Part Two: The Procedings of
the Conference
Rudolf Steiner's Contribution During
The Meeting of the Swiss School Association
[ Note 56 ]
28
DECEMBER, IN THE AFTERNOON IN THE GLASS HOUSE
TOWARDS the end of the meeting, Dr Steiner spoke the
following words:
In addition
to what I took the liberty of saying at the close of the last
course which I was able to hold for the Swiss teachers, I
have perhaps only a few more remarks to make in connection
with the difficulties of the Swiss school movement. It seems
to me that things do in part indeed depend on how the
educational movement connected with Anthroposophy is run here
in Switzerland.
The Waldorf
School in Germany has remained essentially in a position of
isolation. Though there have been one or two further
foundations, in Hamburg, Cologne and so on, the Waldorf
School in Germany, in other words in a relatively extensive
area, has remained a solitary example. It will remain to be
seen, therefore, whether what is to be started in England as
a kind of Waldorf school, and also the school with three
classes that already exists in Holland, will also to begin
with remain as solitary examples.
Apart from
everything else it has to be said that the reason why these
schools are still only isolated examples, and also why it can
be expected that they will remain so for a long time, is
simply that the present social circumstances really do make
it impossible for an attitude to come about that could lead
to the financing of a larger number of such schools.
Experience over the years has shown this quite clearly. And
this challenges us to think carefully about the whole
direction we should take with our educational movement.
This is
especially necessary with regard to Switzerland. For
Switzerland is pervaded by a very strong sense for everything
represented by the state. And now that the Swiss school
association for independent education has been founded, I do
believe that the chief difficulties will arise from this
Swiss sense of statehood. Even less than anywhere else will
it be possible here in Switzerland to find an opening for the
belief that a truly independent school could be an example
for a model method of education, or that schools such as this
could be founded on a larger scale. We should not allow
ourselves to be under any illusion in this respect. Aversion
to a system of education that is independent of the state is
very great here.
Of course
what Herr Gnädiger has just said is right, namely that
there will be interest in how things are done in a model
school.
Least of all
here in Switzerland can you expect the president of the
Schweizerischer Schulverein,
of whom you have spoken, to have any
interest in the school other than that pertaining to its
status as a model. Perhaps his interest will turn out to be
such that he would like to influence Swiss state schools to
take up certain methodological aspects from this model
school. But this seems to me to be the only aspect that can
be counted on to attract interest here in Switzerland. That
is why it seems to me to be important to take up these two
things wherever educational associations of the kind you have
mentioned are founded; and also that many such associations
should be founded, more and more of them!
Another
aspect is that the crux of anthroposophical education is its
method. The schools apply a certain method. It is not a
question of any particular political direction but purely and
simply of method. It is also not a question of any particular
religious creed, or of seeing Anthroposophy somehow as a
religious creed. It is simply a question of method.
In the
discussion that followed my lecture cycle
[ Note 57 ]
my answer to questions on
this was simply that the educational method represented here
can be applied anywhere, wherever there is the good will to
introduce it.
If this is
done on the one hand, and if on the other hand — in
order to create an understanding in wider circles — it
is clearly emphasized that this is the proper method and that
it is being applied in a school that can serve as a model, if
these two points are given the main emphasis in the
programme, if it is stressed that every school could use
these methods and that a model school could demonstrate how
fruitful they are, and if things are worked out neatly, then
I believe that something could be achieved even in
Switzerland. And then on the basis of these two points
educational associations ought to be founded everywhere. But
it would have to be made clear to everyone that the aim was
not to found as many private schools as possible to compete
with the state schools. In Switzerland such a thing would be
regarded as something very peculiar and it would never be
understood. But there would be an understanding for a model
school which could be a source of inspiration for a method of
education. Progress cannot be made in any other way. It is
important to present these things to people in principle
again and again and wherever the opportunity arises.
I believe it
would be a good thing if you could always give the greatest
prominence to these two aspects. They are perfectly true, and
much damage has been done to us by the constant repetition of
the view that Waldorf education can only be carried out in
schools apart from the main stream, whereas I have constantly
repeated that the methods can be applied in any school.
This is what
I wanted to say, for everything else is linked to this. I
also believe that a financial basis will only be won when
there can be an understanding of these things. There will be
very little understanding in Switzerland for independent
schools if they are not linked to what I have just been
saying. But if this is done, I believe that our efforts could
lead to a greater degree of success than has been the case
hitherto. So far the existing financial situation is not
sufficient basis for the founding of a school in Basel.
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