Notes from Nathaniel Williams, the place of Waldorf education in the context of society

The Waldorf Schools and the Living Organism of Society: a talk on the origin of the Waldorf movement and its place within the context of society, by Nathaniel Williams, Waldorf art teacher, from New York, Nov. 19, 2011

Azalea Mountain School received a profound gift Saturday evening, the talk by Nathaniel Williams about the origin of the Waldorf movement and its place in the context of society.

Nathaniel created a graphic picture for us about the conditions in Germany after World War I, when the country’s males were maimed from combat and all suffered from poverty and inflation.  Socialism was the articulate social movement then. 

In these conditions, workers from the German Waldorf cigarette factory came to Rudolph Steiner and asked him for the solution to these terrible conditions.  He told them that distributions of profits to workers and democracy of management would not work.  Instead he told them that the fundamental problem was that culture was administered by the state and the economy.  He said that the cultural sphere of human endeavors (education, health and religion) must be available to all without control by state or by economy.  When culture is free from state and economy, then initiations will jump from the human heart, and morality and human caring will flourish, creating the solutions to economic and government woes.

The workers of the Waldorf cigarette factory asked Steiner how to create such a school of freedom, and the first Waldorf school was born.  Steiner said that the social movement based on the separation of culture (education) from government and economics (called the three fold social order) would only be successful when there were 1,000 such schools.  However in 1933 the National Socialist Party in Germany shut down the first Waldorf school.  It reopened in 1945 after World War II.

Nathaniel spoke of the goals of the civil rights movement to abolish poverty and war.  These goals were not met by the civil rights movement, even with all the positive change to laws created by Dr. ML King.  Dr. King was trying to foster moral elevation as was Dr. Steiner. These larger goals can only be met when schools are no longer administered by the state. 

Nathaniel also spoke of the Occupy Wall Street movement, now working for changes to economy and law.  This time we live in is ripe for the solution, the freedom of the cultural sphere, as there are now 1,000 Waldorf schools worldwide.  Even the CEOs of Silicon Valley are sending their children to Waldorf schools which do not have computers, according to the recent article in the NY Times.

However, Nathaniel warned us that the challenges to Waldorf schools and to the social movement they are supporting, are to keep Waldorf schools free from government and industrial control and to keep them accessible to all, regardless of income.

This is the goal of Azalea Mountain School, to provide accessibility for all who choose Waldorf education.  This deeper understanding of moral goodness fostered by Waldorf schools free from state control, sets the stage for the first annual fundraising campaign by Azalea Mountain.  We are not simply sending children to school, we are creating the possibility for moral vitality, for creativity coming from intuition and inspiration to solve our social problems.

Nathaniel recommended reading Toward Social Renewal by Rudolph Steiner to learn more about the three fold social order, the proper relationship between culture, government and economy.

Nathaniel Williams was born and raised in the south eastern United States.  He studied art and anthroposophy at the neueKUNSTschule in Basel, Switzerland from January 2000 until December 2002 completing a fulltime course in Painting.  After graduating from art school he worked with Thomas G Meier on the first mystery drama by Rudolf Steiner through the art of marionette theater.  He returned to the USA in 2004 and he has since taught art in waldorf schools and the Free Columbia Art Course.  He lives in Philmont, NY.  Nathaniel taught the Foundation Study program class in Asheville on Saturday, Nov. 19.