Waldorf Schools and Political Bent

A friend of mine in liberal Massachusetts recently asked his fiscally conservative Republican father (who lives in a different state) to support his grandchild's Waldorf school. My friend described the school and the exchange as follows (I’m quoting him but I’ve changed things a bit to make them more generic):

“There is a strict dress code—no logos or camouflage. Not too much skin. There are haircut rules. Good manners and respectful behavior are taught and expected. Mornings begin with handshakes and eye contact. The day ends the same way. Cell phones are prohibited. Personal music devices are prohibited. Don’t even ask about computer games. Preschoolers cook or bake their own natural snacks daily, and say a blessing before lunch. All children bring lunch. There is no cafeteria. There are no vending machines. There is no soda or junk food. Students spend eight years with the same teacher. The curriculum includes Bible stories (Old and New Testament) in grades 2 and 3. Security measures at the school consist of the front desk. The front desk is also the infirmary. There is no teachers' union. Teachers work there because they love to. There is no state testing. There is no standardized testing. The curriculum is not determined by the government. (Neither is the lunch menu.) Full tuition is about $14,000 per year. About 70% of students receive tuition assistance. The average expenditure per student is about $9,000 per year (vs. $15,000 at public school). Parents pay for the school for the same reason teachers teach there. Parents also pay for public school through income and property taxes.

When I was through, my father said: ‘Sounds like a truly great school. What kind of school is it?’

A Waldorf school.

Clearly the values and practices of the school support responsible parenting, teaching, and learning, regardless of lifestyle or politics.”

It may be tempting, based on stereotypes, to categorize all those associated with Waldorf schools as politically, socially, and fiscally liberal, but this would be a mistake.

And, at least in the United States, what we mean by these things has changed significantly over the past decades, both within Waldorf schools and out in the wider world. For those old enough to remember, don't you now find John F. Kennedy, the Cold Warrior, a Democrat, more conservative than your may have believed at the time? And doesn't that old conservative Republican Richard Nixon appear more liberal than he used to? Socially? Economically? Opening China?

In the 1940s and 50s, many of those in American Waldorf schools supported the American consensus--anti-communist (although not rabid McCarthyists), pro-capitalist, and even pro-Vietnam. They also lobbied--quietly and ineffectively--for the separation of school and state. After all, the longest running socialist program in the U.S. is our system of public education.