Rudolph Steiner: Education for Freedom

Born in 1861, Rudolf Steiner grew up in rural areas of the Austrian Empire, where the Industrial Revolution had as yet only limited impact. The son of a station manager for the Austrian Southern Railway, young Rudolf was familiar with both machinery and the majesty of the Alps. Energetic and curious, he attended the Technical University of Vienna. Best known as a philosopher, he became a scholar of Goethe’s work and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Rostock. After World War I, Steiner was asked to use his talents as an educator to design the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart, Germany. He accepted this challenge in 1919, designing a school that was unique in central Europe at the time. Male and female students from working class families were able to prepare for higher education with no tuition fee. Famous for their arts-based teaching methods, Waldorf schools are now found in over 60 nations and make up the world’s largest network of non-religious, independent schools.