What philosophy is our education system based on- Steiner’s?
Every education system has a philosophy that underpins it. Do you know the one that you are following? Sit for a moment before you continue reading and ask yourself this question.
The Question: What is education? This question has been following me for some time. I have travelled and asked locals this question, I have written blogs, I have reflected on my own school journey, and I still feel a deep sense of: What is this all for? This post is for anyone who has this sense too.
I know our current education systems are functioning, but for what purpose? Is it economic, spiritual, or is it about control? I hope we all step back and look at ourselves, our children, and our reasons.
In this series of blog posts, we will explore the philosophy that underpins Waldorf Education. I want to understand where this style of education has come from and its roots. To do that, we need to look at the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner and see how it has influenced the Waldorf method of education.
Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment
In his text Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment, Steiner explores ways to access something beyond the material world. One could argue that this is the highest form of learning or something we should all strive for. How does this affect the way a child navigates the world?
First, Steiner explores esoteric knowledge.
Esoteric knowledge is information that is not commonly understood or accepted by the general public. It is knowledge known, understood, or appreciated by only a small number of people, often those with special insights.
According to Steiner, since the beginning of human existence, individuals who have obtained these higher faculties have provided instructions to those who seek it. This training is called esoteric training.
He continues to say that, while one might be prohibited from learning to read by poverty or external obstacles, there is no such obstacle to attaining knowledge and proficiency in the higher worlds.
My Interpretation: Individuals who want to learn will find someone or something to instruct them. In a classroom, a student will find an instructor who possesses this knowledge. The individual comes from a place of wanting to know how and why the world works.
If a student does not have access to reading resources, their reading level will suffer—these are external obstacles outside the student's control. However, the student's drive to understand the why and the how links to a spiritual element that serves as an internal guide.
Conditions
Have you ever thought about what conditions you need to meet before you start to learn? List two in your head before you continue.
Conditions for the Student:
Path of veneration
Devotion to truth and knowledge
Steiner suggests that to become a student, one must be devoted to the path of veneration. Children look up with religious awe to those they venerate. They hold such respect that it forbids them from harbouring any thoughts of criticism or opposition. Steiner says that these children grow up to venerate things that fill them with respect.
For example, just before you enter a certain place, you pause outside the door because, for you, it is a holy place. There is a feeling that manifests inside you, and you know that this is the germ of your future knowledge. Students need a veneration for truth and knowledge, which flows from the depths of the heart.
My Interpretation: To begin learning anything, the starting point must come from the heart. We truly want to know why. We must have the utmost respect for what we are about to learn. We learn to suspend doubt about what we are learning so that when we grow up, we respect and retain that knowledge in awe. This is not to dismiss critical thinking but to maintain the purity of what we have just learned.
Requiring Knowledge
"If we do not develop within ourselves this deeply rooted feeling that there is something higher than ourselves, we shall never find the strength to evolve to something higher."
Steiner suggests that you can only acquire knowledge when you have learned to esteem it. There are laws in spiritual life, just as in physical life. Ice turns to water at a specific temperature, just as a feeling of true devotion leads to the power of knowledge.
If a student has acquired this feeling, they will later seek admittance to higher knowledge. Without such preparation, they will find it difficult to learn anything and will need to cultivate an inner life of devotion.
Even in the 1930s, Steiner saw that civilization teaches children to criticise more than to worship. He suggests that while we owe a great deal to this way of thinking and have made many advancements, it has come at a cost. What we have gained from external culture, we have lost in the higher knowledge of spiritual life.
My Interpretation: I believe Steiner is linking the spiritual world with the physical, suggesting that because of the way our education system is now, we have lost sight of our spiritual life. If the attainment of knowledge comes from a spiritual place, then one has a feeling of devotion to their field of work. He suggests that while the laws of physics are easy to see, the laws of spiritual life cannot be touched, only felt.
Today's Society vs. Before
Steiner further suggests that today’s society is filled with material distractions, and the attainment of spiritual knowledge has become harder due to the increased level of distractions. The material world has taken centre stage, pushing feelings of veneration, respect, adoration, and wonder into the background.
Whoever seeks higher knowledge must create it for themselves. It cannot be done through study alone; it must be done through life. In today’s world, if we criticise a man's shortcomings, we rob ourselves of the power to attain higher knowledge. Students must be wary of their thoughts of disrespect and adverse criticism, as it is not enough to show respect outwardly but inwardly as well.
My Interpretation: When looking at today's society, it is easy to see that we have become very materialistic. I think Steiner is saying that in the past, when there was less emphasis on material possessions, it was easier to wonder at the world. Learning used to be based on a feeling towards a topic, but now it has been pushed into the background.
He is also commenting on today’s attitude towards learning, where students are taught to criticise, and this has a knock-on effect as they become adults. He touches on elements of mental health, suggesting that respecting your thoughts and feelings is essential for higher attainment and quality of life.
Respecting the Learning Journey
How does a feeling then become part of learning? How do reverence and respect relate to cognition?
Steiner says that it is the soul that exercises the faculty of cognition, and feelings are to the soul what food is to the body. Veneration, homage, and devotion are like nourishment, while antipathy, underestimation, and disrespect have a withering effect on cognition. A person who constantly seeks distraction dulls themselves to the outer world and cannot find the way to higher knowledge.
For example, when passing through a beautiful mountain range, a traveller with a depth of soul and wealth of feelings will have a different experience than someone who is poor in feelings. What we experience within ourselves unlocks the beauty of the outside world for us. We must experience the divine within ourselves before we can hope to discover it in our environment.
My Interpretation: I think that when we listen to a great speech, something comes alive in us. We feel a connection to the speaker and the subject matter—there is something alive within us. This is the soul speaking to you, connected to cognition.
Taking this a step further, feeling an idea is different from merely thinking about it. This can be said of going through the mountains: we all see them, but some have cultivated more of an emotional connection to themselves and can literally feel more. A person who has distracted themselves from their inner self does not have the same skill set as the other.
How to Decide What to Learn
Students who sit in silence in their daily lives allow time to reflect on their experiences and permit messages from the outer world to resonate within their own self. The student prepares themselves to receive impressions from the outside world. The desire to enjoy impression after impression from the outside world dulls the faculty of cognition. Therefore, even though it is difficult, the enjoyment of these impressions is the answer.
Enjoyment is the scout informing them about the world, but once they realise that they are enjoying something, that is when the real work begins.
My Interpretation: I believe Steiner is suggesting how to choose what to learn.
If a student sits in silence and reflects on what they enjoy, then goes out and explores it, they will find something meaningful. However, rather than constantly moving on to the next thing, it is a skill to realise that you are enjoying this new discovery and to continue working on it.
Conclusion
In discussing the conditions for accessing higher worlds, Steiner is alluding to how a student makes choices about what to learn and where the drive to learn comes from.
The link between the spiritual and the material world does not exist in our schools today. I love how he has linked the soul with cognition—how your feelings feed the soul, which then facilitates cognition. We always tell our children to "just follow your heart."
Also it is important to hold what we learn in veneration. This is not to say that we should believe things dogmatically but that we should truly hold what we learn close to our hearts and respect it.
Finally, to answer this blog’s title. No, our current mainstream system does not follow his philosophy.
What’s Next
In the next blog post, we will continue exploring Steiner’s thoughts on the training of spiritual life and how it has influenced Waldorf Education, along with reflections on the mainstream system.
