Investigation“Rudolf Steiner, alternative thinker” (1/5). In 1913, this Austrian founded anthroposophy, a movement which places the individual at the heart of nature and the cosmos. His fields of study are immense: education, agriculture, architecture, botany, spirituality. In a series of articles, “Le Monde” paints a portrait of this theorist, a sectarian charlatan for some or a brilliant visionary for others, some of whose ideas remain current.
It is a school with sinuous shapes, perched on a green hill. About twenty children aged 8 to 9, arranged in a circle, chant a few words in ancient Greek. Various songs and movements follow, between dance, sport and meditation. It is 8:30 am, the day for these particular schoolchildren can begin. We are in Verrières-le-Buisson, in Essonne, in a private establishment under contract with the State. The pedagogy is inspired by the theories of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). Difficult to define this little-known thinker, who was a philosopher, occultist, educator, politician, playwright, architect or agronomist. And whose writings are now disseminated in education, viticulture, medicine, religion, architecture, art, finance, botany …
The Austrian arouses suspicion or admiration in those who take the time to study him. Enlightened or visionary? “I discovered Steiner when I was working in Germany for a subsidiary of Alcatel, says a parent of a student. Some aspects of his thinking amazed me, others are incomprehensible. “ This 54-year-old hydrologist observes the disasters of global warming. He intends to act, and that requires the education of his son. “This course, from kindergarten to bac, will help him to become a complete and autonomous being. “
The child will participate in the maintenance of the school garden. Take pottery, knitting or sculpture lessons. Will carry out internships in a forest, a farm and a medico-social structure. Decipher the chalk drawings of his teachers. Up to class of 4e, it will never be noted… Celebrities like Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, George Lucas or Silvio Berlusconi proudly assume to have placed their children in a Steiner school. The parent of a student from Verrières-le-Buisson wishes to remain anonymous, for fear of the eyes of his colleagues. “In a secular and Cartesian country, where there is still a background of anti-Germanism, Steiner is very frowned upon. “
Cosmic ambitions
In Germany, nearly one in a hundred children is educated in a Steiner-Waldorf school, without really provoking debate. Nothing to do with France, which has only twenty-two approved establishments. Since its creation in 2002, Miviludes, a public body which coordinates the fight against sectarian aberrations, has often looked into their cases – apart from two in progress, all the referrals have been dismissed. Nevertheless, the suspicion persists, agitated by a growing fringe of bloggers, journalists or political leaders.
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