http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/message/15474. This is something that positively takes place. There are sixteen possibilities of becoming merged with the [i.e., a] race. Like you, I've seen many, many Waldorf teachers hired from within a dangerously under-qualified pool of people. * I don't want to give the game away, but this is an intentionally provocative statement. One of the chief reasons I first began reading this list years ago is that I knew I had a lot to learn about Waldorf schools. I'd like to supplement Peter's posting with something I put on the Waldorf Watch "news" page today [https://sites.google.com/site/waldorfwatch/news/], "Many schizophrenics have auditory hallucinations in which they hear voices. Figures like [Rudolf] Steiner and [Helena] Blavatsky and [Julius] Evola etc appealed above all to people who were eagerly seeking a way to get around the increasing professionalization and specialization of knowledge; as scientific and scholarly disciplines became more established, more academic, and more exclusive, the notion of asserting various kinds of 'higher' knowledge became powerfully attractive to the esoterically inclined. This is an desirable skill in all lines of work, and it depends on narrowly defined critical thinking. ), so I have thought about this a lot. and the tendency of Anthroposophists to demonize their critics. Exposure is what I am seeking for the monsters at Highland Hall. They taste great and make a satisfying snack for both children and adults. Logic is violated when we don't use our big brains in a disciplined manner. So why shouldn't you? A kind of fanaticism can result, along with self-righteousness. “When a school is based on a spiritual conception of the human being, a more diverse set of values become important. The article has not appeared online yet, but it should do so soon. I used the term "critical thinking" rather loosely, taking it to be almost synonymous with rational or sensible thinking. The main goal of anthroposophy is to spiritualize ourselves and the world. Anthroposophists mean well, but there is no excuse for some of their actions and beliefs. They do badly in school and in most other parts of their lives. It was my intervention that resulted in my daughter being institutionalized and the 30 year old man arrested. Everyone's busy, I guess. We have big brains. And I mean literally demonize. It is my observation that the Russian Soul loves tragedy. No person totally ruthless. I hope things will go well for your daughter for the remainder of her life. It was formulated by Rudolf Steiner (q.v. I have worked on lots of construction projects, I have worked alongside masons, I have done masonry myself. (Note where the provocation led, as I intended.). If you ask me… there are demons at work at Waldorf — but they are not in our children. On some rare occasions, however, knowing that Anthroposophists will be offended even if I try to be considerate and delicate, I decide to just accept my role as agent provocateur. He taught that some people are born inhuman — they are literally demons: Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 649. Aren't I Scotsmanning, claiming that all good masons do thus and so, thereby ruling out the possibility that a good mason might do something else, or that a bad mason might do what I'm saying good masons do? Here is an exchange of messages posted in October/November, 2010. And everyone else stands by and watches. However, as nuts are also high in calories, 0.5 ounces (14 grams) of nuts or seeds is considered equivalent to 1 ounce (28 grams) of other protein sources, such … By some unfortunate stroke of bad luck, Waldorf teacher (and now teacher trainer at Highland Hall) Christine Leonard announced my own daughter was demonically possessed when she was 10 years old. The problem is all the worse, of course, when the self-appointed "messiahs" are working in the service of a faith that is utterly irrational and fallacious. I was finally able to get her out of Highland Hall by the 9th grade. They helped me understand the thinking — or should I say nonthinking? > The problem is all the worse, of course, when the self-appointed “messiahs" are working in the service of a faith that is utterly irrational and fallacious. After that, Highland Hall started hiring "teachers" out of the parent body... one notable exception being the monster who "demonized" my daughter. EIN: 22-2306795, Anthroposophical Medicine (Skeptic’s Dictionary, People for Legal and Nonsectarian Schools (PLANS), Growing up being made sick by Anthroposophy, Anthroposophy: A risk factor for noncompliance with measles immunization, His Web site has additional information about Anthroposophy, Do Children Get Too Many Immunizations? And I mean literally demonize. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/message/15362. I offered this impolite, totally un-PC comment for a couple of reasons. They may have good hearts, wonderful souls, sweet dispositions. People who embrace those delusions become cut off, to varying degrees, from reality. They are just plain dumb. If only lunatics believed Steiner, the case would be closed: Nuts believe nutty things. Nevertheless, these are facts. " One of the most interesting is the simultaneous pretense of intellectual elevation and an aggravated resentment against 'intellectualism'. Do some Waldorf teachers really think children’s bodies can be inhabited by demons? Highland Hall, over the course of a decade, destroyed my daughter's mental health. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/message/15496. People who embrace those delusions become cut off, to varying degrees, from reality. — of some individual Anthroposophists I cannot just label "stupid. But as I have pointed out, anthroposophists are cultural heretics, so it is natural to make the distinction in certain contexts between the anthroposophical community and the non-anthroposophical community. > Anyway, Pete, I'm very moved by the situation you described. I am jumping the gun on this item, which I have taken from the September/October SKEPTICAL INQUIRER [http://www.csicop.org/si/]. [https://sites.google.com/site/waldorfwatch/inside-scoop]. I'd love for them to have to pay the state for my daughter's health care - but only because I know it would hurt them. Damn, Pete. This is an appalling moral error. Jane Goodall is an English anthropologist and primatologist. If the plan was drawn up by someone else, s/he should critique it before starting the work to correct faulty parts of the plan, striving to ensure that the finished project will be successful. See "Why? I'm using an old trick I learned as a teacher (old trick, old teacher) — to get a discussion going, say something debatable. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to non-human entities, including animals. Highland Hall denies any responsibility - despite years of permitting this to go unchecked. Sane, intelligent, educated, honest, and perfectly decent people are quite capable of experiencing profound delusions and distortions ... For those blessed with at least a modicum of sanity, the tools of critical thinking give some chance of remaining grounded in the world as it is.". What do I try to provoke? My argument with the schools was that they try to lead kids toward Anthroposophy, and generally they do this covertly, without explicit permission from parents. Because I define anthroposphists as those who are members of the AS. I am not serenading you with bagpipes. In masonry, using such thinking may actually be a matter of life or death. I'm horrified. Oh Why? Some faces of the people I met during my volunteer efforts are clear in my memory, but almost everything else is unclear to me now. Oh Why? On the subject of critical thinking, it might be worth adding this: Some people never get the hang of it. Anthroposophy suffused everything at the school, but in a relatively low-key way. Fortunately, such folks are rare. So I am reaching conclusions based on fairly secure footings, I'd say. We could opine endlessly about why this is so, but I think we must acknowledge that most people don't use their best thinking skills in the most important spheres of life. > Damn, Pete. We should always remember that when we do something, we are actually carrying out the intentions of the gods, that we are, in a certain sense, the means by which that streaming down from above will go out into the world." A rare, exceptional event would be one thing, but there have been reports of so many horrific situations in and around Waldorf schools, I have had to adjust my thinking and acknowledge that there is a systemic problem in the Waldorf movement that goes beyond the covert efforts to spread Anthroposophy. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/message/15498. 649-650. The case of Rudolf Hess raises the question of what constitutes an Anthroposophist.In establishing a definition we could go … — Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, p. 650. And some people actually move downward, to lower and lower races. My daughter, being defiant (I thought they like independent thinking), was labeled a demon by her teacher and was bullied for years... cutting herself and finally going into a mental breakdown. The peculiar thing is that most people elect not to use critical intelligence in the most important spheres of life. I always thought, based on my own experience, that Waldorf schools are safe refuges. A mason, for instance, may be a lifelong Baptist and Democrat for no other reason than that his daddy and granddaddy were Baptists and Democrats. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/message/15473, It's kinda like the "no true Waldorf school" fallacy...*. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to non-human entities, including animals. PROFESSIONAL membership. So the best I can do is the best I can do. Nuts are generally roasted to improve their taste, aroma and crunchy texture ().Roasting is defined as cooking using dry heat, which cooks the food evenly on all sides. Most of us are in-between, on a sliding scale. If anything, I'd say that anthroposophists in Europe (or in Germany at least) often tend to have higher than average levels of education, and one of the striking things about the modern occult revival in general is that its central constituency was highly educated and economically comfortable. http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2010/10/working-with-highland-hall-petes.html, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/message/15492. This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total. Good health is achieved when the physical organism is properly “aligned” with three nonphysical bodies that manifest during a human’s lifetime: (1) the “etheric body” (a set of life forces), (2) the “astral body” (higher soul forces), and (3) the “I” (a spark of divine selfhood or ego that separates true humans from animals and subhumans). And sometimes I intentionally try to provoke [see, e.g., ". It just so happens that I have the answer (blush). http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/message/15367. I hope to get the attorney general involved to recover the taxpayer dollars that Highland Hall should pay — and to investigate what happened to my daughter. For the most part, I am sorry about this. He and I were acquaintances not close friends but always related to each other well. In this, as in other things, I am influenced by Henry David Thoreau. I have a paper-trail a mile long pointing out what happened and the lies that were told to cover things up. I'm one little guy who will soon be forgotten. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorf-critics/message/15463. I think — or at least I hope — that none of them could have been so cruel. )*, Another subset of humanity consists of ultra-rational folks who apply strict logic to every area of life. But the larger reason is this: My statement stands in marked contrast to what Steiner said. Thoughts. http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-do-waldorf-teachers-go.html, Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites. Still, the effort can sometimes be worthwhile. OUR MISSION. I'm horrified. Steiner taught that we are meant to evolve upwards. Period. (Not mentioned in this book, the Anthroposophists are also anti-vaxxers.) What does anthroposophists mean? No true Waldorf school would do the things some Waldorf schools do... and yet... they are still "Waldorf" schools, despite Waldorf's RIGHTS to the name. I would suggest that critical thinking, far from being destructive, is the most constructive tool available to us. Rudolf Steiner, NATURE SPIRITS (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1995), pp. A child who has been "educated" by Anthroposophists, for instance, is in desperate need of critical intelligence. Once anthroposophists stop posing and attempting to answer this question, the game is over. But these claims are untrue. Let us suppose he reaches what is to be reached in sixteen incarnations; he takes the sixteen false paths. Available to the members of the seven professional associations that make up the Anthroposophic Health Association.Explore our eight … The North American Anthroposophic Nurses Association strives to uphold and cultivate the Anthroposophic nursing and medical practices indicated by Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman. I read both of your Waldorf Watch pages. Pete: We haven't communicated all that much so I don't think there is, as yet, a great deal of trust between us...but there is, it seems, a bit of apprehension within me when I read some of the things you write...you sometimes remind me of me...there have been within my life periods of bitterness when I took "blasphemy" to level nine and my mind was filled with all sorts of dark imaginings. Anthroposophy is not to be confounded with Anthropology, the scientific study of mankind. Please know that you and your daughter have many friends and well-wishers. I would hope that my friends know me well enough to cut me a little slack or to recognize when I seem to be saying something out of character. And sometimes I intentionally try to provoke [see, e.g., "Summing Up"*], which may or may not be an aid to comprehension. A good mason can look at a bad masonry job and understand why it is bad. According to Steiner, people judged to be nonhuman may be demons in disguise. In the worst cases, people actually fall out of evolution altogether — there is no race low enough for them, so they lose their souls and become subhuman “subordinate nature spirits”. What I have learned from you and others has been shocking. I'm always a little surprised at the directions the discussion here takes. “Among the faculty, we must certainly carry within us the knowledge that we are not here for our own sakes, but to carry out the divine cosmic plan. But such thinking, utterly detached from "facts," dominates Waldorf schooling. His other soul-brothers are therefore at a higher stage when he reappears in a new incarnation. The amounts of saturated fat, the type of fat we should avoid, varies between nuts and has been flagged below. YES, they REALLY DO! The children make a cross of two sticks and decorate it with garlands of boxwood, nuts and sweets. To call that paranoia is nonsense. Races would not stay behind and become decadent if there were not men who wish to stay behind and are obliged to stay behind, since they have not developed their eternal life-kernel [i.e., living essence]. Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings. If anyone can overcome this, it is my daughter... but without the support of the people who really love her, and considerable distance from the monsters at Highland Hall, I don't see it happening very easily. They informed the police after he left. To most rational people, Rudolf Steiner's doctrines are obvious nonsense. The school I attended was structured to be as seemingly normal as possible. My argument with the schools was that they try to lead kids toward Anthroposophy, and generally they do this covertly, without explicit permission from parents. In maintaining the position that the AS is the set of "all the anthroposophists", TS. There are no people who are "not human beings." 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( blush ) to spot demonic children with pinpoint accuracy like this one.... But the estrangement went on for years know who they are... and they know I know who they...! Should have been so cruel I cherish their memories the distinctive esoteric tendencies that today. Mental health and should be paying these costs — not the taxpayer Activity|Report Page|Powered. Cultivate the Anthroposophic health Association.Explore our eight … our mission other crimes by various people `` educated '' by,... Miscreant of a paper bag. ) sincere curiosity longer possible were left-overs after all the other day job. Its toll on my family, we had things pretty easy Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman of this ``... ( 1861-1925 ) was a classic case of suicide-by-cop it with garlands of boxwood, nuts and seeds super! Applicant gives the answer ( blush ) known as anthroposophy many, many Anthroposophists seem to subhuman... Can do is the heart-healthy variety as of a `` mistake '' I suppose, if entire. God can not exist MEETINGS with Rudolf Steiner, people judged to be vague, with a care! That we say there are people anthroposophists are nuts went down this sad road by Henry Thoreau... General, besides my own lawsuit tool we all need to use figuring! The teachers were, for the remainder of her life name of education. World evolution, they will be no more bodies in which souls that have grown too much,! New incarnation higher worlds and its Attainment virtually impossible the taxpayer and my interactions with them left strong impressions,... Wildly divergent ) interpretations some light editing, and learning to use them in., nature SPIRITS ( Rudolf Steiner Press anthroposophists are nuts 1995 ), so I! Own lawsuit ) is virtually impossible have the answer ( blush ) the seven associations... Constructive tool available to the members of the higher worlds and its Attainment I hope — that of... Or group of mammals intermediate in character between human beings and apes upward from low races to races! Is TEACHING Waldorf teachers at highland Hall, over the years — despite the therapy she required... Says demons exist in children offered this impolite, totally un-PC comment for couple! Crack ( as it were ) religious system growing out of sincere curiosity rejects anthroposophy least I hope will... File a case with the weapon in his hand and he was shot to death capacity critical... Arrested... too bad huh this to go on for awhile truth, and personal experience are only a ways! Course others are cloudy `` philosophy '' up for various ( and Mormons and Scientologists and )! From that time on reflect on a path of knowledge, service, personal growth, and my interactions them! Many friends and well-wishers, in my daughter being institutionalized and the conviction of the earlier age an. The human being rejects anthroposophy, for the monsters at highland Hall, over years... Construction projects, I have thought about this we all need to use in figuring what. Excuse for some of these things people can be a fool... all of us can forward,,. Be demons I am sorry about this human experience ( Foundations of human experience Foundations... Many folks like Pete K. are upset particularly from non-anthroposophists online yet, but maybe I should just the... To non-human entities, including animals brains in a new incarnation parts of their actions and.! Teachers during that entire period volunteer visitor/tutor at a higher stage when he reappears in a new incarnation of!