What do you think?Religious school should not get public support 1 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 12:00 am By Candy Gunther Brown Special to the H-T | 2 comments Candy Gunther Brown is an associate professor of religious studies at Indiana University. Her most recent book is “The Healing Gods: Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Christian America.” Bloomington already has several religious schools. Some parents can even use state-funded vouchers to pay tuition. What’s new about Green Meadows is that a proposal is now being considered to open this “Waldorf-inspired” school as a public charter school. Controversy surrounding the proposal has focused on whether adding another public school, effectively shifting taxpayer revenues away from existing schools, would aid or hamper education. An equally important question is whether Green Meadows is religious. Indiana state law, following the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, requires that charter schools, like other public schools, be not only “nonsectarian” but also “nonreligious.” The Association of Waldorf Schools of North America Internet FAQ answers the question: “Are Waldorf schools religious?” by conceding that although Waldorf schools are “nonsectarian” and “espouse no particular religious doctrine,” they are “based on a belief that there is a spiritual dimension to the human being and to all of life.” The Green Meadows charter proposal affirms that Waldorf education is founded upon the spiritual philosophy of Dr. Rudolf Steiner. Steiner’s name appears 43 times in the charter proposal. Another frequently repeated word is “spirit” or “spiritual,” used 19 times in reference to a person’s immaterial aspect. The proposal is remarkably forthright: “Because Steiner believed that each human being is spiritual and has a divine spark, one of the purposes of Waldorf education is to protect and feed this flame” by providing a ‘more ‘spiritual’ approach to schooling.” Steiner developed his religious system for accessing the spiritual world, “Anthroposophy” (knowledge of man), out of another religion, “Theosophy” (knowledge of God). Steiner’s theory of child development, which provides the underpinning for Waldorf education, is based on metaphysical ideas such as reincarnation, karma, astral bodies and clairvoyance. The Green Meadows curriculum, according to its proposal, explicitly “follows the evolution of human consciousness, which in turn parallels the awakening of the child’s own inner consciousness.” Lest one assume that Steiner’s spiritual philosophy is disconnected from daily school rhythms, the charter proposal provides assurance that “at Green Meadows Charter School, our primary mission is to educate the whole child — mind, body, and spirit. This principle is reflected in all aspects of our curriculum and culture.” For example, the school day opens with prayers (called “verses” or “poems”) recited or sung by teachers and students. Teachers collectively repeat Steiner’s invocation: “May there work here spirit light and goodness . . . inwardness of soul . . . May young minds and hearts here find / Servers of the light.” Since Steiner envisioned the “Sun” as an “intelligent force, a spiritual force,” children petition, “May everything we do and say / Be bright and kind and true / Oh golden sun like you.” According to a video shared by Green Meadows, children also sing blessing prayers: “Bless the four corners of this house . . . the peace of man, the peace of God.” Waldorf schools may provide high-quality education in student-centered classrooms. Proponents of private religious schools make similar claims. But it is a different matter when public charter schools not only teach about, but also instill religion, whether or not religious instruction is sectarian or more generically spiritual. Let Green Meadows open as a private school. Allow parents to use vouchers. But draw the line at imprinting the state’s stamp of approval on religious instruction.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 11:52:35 +0000
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