and that lasts for a time. There is always a reason when he behaves like that, but afterward he is sorry.
A teacher speaks about a girl, S.F., in sixth grade. She ran away from the people she was living with and tried to walk to where her mother lives, a long distance away. The police found her while she was walking there. Dr. Steiner received a letter from her uncle mentioning that the housemother had spoken deprecatingly about the girl.
Dr. Steiner: Are we simply here to marvel at all the good children? Children are not the way we would like to have them. This whole situation shows only that Mrs. N., her housemother, doesn’t know how to handle her. It is quite clear she hasn’t the least idea about how to handle the girl. Our task is to educate children, and not to judge how good or bad they are. This situation shows that we should not send any more children to live with Mrs. N. Her uncle has certainly maintained a good attitude. Of course, it would make someone angry when such things are said about a child. To call her a whore is so silly that I am at a loss for words. We cannot allow Mrs. N. to mix into our affairs here. The girl has a very good character. Physically, she is not quite normal and is a little smaller than she should be. All these things show that she needs to be treated carefully. We should just leave things as they are with her and simply tell her that after Easter she will be moved to a better home. It would also be good if we wrote to her uncle and told him that we do not agree with Mrs. N.’s behavior. We still do not have sufficient contact with the children here. Although we are very careful with our methods, we should not simply leave the children to themselves. They need contact with the faculty. With the methods we use, we cannot, as a faculty, live in Olympian heights, above the private situations of the children. The children also need a little human contact with the faculty.
A teacher reports about N.N. who had stolen something and had behaved very poorly.
Dr. Steiner: His is a difficult case. We need to remember that no father is present. His mother, who has always been a rather unfortunate woman with no inner fortitude, hangs onto the boy. She does not know what to do and has always been disturbed by every message she receives from Stuttgart. She also did not know whether she had enough money to leave him here. With her, all this insecurity is constitutional. She is quite unstable psychologically. That is clear from the fact that she is now here in an insane asylum. That is something that could have just as easily occurred earlier. She may well return to her earlier situation.
This woman’s entire psychological makeup was transferred from her astral body into the boy’s etheric body. He has absorbed it organically, so that his behavior is a genuine picture of his mother’s psychological situation. In the astral body, it is only an insecurity in making decisions, in not knowing what to do. With him, it results in a desire to show off. Take, for instance, one of the worst cases, when he acted shamelessly in front of a window. His mother’s psychological situation remains in the realm of judgment, so that allowing her soul to be seen in a shameless way is a psychological illness. With the boy, it has gone into physical exhibitionism. Here you can see how heredity actually proceeds. The things that exist in the parents’ souls can be seen in the physical bodies of the next generation. That is something that is known medically.
It is quite clear to me that it is important for us to treat this boy with good intentions until he reaches the age of eighteen or nineteen, when his conscience will speak. First, he needs to properly integrate the part of his I from his previous incarnation that is the basis of his conscience. It is not yet properly integrated, so his conscience does not play the same role as conscience does in others who are further along. He experiments with all kinds of things. People always experiment with their higher self when their lower self does not yet contain what keeps them firm and strong. This will last until he reaches eighteen or nineteen. You need to treat him with good intentions, or you will have it on your own conscience that you allowed him to be corrupted; and what develops in that way will remain corrupted. He is really very talented, but his talent and his moral constitution are not developing at the same rate. Today, he has an organic moral insanity. We need to carry such children past a certain age through our well-intentioned behavior without approving of what they do. Conscious theft was not at all present in the case where they hid some money, and so forth. Keep him in the remedial class; that will be good for him. We should continue to treat him in the same way.
The situation with his mother is much more unpleasant for us as anthroposophists. Her coming to the place she had always dreamed of certainly caused her present situation. She had always dreamed about Stuttgart.
We have other situations that are a result of current events and the effects of German nationalism upon the school. I have already been told about them. I do not feel that this trend began with one boy alone. The question is whether the boys do this just because they have too much time on their hands, or whether they belong to some group. This situation is difficult to understand. You can do something positive here only by undertaking things that would tend to include these boys and girls. Recall for a moment that nationalism does not need to play a very large role at that age. What attracts them is all the fanfare. They have the impression that our Waldorf teachers sit at home on Sundays making long faces down to their waists and meditating and so forth. The preacher is something else, again. “What kind of people are these, anyway?” If we do nothing about that, the problem could increase, under certain circumstances. The impression that the faculty sits on Olympic thrones has spread too far.
You can do something else to counter that. Of course, you don’t need to do everything yourself, but you could support Dr. X. so that the children have something to do. I thought it was a very good idea to carefully choose a number of our younger people from the Society and ask them to undertake some trips with the students. Surely even Waldorf School teachers could learn something from that about what is needed to arrange such things. Otherwise, the perception of your sitting on an Olympic throne will remain. Of course, the first responsibility of the faculty will always be leadership of the school, but you should still do something like that. These nationalistic things could have a far-reaching impact—we might end up with a corps of ruffians. I am not so afraid of the attitude as I am of the children turning into ruffians. If the students know we are together with them, they will not be caught by such things.
This also played a major role in the debates we had in Dornach about founding a youth section. Somehow, we must find a way within the Youth Section to create some kind of counterforce against all these other movements. You need only think about the youth groups within Freemasonry that use nationalistic aspirations everywhere. Here, under the careful guidance of the faculty, we must find a way to bring the youth movement into a healthy whole. Here, everything is still much too individual, too atomized. Our faculty needs to counter the general principle in Stuttgart of never working together, always working separately. A teacher asks about the upcoming final examinations.
Dr. Steiner: The children in the twelfth grade have written that they wish to speak with me. I can do that only when I am here Tuesday for the conference. I would like you to tell the whole class that.
In general, I think the results of the final examination have shown unequivocally that everything we have discussed is still true. It would, of course, have been better had we been able to add a special class and keep the Waldorf School pure of anything foreign to it. Everything we discussed in that regard is still the same and should not be changed. Nevertheless, the statistics seem to indicate that the poor results were due to the fact that the students were unable to solve problems for themselves because they were used to solving them as a group. You know it is very useful to have the children work together, and we have also seen that the class gives a better impression when they speak together than when they speak individually. We were somewhat short on time, but it seems you did not have the students work enough on solving problems alone. They did not understand that properly and were thus shocked by tasks to be solved alone. I have the impression that you overdid what is good about speaking together. For example, if a few were causing some trouble, you quickly changed to having them all speak together. It has become a habit to work only with the class as a whole. You did not make the transition into working with the children individually. That seems to me to be the essence of what was missing. We should have no illusions: The results gave a very unfavorable impression of our school to people outside. We succeeded in bringing only five of the nine students who took the test through, and they just barely succeeded. What will happen now with those who did not take the final examination or who failed it? When I am here on Wednesday, we need to discuss all these things with the twelfth-grade teachers.
A teacher requests some guidelines for the pedagogical conference to be held at Easter in Stuttgart.
Dr. Steiner: The basis of the Vorstand’s decision about the conference was that the conference should express the significance of the Waldorf School within all of modern education and that we should clearly demonstrate the importance of the Waldorf School principle. In other words, you should say here and there why the Waldorf School and its methods are necessary. Such a presentation gives people the opportunity to notice the difference between Waldorf School pedagogy and other reform movements. Another perspective is that we can demonstrate what we have said to the youth movement in our letters to the newsletter.
The second letter to young members says that human beings presently do not do at all well to be born as children. It is really the case that now, when human beings are born as children, they are pushed into an educational method that totally neglects them and requires them to be old. It does not matter whether someone tells me about the content of today’s civilization when I am eighteen or when I am seventy-five. It sounds just the same, whether I hear it at eighteen or at seventy-five. That is either true or not. It can be proven or refuted logically. It is valid or not. You can grow beyond such a situation only after eighteen, so you might need to decide not to come into a child’s body at all, but instead to be born as an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old body. Only then would things work.
An initiate from an earlier time, if born today, could not be an initiate again if he or she had to go through our present-day schools. I discussed that in Dornach in my lectures about the Garibaldi incarnation. He was an initiate, but his earlier initiation could appear only after he became separated from the world, a practical revolutionary. Garibaldi is only one example of how people today cannot express what exists within them. We must give children back their childhood. That is one task of the Waldorf School. Today’s youth are old.
We received a number of replies from young people in Dornach following the announcement of the Youth Section. They were all very honestly meant. The main thing I noticed was how old even the youth in Dornach are. They speak about old things, they cannot be young. They want to be young, but know that only in their subconscious. What has gone into their heads is mostly old. They are so clever, so complete. Young people must be able to be brash, but everything they say is so reasonable, so thought out, not at all spontaneous. I am happiest when spontaneous things happen; they may be unpleasant, but I like them best. What we spoke about at a youth meeting in Dornach a short time ago was so well thought out that it could have been said by professors. I made a joke about something, and they took it seriously. They have put on a cloak of thoughtfulness, which is ill-fitting at every point. You can see that in the way they speak. You feel very much like a child when today’s youth speak.
Regarding such things, you should express the responsibility of the Waldorf School to today’s youth with some enthusiasm at the Easter conference. We should not simply give clever lectures; we need some enthusiasm. We need to have some wisdom about how we speak of the relationship of the Anthroposophical Society to the school so that we do not offend people. We do not want them to say that we have been able to accomplish what we wanted since the beginning of the school, namely, an anthroposophical school. We need to show them that we have extended anthroposophy in order to do the things that are genuinely human. We need to show them that anthroposophy is appropriate for presenting something genuinely human, but we must do that individually. We should not give too strong an impression that we are lecturing about anthroposophy. We should show how we use anthroposophical truth in the school, not lecture abstractly about anthroposophy. That is the perspective we had at the time. The board of directors in Dornach follows such things with great interest. They want to be informed by everyone and to work on everything, but we need to round off some rough edges. The letters in the newsletter will, over time, discuss all aspects of anthroposophy.
The people in Bern are not asking the Waldorf School teachers for detailed lectures at the Easter pedagogical course. What they want are introductory remarks that will lead to discussions as they are usually held.
A teacher asks whether the present two eighth-grade classes should be combined in the ninth grade.
Dr. Steiner: We need a third fifth grade class more than a second ninth-grade class. We could combine them. The children are fourteen or fifteen years old. You should be able to keep them under control. It is difficult to find an appropriate teacher, though I have tried. We can discuss the whole thing later.
A teacher asks whether it would be better pedagogically if the upper grades also had one class teacher for the whole time, like the lower grades.
Dr. Steiner: We cannot do what is necessary simply by having one class teacher, if that teacher does not do what is really necessary. What we need is that everyone concerned with the upper grades wants to do what is necessary. I do not believe it is very important to have a single class teacher. If we all want a better relationship with the children, I do not see why we would need to restrict it.
A teacher asks about a possible summer camp in Transylvania.
Dr. Steiner: That may be possible, but I find it difficult to imagine how. The situation there is quite different. It is very much in the East. You can have some strange experiences there. I went to a lecture in Hermannstadt in the winter of 1888-89. When I arrived in Budapest, I was unable to make my connection. I had to travel via Szegedin and arrived at about two in the afternoon in Mediaš. I was told I would have to remain there for some time. I went into a coffee house in town where you had to scrape the dirt away with a knife. A number of players came in. There was something Vulcan- like and stormy in their astral bodies; they were somehow all tangled together. Everything went on with a great deal of activity and enthusiasm. The room was next to a pigsty and there was a horrible smell. You can get into such situations in that region, so we would have to protect the children from such experiences. Everyone gets bitten by all kinds of insects as well.
There had been some difficulties with Mr. Z., one of the teachers.
Dr. Steiner: I had the impression we should offer Mr. Z. a vacation to give him an opportunity to collect himself. My impression was that he needed some rest. The question now is to what extent we can still keep him in school. If he intensely felt how he is, we might be able to keep him. X. says he is unstable. We really can’t do anything other than send him on a vacation and bring him back again.
Concerning the entire matter, I would like to say that it seems to me that we must direct our attention toward not allowing such things as discussions with the students to develop. Where would we be if we had more discussions where the students can complain about the teachers? We cannot allow that. It was already very bad in the other case, which resulted in our expelling the students. Now, it is coming up again—a few students come and want to discuss things with the teachers. We cannot allow that. Z. does do all these things, but we cannot allow the students to undermine the authority of the teacher. That would result in the students judging the teachers, which is really terrible. Students sitting as judges over the teachers. We have to avoid that. Of course, one teacher yells at them more and another less, one is more creative, another less. However, we really cannot take such discussions seriously, where the students put the teacher before a tribunal. That doesn’t work. Were that to occur, what would happen is what they once proposed, that the teachers no longer give grades, but the students grade the teachers each week. After Easter, we have to see if we can have him work only in the lower grades. There is not much more we can do.
I fear Z. will always fall into such things. He will need to feel that behaving that way does not work, but that will take a longer time. You need to make the situation clear to him and tell him we may have to send him on a permanent vacation. He is a real cross to bear, but on the other hand, he is a good person. He did not find the right connection, and that has happened here also. A time may come when we can no longer keep him in school, but now we need to give him an opportunity to correct his behavior. I fear, though, he will not take it up.
In such cases, there is generally nothing to do but hope the person finds a friend and makes a connection, and that the friend can then help the person out of such childishness. In a certain way, everything he does is rather childish. In spite of his talents, he has remained a child in a certain area. He is at the same stage as the students, and that causes everything else.
His living conditions seem to be horrible, but I do not see the connection between his behavior and his living conditions. Others could have even worse living conditions and still not come up with the idea of doing such things in school. I feel sorry for him. He needs to find a friend, but has not done that. He would then have some support. There is no other way of helping such people. Apparently, he has nowhere to turn. It was perhaps a karmic mistake that he came into the faculty. If he found someone he belongs with, what I said would probably occur. I do not think, however, that there is anyone within the faculty that Z. could befriend. It is, perhaps, something like it was with Hölderlin, but not as bad.
Dreiundsechzigste Konferenz
Weder die Weihnachtsfeier noch die Abschlussfeier, noch a adere Feierlichkeiten waren von Steiner in den vergangenen Monaten besucht worden. Jetzt konnte er zu einer Monatsfeier kommen (siehe GA 298). Dazu war er am Abend zuvor zu einer Nachtfahrt aus Dornach nach Stuttgart aufgebrochen, wo er morgens uni vier Uhr ankam.
Am Morgen war Monatsfeier. Nach der Monatsfeier gingen die Kinder nach Hause; um zehn Uhr war Konferenz.
Themen: Schülerbesprechungen. Fehlender Kontakt zwischen Lehrern und Schülern. Das olympische Thronen der Lehrerschaft. Das Altwerden der Jugend durch das gegenwärtige Schulsystem. Initiation und Erziehung. «Wir müssen den Kindern ihre Kindheit zurückgeben.» Die tragische Lebenssituation eines neueren Kollegen.
Bemerkungen: Auch in dieser Konferenz war Steiner aufs Neue der Anwalt der ,«schwierigen» Schüler, dadurch, dass er ihre Situation, ihre Hintergründe und ihre Probleme durch und durch kannte. Aus dieser Kenntnis und Haltung hatten seine Ratschläge Milde, etwas Heilendes, nie etwas Verurteilendes. Es fehlte aber auch nicht an deutlichen Worten, wenn es uni das Interesse der Lehrer für die Schüler ging. Für die kommende Ostertagung wünschte Steiner sich nicht so sehr kluge Worte, sondern «Schwung».
RUDOLF STEINER: Ich möchte vorschlagen, dass wir gleich beginnen mit der Behandlung der Disziplinarfälle, die vorliegen.
HERMANN VON BARAVALLE: [Der Schüler R. M. hat dem G. B. einen Stein an den Kopf geworfen. Er wurde zunächst suspendiert.]
RUDOLF STEINER: Diesem Vorschlag, [der zur Austragung der Sache gemacht worden ist, könnte ich nicht zustimmen. Es würde so aussehen, als ob man auf einen solchen Jungen stark wirken könnte durch diese Maßnahme, die auch etwas karikiert ist]. Wir können [eigentlich] nur aus den Erzählungen der anderen [Schüler] entnehmen, wie schlimm dieser Steinwurf war. Es ist [ja schon] wieder gut. Wir werden kaum etwas anderes machen können, als dass R. M. vielleicht Ostern bei der Tagung vor eine Abordnung oder vor das ganze Kollegium gefordert wird, und wir werden ihn dann vornehmen. Ich will ihn dann [auch] vornehmen. Hat der Vater reagiert?
Jemand antwortet: Der Vater gibt es auf, den R, M. auf der Schule zu lassen,
RUDOLF STEINER: In Bezug auf den R. M. wollen wir beschließen, dass wir ihn, wenn ich komme, vornehmen. Es ist ja natürlich ein schwerer Fall, aber dass wir ihn ausschließen, würde sich doch nicht empfehlen. Er ist ja immer nach einiger Zeit wieder ordentlich, wenn ihm so etwas zu Gemüte geführt worden ist. Einige Zeit hält es an. Es muss immer ein besonderer Anlass vorliegen, wenn er so ausartet. Dann tut es ihm [wieder] leid.
MARTHA HAEBLER referiert über den Fall der G. S., eines Mädchens in der 6, Klasse. Sie war von den Leuten, bei denen sie untergebracht war, ausgerissen, wollte zu Fuß zu ihrer weit entfernt wohnenden Mutter gehen, war aber unterwegs von der Polizei aufgegriffen worden. Rudolf Steiner hatte von dem Onkel des Kindes einen Brief bekommen, in dem erwähnt war, dass die Pensionsmutter sich moralisch abträglich über das Kind ausgesprochen hatte.
RUDOLF STEINER: [Sind wir denn eine Anstalt zur Bewunderung braver Kinder?] Die Kinder sind nicht so, wie man sie gerne haben will. Das Ganze zeigt nur, dass die Frau Dr. [Eva?] Meyer, [bei der sie wohnt], keine Hand für das Kind hat. Man sieht natürlich, dass nicht die geringste Hand dafür vorhanden ist, das Kind zu behandeln. Wir haben die Aufgabe, die Kinder zu erziehen, und nicht die Kinder in ihrer Bravheit zu behandeln, Der Fall würde begründen, dass man ihr niemals ein Kind gibt. Der Brief [von dem Onkel] ist sehr besonnen geschrieben. Es ist schon ärgerlich, wenn man so etwas über ein Kind sagt. «Dirne» ist eine solche Albernheit, dass man schon kein Wort findet, um diese Albernheit zu charakterisieren. Es geht nicht, man muss Frau Dr. Heyer davor behüten, dass sie jemals in unsere Angelegenheiten hineinkommt. [Das Kind hat einen ausgezeichneten Charakter.] Sie ist [körperlich] nicht ganz normal, ist [etwas] unter ihrer notwendigen Größe. All die Dinge zeigen, dass man das Kind sorgfältig behandeln muss. Das Kind hat es als etwas zu hart empfunden. [Man muss dem Kind eine andere Unterkunft verschaffen.] Gegenüber dem Kinde lässt man die Sache abgetan sein und sagt ihr nur, dass sie nach Ostern in eine bessere Pflege kommt. t Es ist gut, wenn wir dem Onkel schreiben, dass wir nicht einverstanden sind mit dem Verhalten von Frau Heyer.]
Der Kontakt zu den Kindern ist [in der Waldorfschule noch] nicht in der genügenden Weise vorhanden. Wir haben die sorgfältige Methode. Die verlangt aber auch, dass die Kinder nicht sich selbst überlassen sind, weil sie das Bedürfnis bekommen, mit der Lehrerschaft in Kontakt zu sein. Bei dieser Methode geht es nicht, dass die Lehrerschaft in olympischer Höhe über den privaten Verhältnissen der Kinder thront. Die Kinder müssen [auch ein bisschen] ein menschliches Verhältnis zur Lehrerschaft haben.
B. B. hat sich von mir verabschiedet. Er geht jetzt weg. Damit entfällt die Notwendigkeit, irgendwelche Maßregeln gegen ihn zu ergreifen.
KARL SCHUBERT berichtet über den Schüler H. II., der gestohlen und sich schamlos unanständig aufgeführt hatte.
RUDOLF STEINER: Das ist ein schwieriger Fall. Bei H. H. ist zu be-denken: Ein eigentlicher Vater ist nicht vorhanden. Die Mutter, die wirklich immer eine unglückselige Frau war, konstitutionell innerlich haltlos, hing an dem Buben. Sie wusste sich nicht zu helfen, war unruhig geworden über jede Nachricht, die sie von Stuttgart bekam. Sie wusste nicht, ob sie das Geld hatte, ihn noch hier zu lassen. All diese Haltlosigkeit ist bei ihr konstitutionell. [Sie ist psychisch ganz labil.] Das ist ja zum Ausdruck gekommen dadurch, dass sie [jetzt] hier in eine Irrenanstalt kommt. Das hätte ebenso gut schon früher eintreten können. Es könnte gut 7.0 dem früheren Zustand wieder zurückführen.
Alles das, was diese Frau psychisch hat, ist heruntergeschlüpft vorn Astralleib der Mutter in den Ätherleib des Buben, ist ganz organisch in den Jungen eingezogen, sodass der im organischen Verhalten ein getreuliches Abbild von dem psychischen Verhalten der Mutter ist. Im Astralleib ist es nur Urteilsunsicherheit, nicht wissen, was man tun soll. Bei ihm ist es: sich gerne exponieren. Nehmen Sie selbst den eklatantesten Fall, dass der Junge sich zum Fenster herunter schamlos verhält. Die Mutter bleibt beim Urteilen, bei ihr ist es eine psychische Krankheit, sich in schamloser Weise vor dem Jungen mit der Seele sehen zu lassen. Das ist medizinisch bekannt. [Bei dem Jungen kommt es zum physischen Exhibitionismus. Hier kann man sehen, wie Vererbung wirklich vor sich geht. Was bei den Eltern seelisch vorhanden ist, das zeigt sich in der nächsten Generation leiblich.]
Nicht wahr, ich bin mir klar darüber, dass es bei diesem Jungen darauf ankommt, dass man ihn mit Wohlwollen bis zum achtzehnten, neunzehnten Jahre bringt. Dann wird sein Gewissen sprechen. Er muss sich erst denjenigen Teil seines Ichs aus der vorigen Inkarnation, der das Gewissen begründet, [richtig eingliedern}. Der ist noch nicht richtig eingegliedert, sodass [bei ihm] das Gewissen [noch] in keiner Weise spricht bei Dingen, bei denen bei anderen das Gewissen spricht. Er experimentiert mit all diesen Dingen, wie man immer experimentiert mit dem oberen Menschen, wenn der untere Mensch nicht dasjenige in sich hat, was ihn fest und stramm hält. Das ist etwas, was bis zum achtzehnten, neunzehnten Jahre dauern wird. Man muss ihn wohlwollend behandeln, sonst hat man es sich auf das [eigene] Gewissen geladen, dass man ihn vorher [sich] korrumpieren lässt, und dass das, was [sicher] noch heraufkommen wird, korrumpiert bleibt. Der Junge ist begabt; aber seine Begabung hält nicht gleichen Schritt mit der moralischen Verfassung. Moral insanity ist bei ihm organisch vorhanden. [Nun] muss man solche Kinder durch wohlwollendes Verhaken über ein gewisses Alter hinwegbringen. Ohne dass man gutheißt, [was sie tun]. Das, was zu einem Diebstahl bewusst gehört, das war gar nicht vorhanden in dem Fall, als sie das Geld versteckt haben und so weiter. [Zu Karl Schubert] Behalten Sie ihn gleich [in der Hilfsklasse], das wird ihm sehr gut bekommen.. Er soll weiter ebenso behandelt werden wie bisher.
Viel unangenehmer für uns als Anthroposophen ist das Ereignis mit der Mutter. Als auslösendes Moment hat sicher gewirkt, dass sie an den Ort kam, an den sie immer gedacht hat.
Sie hat immer an Stuttgart gedacht.
ALEXANDER STRAKOSCH berichtet über die Schüler, die sich in der Schule politisch zu betätigen beginnen.
RUDOLF STEINER: Dann [sind da] noch die Fälle, die ja zu den Zeiterscheinungen gehören, die deutschvölkischen Umtriebe in der Schule. [Über die wurde mir ja schon berichtet.] Ich kann nicht das Gefühl haben, als wenn diese Bewegung [nur] von Maikowski allein ausgehe. Es fragt sich, ob die Jungen das aus bloßer Nichtsnutzigkeit tun, oder weil sie einer Gruppe angehören. Dieser Sache ist sehr schwer beizukommen. [Man kann] nur positiv etwas dagegen tun, nur indem man in irgendeiner Weise dasjenige pflegt, dem sich diese Jungen und Mädchen ebenso gut anschließen. Denken Sie einmal, das Nationalistische braucht [ja] in einem solchen Alter keine [so große] Rolle zu spielen. Aber was sie anzieht, das ist alt der Klimbim [und Trara]. Und da entsteht [dann] das Urteil: Ja, unsere Waldorflehrer sitzen am Sonntag daheim, machen ein Gesicht bis ans Bauch, meditieren und so weiter. Der Dölker ist ein ganz anderer Kerl! Was sind das für nette Leute! — Wenn man dem nichts entgegenstellt, ist es ganz geeignet, unter Umständen große Dimensionen anzunehmen. Das olympische Thronen der Lehrerschaft ist eben doch etwas zu stark Ausgebreitetes.
[Da würde es schon nötig sein, dass dem von uns aus etwas anderes entgegengestellt würde. Sie brauchen das nicht alles selber zu machen.] Fördern Sie diese Absichten von Dr. Lehrs, damit die Kinder etwas zu tun haben. Mir schien es ganz einleuchtend, dass wir uns, wenn wir vorsichtig [in der Auswahl sind, [unsere eigenen treuen jungen Leute aus der Bewegung heranziehen, um Ausflüge und so weiter zu veranstalten]. in Bezug auf die Beweglichkeit, die man braucht, um so etwas zu arrangieren, da könnten selbst die Waldorflehrer noch etwas lernen. Sonst bleibt [immer] dieses olympische Thronen [bestehen]. Die Führung der Schule muss doch [immer] die erste Pflicht des Kollegiums sein. [Aber so etwas sollten Sie einrichten.] [Diese nationalistischen Dinge] können unter Umständen sehr weite Kreise ziehen, sodass wir ein Corps von Raubeinen kriegen. Die Gesinnung fürchte ich gar nicht so sehr als die Raubeinigkeit. Wenn [aber] die Schüler das Bewusstsein haben, wir sind [da] mit den Lehrern zusammen, die Lehrer sind nicht drinnen [wohl: in den Häusern am Sonntag], dann kann das nicht verfangen.
Das spielte auch eine große Rolle bei den Debatten, die wir in Dornach über die Begründung der Jugendsektion hatten. Es muss uns gelingen, innerhalb der Jugendsektion die Möglichkeit herbeizuführen, eine Art Gegenströmung gegen [alle] diese Bestrebungen zu enden, [die sehr weit gehen]. Denken Sie nur an die freimaurerischen Ordensgründungen in der Jugend, die eine starke suggestive Gewalt auf die Jugend ausüben, die überall in dem Sinne wirken, dass sie sich die nationalistischen Aspirationen zunutze machen. Die Jugendbewegung als solche bei uns müsste schon in irgendeiner Weise mit der besorgten Führung des Lehrerkollegiums in einen guten Zusammenhang gebracht werden. Es ist [hier] alles [noch immer] viel zu gesondert, noch viel zu atomisiert. Die Lehrerschaft von hier müsste dem allgemeinen Stuttgarter Prinzip, nur ja nicht zusammen, sondern immer trennend zu wirken, die Lehrerschaft müsste dem etwas entgegensetzen. Die Lehrerschaft müsste viel mehr zusammenarbeiten.
Es wird eine Frage gestellt wegen des nächsten Abituriums.
RUDOLF STE1NER: Die Kinder [der letzten Klasse] haben mir geschrieben, sie möchten mit mir sprechen. Das kann ich nur tun, wenn ich am Dienstag zur Tagung komme. Dann möchte ich bitten, dass man die ganze Klasse bestellt.
Im Ganzen finde ich ja, dass das Ergebnis des Abiturs eigentlich in eklatanter Weise gezeigt hat, dass all die Dinge, [die wir besprochen haben], weiter gelten. Es wäre selbstverständlich besser, wenn wir eine besondere Klasse anreihen könnten und die Waldorfschule rein erhalten könnten von dem Fremden, das doch dadurch hereinkommt. Das bleibt bestehen selbstverständlich, was wir darüber besprochen haben, daran soll nicht gerüttelt werden. Aber es scheint doch die Statistik des Ergebnisses darauf hinzuweisen, dass das schlechte Ergebnis vielfach zusammenhängt damit, dass die Schüler in dem Moment, wo sie ihre Aufgaben für sich allein lösen sollten, nicht zurechtkamen, weil sie [wohl] zu sehr gewohnt waren, im Chor die Sachen zu lösen. Sie wissen, dass es sehr nützlich ist, die Kinder im Chore zu beschäftigen, dass aber dann immer sich herausstellt, dass die Klasse im Chorsprechen einen besseren Eindruck ergibt, als wenn die Schüler allein sich betätigen sollen. Es hat ja an Zeit gemangelt, aber es scheint, als ob die Schüler zu wenig dazu veranlasst worden sind, Probleme allein zu lösen. Das verstanden sie nicht richtig. [Sie waren schockiert über Einzelaufgaben.] Sie hatten einen Schüler — ich habe schon den Eindruck, dass das Gute, das mit dem Chorsprechen zusammenhängt, etwas übertrieben wird, [dass man zum Beispiel], wenn ein paar Unruhestifter da sind, schnell im Chor sprechen lässt. Es hat sich zur Gewohnheit gemacht, dass nur mit der ganzen Klasse gearbeitet wird. Es ist nicht ein Einlaufen in das Behandeln der Schülerindividualität. Das scheint mir die Quintessenz dessen zu sein, was gefehlt hat. [Wir dürfen uns] keiner Illusion hingeben: Für unsere Schule nach außen hin ist das Ergebnis doch ein recht ungünstiges. Wir haben von neun Schülern fünf durchgebracht. Sie sind nicht glänzend durchgekommen. Was wird [nun] mit denen, die nicht das Abiturium gemacht oder bestanden haben? Alle diese Dinge müssten mit mir am Mittwoch, wenn ich gekommen sein werde, in Gegenwart der Lehrer der letzten Klasse besprochen werden.
[Auch mit denen, die nicht bestanden haben, will Rudolf Steiner sprechen.]
ERICH SCHWEBSCH bittet um weitere Richtlinien für die pädagogische Ostertagung in Stuttgart.
RUDOLF STEINER: Den Vorstandsbeschluss über diese Tagung haben wir unter dem Gesichtspunkt gefasst, dass durch eine solche Behandlung die [ganze] Bedeutung der Waldorfschule innerhalb [des Erziehungssystems] der Gegenwart zum Ausdruck kommen könnte, dass man auf die Wichtigkeit des Waldorfschul-Prinzips in eklatanter Weise hinweisen könnte. Dass man es da und dort sagt, warum eine Waldorfschule und eine solche Methodik notwendig ist. [Da ist gerade Gelegenheit, bei dieser Art Systematisierung darauf hinzuweisen, dass die Leute merken], es ist ein Unterschied zwischen der Waldorfschul-Pädagogik und anderen Reformbestrebungen. [Dann] der andere Gesichtspunkt, der eben darin bestünde, dass man hier [das] wirklich praktisch durchführt, [was in den Briefen an die Jugendbewegung im «Nachrichtenblatt» gesagt ist].
Dieser zweite Brief an die jüngeren Mitglieder, der besagt [eigentlich], dass gegenwärtig die Menschen [gar] nicht gut tun, als Kinder geboren zu werden. Es ist wirklich so, wenn jetzt Menschen als Kinder geboren werden, so werden sie in eine Erziehungsmethode hineingespannt, die sie verkümmern lässt einfach, die ihnen die Notwendigkeit auferlegt, alt zu sein, Ob mir einer dasjenige, [was heute als Zivilisationsinhalt gilt], in meinem achtzehnten Jahr sagt oder mit fünfundsiebzig Jahren, das ist ganz gleichgültig. Es lautet gleich, ob ich es als Achtzehnjähriger oder Fünfundsiebzigjähriger aufnehme, Die Dinge sind wahr oder unwahr. [Das beweist man logisch oder widerlegt man logisch.] Sie gelten oder gelten nicht. Nun wächst man aber in ein solches Verhältnis erst mit achtzehn Jahren hinein, sodass man sich entschließen müsste, [gar nicht in einen Kinderkörper zu kommen, sondern] in einen achtzehn-, neunzehnjährigen Körper hineinzukommen. [Dann geht es allenfalls.]
Wenn heute ein [früherer] Initiierter geboren wird, [so kann er nicht wieder als Initiierter wirken, wenn] er durch die gegenwärtige Schule [gegangen ist]. Ich habe das auseinandergesetzt [in Vorträgen in Dornach über die] Garibaldi-Inkarnation. [Er war ein Initiierter, aber] die frühere Einweihung konnte nur so zum Vorschein kommen, [wie er dann geworden ist], weltentrückt, ein praktischer Revolutionär. [...]
[Es folgten noch weitere Ausführungen Rudolf Steiners über Garibaldi, die aber nur völlig fragmentarisch nachgeschrieben worden sind.] [Das ist nur ein Beispiel, wie heute] der Mensch dasjenige, was in ihm ist, gar nicht herausbringen kann. Wir müssen tatsächlich den Kindern ihre Kindheit zurückgeben! Das ist eine Aufgabe der Waldorfschule.
[Von einer Anzahl junger Leute in Dornach sind Antworten erfolgt auf die Ankündigung der Jugendsektion.] Die Jugendsektion ist [sicher sehr] ehrlich [und aufrichtig] gemeint. [Mir fiel vor allem dabei auf, wie alt diese Jugend ist.] Die Dornacher Jugend ist [so] alt. Sie reden [alle] alte Dinge. Sie können nicht jung sein. Sie möchten jung sein, das sitzt [aber nur] im Unterbewusstsein. Was [aber] in ihren Kopf hineingegangen ist, [ist vielfach greisenhaft]. Das ist so klug, [so fertig]. Die Jugend muss doch [auch] töricht sein können. Das spricht aber alles so verständig und abgewogen, so gar nicht töricht. Mir gefällt es noch am besten, wenn [dann] törichte Dinge kommen, [die ja unangenehm sind], das gefällt mir am besten. [Bei einer Jugendversammlung in Dornach vor Kurzem, was da geredet wurde, das war so gescheit, als ob es Professoren geredet hätten.] Ich sagte [etwas als] Witz, das haben sie ernst genommen. Es ist richtig ein Gescheitheitsrock, der [da] angezogen wird, der an allen Ecken und Enden nicht sitzt. Das tritt in den Reden zutage. — Man fühlt sich [selbst] ganz kindlich, wenn die Jugend heute redet?
[Solche] Dinge [über die Aufgabe der Waldorfschule gegenüber der Jugend] müssten mit einem gewissen Schwung [hier] bei der Ostertagung herauskommen. Wir müssen nicht [bloß] kluge Abhandlungen halten, sondern Schwung haben. [Man müsste etwas] Klugheit walten lassen beim Aussprechen [des Zusammenhangs von Anthroposophischer Gesellschaft und Schule, damit man die Leute nicht vor den Kopf stößt], damit die Leute nicht sagen: Jetzt haben sie das durchgeführt, was von Anfang an die Schule sein sollte, eine Anthroposophenschule. Wir müssen dagegenhalten, dass wir] die Anthroposophie erweitert [haben], um solche Dinge machen zu können, die allgemein menschlich sind, [müssten zeigen, dass] die Anthroposophie geeignet ist, etwas allgemein Menschliches zu bringen. Wir müssen [das aber auch im Einzelnen] einhalten. Wir müssen nicht [zu stark] den Eindruck hervorrufen, dass wir Anthroposophie dozieren. Wir müssen die [anthroposophische] Wahrheit verwerten [in der Schule], nicht, dass wir theoretisch Anthroposophie dozieren. Das waren die Gesichtspunkte, die wir dazumal gehabt haben. Diese Dinge werden vom Dornacher Vorstand mit großem Interesse verfolgt. Er will sich von allem informieren und an allem mitarbeiten. Er muss sich einschleifen. [Es werden in den Briefen im «Nachrichtenblatt» ja nach und nach alle Seiten des Anthroposophischen behandelt werden.] [...] [Bemerkungen zum Hochschulkurs.]
Die Leute in Bern haben die Absicht, [bei dem pädagogischen Kurs vor Ostern] die Lehrer [der Waldorfschule] nicht aufzufordern zu ausführlichen Vorträgen, sondern zu einleitenden Bemerkungen, an die sich Diskussionen anschließen sollten, die wie üblich vorgeschlagen waren.
Es wird gefragt, ob man die jetzigen beiden 8. Klassen zu einer 9. zusammenlegen soll.
RUDOLF STEINER: Es ist nicht leicht, eine Lehrkraft zu enden. Die dritte 5. Klasse müsste notwendiger sein als die zweite 9. I)a wäre möglich, die zusammenzulegen. Diese Kinder sind vierzehn bis fünfzehn Jahre alt. Dass man mit diesen Kindern nicht fertigwerden sollte, das darf es nicht geben. Es ist schwierig, eine geeignete Lehrkraft jetzt zu finden. Ich habe mich damit beschäftigt. Die ganze Sache wollen wir später besprechen.
Es wird gefragt, ob es nicht erzieherisch besser wäre, wenn die oberen Klassen auch für dauernd einen Klassenlehrer hätten, so wie die unteren.
RUDOLF STEINER: Das, [was nötig wäre], wird nicht durch einen Klassenlehrer erreicht, wenn der nicht die nötigen Dinge dazu tut. Es wäre schon notwendig, dass dies das Bestreben aller derjenigen wäre, die oben in den Klassen sind. Dass es eine so große Bedeutung haben kann, [einen Klassenlehrer zu haben], glaube ich nicht. Wenn wir alle das Bestreben haben, den Kindern nahezukommen, dann kann ich nicht einsehen, warum man das reglementieren muss.
ROBERT KILLIAN fragt wegen einer in Aussicht genommenen Ferienkolonie in Siebenbürgen.
RUDOLF STEINER: [Mit Aufsicht kann man es machen.] Ich kann mir [aber] schwer den Modus vorstellen, wie das gemacht werden kann. In der Schweiz haben sich Einzelne von Schweizern gemeldet. Dort sind andere Verhältnisse. Da ist es sehr östlich. Man macht dort eigentümliche Erfahrungen. Im Winter [1889/90] bin ich zu einem Vortrag nach Hermannstadt gefahren. Da ist es mir passiert, dass ich in Budapest den Anschluss nicht erreichen konnte. Ich musste über Szegedin fahren, kam um zwei Uhr nachmittags in Mediasch an. Da sagte man mir, dass ich dableiben müsste bis zwei Uhr. Ich kam in den Ort, kam zu einem Kaffeehaus. Den Schmutz musste man mit dem Messer herunterschneiden. Dann kamen die Spieler. Das war etwas Vulkanisch-Stürmisches in den Astralleibern, die sich ineinanderknäuelten. Es geht mit Schwung und Enthusiasmus zu. Das Zimmer war neben. dem Schweinestall. Die Stube war ein Wanzengeruch. In diese Regionen kommt man dort. Man muss die Kinder schützen vor den Ergebnissen der Erfahrung. Zerbissen werden sie von den verschiedensten Insekten.
[Zur Sammlung des deutschen Auslandsinstituts:] Das könnte man ganz gut machen. [Zur Zulassung Mollenkopfs zur Jugendfeier, der seine Kinder in den freien Religionsunterricht schicken will:] Ihm sagen, dass wir von der Usance abkommen. Pedantisch brauchen wir in keiner Maßregel zu sein. I. K. kommt dann hinüber zu Fräulein Uhland.
Mit einem der Lehrer, Carl Albert Friedenreich, hatte es große Schwierigkeiten gegeben.
RUDOLF STEINER: Ich hatte den Eindruck, wir [sollten] Friedenreich einen Urlaub geben, ihm Gelegenheit geben, sich zu sammeln. Ich habe es nicht in anderer Art gemeint. Ich bekam den Eindruck, dass er einer Erholung bedürftig sein könnte. Es ist [nun] die Frage, wie weit man ihn brauchen kann in der Schule. Wenn er sich intensiv beschäftigt fühlen würde, dann ist es möglich, ihn zu halten. Er ist labil, sagt Baumann. Er kann nicht genug Klavier spielen, um das zu machen. Er war leicht beleidigt. Wir können doch eigentlich nichts anderes mit ihm machen als ihm Erholung gönnen und ihn dann wieder nehmen. Wir können doch kaum etwas anderes mit ihm machen.
Was den Fall als solchen betrifft, so möchte ich doch sagen, dass es mir notwendig erscheint, dass wir unser Augenmerk darauf lenken, dass nicht solche Dinge sich entwickeln [wie die Aussprachen mit den Schülern]. Wohin kommen wir, wenn wir Aussprachen von Gleich zu Gleich hervorrufen, sodass die Schüler [etwas gegen die Lehrer vorbringen]. So geht es doch nicht. Das hat schon in dem damaligen Fall, wo es zu einem Ausschluss von Schülern kam, zu nichts geführt. Jetzt soll das wieder kommen, dass ein paar beliebige Schüler kommen und sich mit den Lehrern aussprechen wollen. So geht es [doch] eigentlich nicht. Das hat schon in den damaligen Fällen, wo es zu einem Ausschluss geführt hat, zu nichts geführt. Gewiss, Frieden.reich macht alle [diese] Sachen, [aber] wir können doch schließlich nicht ganz die Autorität der Lehrer untergraben lassen von den Schülern. [Das kommt dann heraus, wenn] wir [die Lehrer] aburteilen lassen von den Schülern. Das ist etwas Schreckliches. Die Schüler sitzen dann zu Gericht über die Lehrer. [Das müssen wir vermeiden.] Gewiss, der eine schnauzt sie mehr an, der andere weniger; der eine ist geistreich, der andere weniger und so weiter. Aber solche Unterredungen, die die Schüler machen, wo die Schüler den Lehrer vor das Tribunal fordern, das dürfte nicht ernsthaft genommen werden. Das geht doch nicht. Sonst kommt das zustande, was schon einmal vorgeschlagen ist, dass nicht die Lehrer die Zensuren geben, sondern die Schüler von Woche zu Woche ihre Befähigungsurteile über die Lehrer geben. Man muss schon darauf eingehen, ihn nur in den unteren Klassen zu beschäftigen. Viel anderes wird man nicht tun können.
Er [Friedenreich] wird in solche Dinge immer wieder hineinver-fallen. Ja, ist das so schlimm, die Sache mit L. W.?
PAUL BAUMANN antwortet.
RUDOLF STEINER: Wir werden nach Ostern ihn in den unteren Klassen beschäftigen. Er soll schon fühlen — das wird längere Zeit [brauchen] —, dass es nicht geht, wenn er sich so benimmt. Es müssen ihm schon Vorhaltungen gemacht werden. Es muss ihm gesagt werden, dass man ihn eventuell dauernd auf Urlaub schicken müsste. Man kann nicht Gespräche zu Gleich und Gleich zwischen Lehrern und Schülern herbeiführen. Es ist ein Kreuz mit ihm. Er ist doch ein guter Mensch auf der anderen Seite. Er hat nicht den richtigen Anschluss gefunden, das ist auch wieder [dabei]. Man muss bei ihm lavieren. Es wird ja doch der Zeitpunkt kommen, wo er sich in der Schule ganz unmöglich macht. Wir müssen ihm aber jetzt die Gelegenheit geben, sich zu rehabilitieren, Ich fürchte, er wird sie nicht ergreifen.
In einem solchen Falle gibt es in der Regel keine andere Hilfe, als dass der Betreffende einen Freund oder eine Freundin findet, auf den er selber etwas gibt, an den er sich anschließt, und der ihm nach und nach aus seiner Kindlichkeit {heraushilft]. Denn auf eine gewisse Kindlichkeit ist alles bei ihm abgestimmt. Trotz seiner musikalischen Begabung ist er in einer Ecke seines Wesens Kind geblieben. Er ist auf derselben Stufe, auf der die Schüler auch sind. Das bewirkt alles andere.
Die Wohnungsverhältnisse scheinen ja schrecklich zu sein, aber wie hängt das eine mit dem anderen zusammen? Piper hat geschrieben und gesagt, dass das Waldorflehrerkollegium sich nicht um Friedenreich kümmere, der in schrecklichen Wohnverhältnissen lebt. Ich kann nur nicht einsehen, was [sein Verhalten] mit den Wohnungsverhältnissen zu tun hat. Ein anderer kann noch schlechtere Wohnungsverhältnisse haben und kommt doch nicht darauf, in der Schule Schülerinnen von einem anderen küssen zu lassen. Schülerinnen zu küssen, das kommt ja schon öfter vor, aber sie auch von anderen küssen zu lassen, das ist doch nicht etwas, was mit den Wohnungsverhältnissen zu tun hat. [...] [Weiteres dar üben] Er ist ein armer Mensch. Er musste einen Freund finden; den hat er nicht gefunden. Dann hätte er einen Halt. Eine andere Hilfe gibt es nicht für so jemanden. Er hat offenbar nichts, wo er sich gerne hinwendet, Er ist vielleicht durch einen Fehler des Karmas hier ins Lehrerkollegium hineingekommen. Wenn er einen Menschen finden könnte, mit dem er zusammengehört, dann würde das doch schon eintreten, was ich gesagt habe. Aber ich glaube, es ist im ganzen Kollegium niemand, mit dem der Friedenreich sich zusammenfinden [und mit ihm befreundet sein] könnte. Es ist, vielleicht nicht von der Größe, aber [doch] so, wie bei Hölderlin, aber nicht in der Größe.
Sixty-third Conference
Steiner had not attended the Christmas celebration, the graduation ceremony, or any other celebrations in recent months. Now he was able to attend a monthly celebration (see GA 298). To do so, he had set off the evening before on a night drive from Dornach to Stuttgart, where he arrived at four in the morning.
The monthly celebration was in the morning. After the monthly celebration, the children went home; at ten o'clock there was a conference.
Topics: Student discussions. Lack of contact between teachers and students. The Olympic enthronement of the teaching staff. The aging of youth due to the current school system. Initiation and education. “We must give children back their childhood.” The tragic life situation of a newer colleague.
Comments: In this conference, too, Steiner was once again the advocate of the “difficult” students, because he knew their situation, their backgrounds, and their problems through and through. Based on this knowledge and attitude, his advice was mild, healing, and never judgmental. However, he did not mince his words when it came to the teachers' interest in the pupils. For the upcoming Easter conference, Steiner wanted not so much wise words as “momentum.”
RUDOLF STEINER: I would like to suggest that we begin immediately with the disciplinary cases that are before us.
HERMANN VON BARAVALLE: [The student R. M. threw a stone at G. B.'s head. He was initially suspended.
RUDOLF STEINER: I cannot agree with this proposal [which has been made to deal with the matter]. It would seem as if such a boy could be strongly influenced by this measure, which is also somewhat caricatured]. We can [actually] only gather from the accounts of the other [students] how bad this stone throwing was. It's [already] fine again. We can hardly do anything else than perhaps call R. M. before a delegation or the entire faculty at the Easter conference, and then we will deal with him. I want to deal with him [too]. Has the father reacted?
Someone replies: The father is giving up on keeping R. M. at school.
RUDOLF STEINER: With regard to R. M., let us decide that we will deal with him when I come. It is, of course, a difficult case, but it would not be advisable to expel him. He always behaves properly again after a while, once he has had time to reflect on what has happened. It lasts for some time. There must always be a special reason when he degenerates like this. Then he feels sorry [again].
MARTHA HAEBLER reports on the case of G. S., a girl in the sixth grade. She had run away from the people she was staying with and wanted to walk to her mother, who lived far away, but was picked up by the police on the way. Rudolf Steiner had received a letter from the child's uncle mentioning that the boarding house mother had spoken morally disparagingly about the child.
RUDOLF STEINER: [Are we an institution for admiring well-behaved children?] Children are not the way we would like them to be. The whole thing just shows that Dr. [Eva?] Meyer, [with whom she lives], has no way with children. It is obvious that she has not the slightest ability to deal with children. Our task is to educate children, not to treat them for their good behavior. This case would justify never giving her a child. The letter [from the uncle] is written very sensibly. It is annoying when people say such things about a child. “Whore” is such a ridiculous word that it is impossible to find a word to characterize this ridiculousness. It is not acceptable; we must protect Dr. Heyer from ever getting involved in our affairs. [The child has an excellent character.] She is not entirely normal [physically], is [somewhat] below her necessary height. All these things show that the child must be treated with care. The child found it a little too harsh. [The child must be found another place to live.] The matter should be dismissed in front of the child and she should simply be told that she will be placed in better care after Easter. It would be good to write to the uncle to say that we do not agree with the behavior of Mrs. Heyer.]
Contact with the children is not yet sufficient [at the Waldorf school]. We have a careful method. However, this also requires that the children are not left to their own devices, because they feel the need to be in contact with the teaching staff. This method does not allow teachers to sit aloof, above the children's private circumstances. The children must [also have a little] human contact with the teachers.
B. B. has said goodbye to me. He is now leaving. This means that there is no longer any need to take any disciplinary measures against him.
KARL SCHUBERT reports on the student H. II., who stole and behaved shamelessly indecently.
RUDOLF STEINER: This is a difficult case. In the case of H. H., it must be borne in mind that he has no real father. His mother, who has always been an unhappy woman, constitutionally unstable, was very attached to the boy. She did not know what to do and became anxious about every piece of news she received from Stuttgart. She did not know whether she had the money to keep him here. All this instability is constitutional in her. [She is completely unstable psychologically.] This has been expressed by the fact that she is [now] coming here to a mental institution. This could just as well have happened earlier. It could well lead back to the previous state.
Everything that this woman has psychologically has slipped down from the mother's astral body into the boy's etheric body, has moved into the boy organically, so that his organic behavior is a faithful reflection of his mother's psychological behavior. In the astral body, it is only uncertainty of judgment, not knowing what to do. In his case, it is a desire to expose himself. Take the most striking case, where the boy behaves shamelessly at the window. The mother remains judgmental; for her, it is a psychological illness to allow her soul to be seen in a shameless manner in front of the boy. This is medically known. [In the boy, it manifests as physical exhibitionism. Here you can see how heredity really works. What is present in the parents' souls manifests itself physically in the next generation.]
I am well aware that what matters with this boy is to bring him to the age of eighteen or nineteen with kindness. Then his conscience will speak. He must first [properly integrate] that part of his ego from his previous incarnation that forms the basis of his conscience. It is not yet properly integrated, so that [in him] the conscience does not [yet] speak in any way about things that the conscience of others speaks about. He experiments with all these things, as one always experiments with the higher human being when the lower human being does not have within himself that which keeps him firm and upright. This is something that will last until he is eighteen or nineteen years old. One must treat him kindly, otherwise one will have it on one's conscience that one has allowed him to become corrupted beforehand, and that what will [certainly] come up will remain corrupted. The boy is gifted, but his gift does not keep pace with his moral constitution. Moral insanity is organically present in him. [Now] such children must be guided through a certain age with benevolence. Without approving of [what they do]. What consciously belongs to theft was not present at all in the case when they hid the money and so on. [To Karl Schubert] Keep him [in the remedial class] for now, it will do him a lot of good. He should continue to be treated as before.
Much more unpleasant for us as anthroposophists is the incident with the mother. The triggering moment was certainly that she came to the place she had always thought about.
She always thought about Stuttgart.
ALEXANDER STRAKOSCH reports on the students who are beginning to engage in political activities at school.
RUDOLF STEINER: Then [there are] the cases that are part of the current zeitgeist, the German nationalist activities at school. [I have already been told about them.] I cannot believe that this movement originates [only] from Maikowski alone. The question is whether the boys are doing this out of sheer idleness or because they belong to a group. This matter is very difficult to deal with. [One can] only do something positive about it by cultivating in some way that which these boys and girls are equally likely to join. Just think, nationalism doesn't need to play such a big role at that age. But what attracts them is the old trinkets and fanfare. And that's where the judgment comes in: Yes, our Waldorf teachers sit at home on Sundays, make a face that reaches their stomach, meditate, and so on. Dölker is a completely different guy! What nice people they are! — If nothing is done to counteract this, it is quite likely to take on great proportions. The Olympic enthronement of the teaching staff is simply a little too exaggerated.
[It would be necessary for us to counteract this with something else. You don't have to do it all yourself.] Encourage Dr. Lehrs' intentions so that the children have something to do. It seemed quite obvious to me that if we are careful [in our selection, [we should draw on our own loyal young people from the movement to organize excursions and so on]. In terms of the flexibility needed to arrange something like this, even the Waldorf teachers could learn something. Otherwise, this Olympian enthronement will [always] remain. The management of the school must [always] be the first duty of the faculty. [But you should set something like this up.] [These nationalistic things] can have very far-reaching consequences, so that we end up with a corps of roughnecks. I don't fear the attitude so much as the roughness. But if the students are aware that we are [there] together with the teachers, that the teachers are not inside [probably: in their homes on Sunday], then this cannot take hold.
This also played a major role in the debates we had in Dornach about the establishment of the Youth Section. We must succeed in creating within the Youth Section the possibility of creating a kind of countercurrent against [all] these aspirations, [which go very far]. Just think of the Masonic orders founded among young people, which exert a strong suggestive influence on youth, working everywhere in the sense that they exploit nationalistic aspirations. The youth movement as such in our country would have to be brought into a good relationship with the concerned leadership of the teaching staff in some way. Everything [here] is [still] far too separate, far too atomized. The teaching staff here should oppose the general Stuttgart principle of always acting in a divisive rather than a unifying manner. The teaching staff should work together much more.
A question is asked about the next Abitur exams.
RUDOLF STEINER: The children [in the final class] have written to me saying they would like to talk to me. I can only do that if I come to the conference on Tuesday. Then I would ask that the whole class be summoned.
Overall, I think that the results of the Abitur exams have clearly shown that all the things [we have discussed] still apply. It would of course be better if we could form a special class and keep the Waldorf school free from the foreign elements that come in as a result. What we have discussed remains valid, of course, and should not be changed. But the statistics of the results seem to indicate that the poor results are often related to the fact that the students were unable to cope when they had to solve their tasks on their own, because they were [probably] too used to solving problems in chorus. You know that it is very useful to engage the children in chorus, but it always turns out that the class makes a better impression when speaking in chorus than when the students are supposed to work on their own. There was a lack of time, but it seems that the students were not encouraged enough to solve problems on their own. They did not understand this properly. [They were shocked by individual tasks.] They had a student—I have the impression that the benefits of speaking in unison are somewhat exaggerated, [that, for example], if there are a few troublemakers, they are quickly made to speak in unison. It has become a habit to work only with the whole class. It is not a matter of getting used to dealing with the individuality of the students. That seems to me to be the essence of what was missing. [We must not] delude ourselves: for our school, the result is quite unfavorable. We passed five out of nine students. They did not pass with flying colors. What will happen [now] to those who did not take or pass the Abitur? All these things will have to be discussed with me on Wednesday, when I arrive, in the presence of the teachers of the final class.
[Rudolf Steiner also wants to speak with those who did not pass.]
ERICH SCHWEBSCH asks for further guidelines for the educational Easter conference in Stuttgart.
RUDOLF STEINER: We made the board decision about this conference from the point of view that such a treatment could express the [full] significance of the Waldorf school within [the educational system] of the present, that one could point out the importance of the Waldorf school principle in a striking way. That one could say here and there why a Waldorf school and such a methodology are necessary. [This kind of systematization provides an opportunity to point out to people] there is a difference between Waldorf education and other reform efforts. [Then] the other point of view would be that here [what is said in the letters to the youth movement in the “Nachrichtenblatt”] is really being put into practice.
This second letter to the younger members says [actually] that at present it is not good for people to be born as children. It is really true that when people are born as children today, they are forced into a method of education that simply stunts their growth, that imposes on them the necessity of being old. Whether someone tells me [what is considered the content of civilization today] when I am eighteen or when I am seventy-five is completely irrelevant. It is the same whether I accept it as an eighteen-year-old or a seventy-five-year-old. Things are true or untrue. [This can be proven logically or refuted logically.] They are valid or they are not. But one only grows into such a relationship at the age of eighteen, so that one would have to decide [not to enter a child's body at all, but] to enter an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old body. [Then it is possible.]
If a [former] initiate is born today, [he cannot act as an initiate again if] he has gone through the present school. I have discussed this [in lectures in Dornach on the] Garibaldi incarnation. [He was an initiate, but] his earlier initiation could only come to light [in the way he then became], detached from the world, a practical revolutionary. [...]
[Rudolf Steiner made further remarks about Garibaldi, but these have only been transcribed in a completely fragmentary form.] [This is just one example of how today] people are unable to bring out what is within them. We really must give children back their childhood! That is one of the tasks of the Waldorf school.
[A number of young people in Dornach have responded to the announcement of the Youth Section.] The Youth Section is [certainly very] honest [and sincere]. [What struck me most was how old these young people are.] The youth in Dornach are [so] old. They [all] talk about old things. They cannot be young. They want to be young, but that is [only] in their subconscious. What [has] entered their heads [is often senile]. It is so clever, [so finished]. Young people must [also] be allowed to be foolish. But they all speak so sensibly and thoughtfully, not foolishly at all. I like it best when foolish things come up, which are unpleasant, but I like that best. At a youth meeting in Dornach recently, what was said there was so clever, as if professors had spoken. I said [something as] a joke, and they took it seriously. It is really a cloak of intelligence that is being donned [there], which does not fit in any way. This is evident in the speeches. — Do you feel [yourself] quite childish when young people speak today?
[Such] things [about the task of the Waldorf school towards young people] should come out with a certain momentum [here] at the Easter conference. We must not [merely] give clever lectures, but have momentum. [One would have to exercise] wisdom in expressing [the connection between the Anthroposophical Society and the school, so as not to offend people], so that people do not say: Now they have implemented what the school was supposed to be from the beginning, an anthroposophical school. We must counter this by saying that we] have expanded anthroposophy [in order to be able to do things that are generally human, [we must show that] anthroposophy is suitable for bringing something generally human. We must [also adhere to this in detail]. We must not give the impression [too strongly] that we are lecturing on anthroposophy. We must utilize the [anthroposophical] truth [in the school], not lecture on anthroposophy in theory. These were the points of view we had at the time. These matters are being followed with great interest by the Dornach Executive Council. It wants to be informed about everything and to participate in everything. It has to get used to the routine. [All aspects of anthroposophy will gradually be dealt with in the letters in the “Nachrichtenblatt.”] [...] [Comments on the university course.]
The people in Bern intend [at the pedagogical course before Easter] not to ask the teachers [of the Waldorf School] to give detailed lectures, but rather to make introductory remarks, which should be followed by discussions, as was usually proposed.
The question is asked whether the two current 8th grades should be merged into one 9th grade.
RUDOLF STEINER: It is not easy to find a teacher. The third 5th grade would be more necessary than the second 9th grade. I)a It would be possible to merge them. These children are fourteen to fifteen years old. It should not be the case that these children cannot be managed. It is difficult to find a suitable teacher at the moment. I have looked into this. We will discuss the whole matter later.
The question is asked whether it would not be better from an educational point of view if the upper classes also had a permanent class teacher, as the lower classes do.
RUDOLF STEINER: That [which would be necessary] cannot be achieved by a class teacher if he or she does not do the necessary things. It would be necessary for this to be the aspiration of all those in the upper classes. I do not believe that [having a class teacher] can be of such great importance. If we all strive to get close to the children, then I cannot see why this needs to be regulated.
ROBERT KILLIAN asks about a planned holiday camp in Transylvania.
RUDOLF STEINER: [It can be done with supervision. However, I find it difficult to imagine how this could be done. In Switzerland, a few Swiss people have come forward. The circumstances there are different. It is very eastern. You have peculiar experiences there. In the winter of 1889/90, I traveled to Sibiu to give a lecture. It happened that I was unable to catch my connection in Budapest. I had to travel via Szeged and arrived in Mediasch at two o'clock in the afternoon. There I was told that I would have to stay until two o'clock. I arrived in the town and went to a coffee house. You had to scrape the dirt off with a knife. Then the gamblers arrived. There was something volcanic and stormy in the astral bodies that were tangled up with each other. There is momentum and enthusiasm. The room was next to the pigsty. The room smelled of bedbugs. That's the kind of place you find yourself in there. You have to protect the children from the consequences of the experience. They are bitten by all kinds of insects.
[On the collection of the German Foreign Institute:] That could be done quite well. [On Mollenkopf's admission to the youth celebration, who wants to send his children to free religious instruction:] Tell him that we are deviating from the usual practice. We don't need to be pedantic in any disciplinary measures. I. K. then comes over to Miss Uhland.
There had been great difficulties with one of the teachers, Carl Albert Friedenreich.
RUDOLF STEINER: I had the impression that we [should] give Friedenreich a vacation, give him an opportunity to collect himself. I did not mean it in any other way. I got the impression that he might need a rest. The question [now] is to what extent he can be needed at the school. If he feels intensely engaged, then it is possible to keep him. He is unstable, says Baumann. He cannot play the piano enough to do that. He was easily offended. We can't really do anything else with him but give him a rest and then take him back. We can hardly do anything else with him.
As far as the case itself is concerned, I would like to say that I think it is necessary for us to focus our attention on ensuring that such things [as discussions with the students] do not develop. Where will we end up if we provoke discussions between equals, so that the students [raise objections against the teachers]. That's not the way to go about it. It didn't lead to anything in the case at that time, where students were expelled. Now it's supposed to happen again, that a few random students come and want to talk things out with the teachers. That's not really the way to go about it. It didn't lead to anything in the cases at that time, where it led to expulsion. Certainly, Frieden.reich does all [these] things, [but] we can't let the students completely undermine the authority of the teachers. [That's what happens when] we [the teachers] let the students judge us. That's a terrible thing. The students then sit in judgment over the teachers. [We have to avoid that.] Sure, some yell at them more, some less; some are witty, some less so, and so on. But such discussions among the students, where the students call the teacher before the tribunal, should not be taken seriously. That's not right. Otherwise, what has already been suggested will come to pass, that it is not the teachers who give the grades, but the students who give their assessments of the teachers' abilities from week to week. We have to agree to employ him only in the lower grades. There is not much else we can do.
He [Friedenreich] will keep getting caught up in things like this. Yes, is the situation with L. W. really that bad?
PAUL BAUMANN replies.
RUDOLF STEINER: After Easter, we will employ him in the lower grades. He should already feel—it will take a long time—that it won't work if he behaves like this. He must be reprimanded. He must be told that he may have to be sent on leave permanently. It is not possible to bring about equal conversations between teachers and students. He's a handful. On the other hand, he's a good person. He hasn't found the right connection, which is also part of it. You have to maneuver with him. The time will come when he makes himself completely impossible at school. But we have to give him the opportunity to rehabilitate himself now. I'm afraid he won't take it.
In such a case, there is usually no other help than for the person concerned to find a friend to whom he himself is attached, with whom he can connect, and who will gradually help him out of his childishness. Because everything about him is attuned to a certain childishness. Despite his musical talent, he has remained a child in a corner of his being. He is at the same level as the students. That is what causes everything else.
The living conditions seem to be terrible, but how is one thing related to the other? Piper wrote and said that the Waldorf teaching staff does not care about Friedenreich, who lives in terrible conditions. I just can't see what [his behavior] has to do with his living conditions. Someone else may have even worse living conditions and yet would not think of letting other people's students kiss him at school. Kissing students happens quite often, but letting others kiss them is not something that has anything to do with living conditions. [...] [Further practice] He is a poor man. He needed to find a friend, but he didn't find one. Then he would have had support. There is no other help for someone like him. He obviously has nothing he likes to turn to. Perhaps he ended up here in the teaching staff due to a mistake in karma. If he could find someone he belonged with, then what I said would come true. But I don't think there is anyone in the entire faculty with whom Friedenreich could get along [and be friends]. It is, perhaps not in terms of greatness, but [still] as with Hölderlin, but not in terms of greatness.