Newsletter March 2025

Dear colleagues and friends of the Pedagogical Section,

The Goetheanum co-workers are in a special mood at the moment: everyone is remembering that in March 1925 Rudolf Steiner spent the last weeks of his life here in his studio in the carpentry workshop, ill and mostly confined to his bed. Cause for nostalgia or mourning? Or rather a reason to be all the more committed to plans for the future, even in the face of adverse circumstances?

Rudolf Steiner's last weeks of life would be a good example of this: he continued to work on the building project for the second Goetheanum, wrote articles for the Goetheanum magazine every week, worked on his autobiography and had just finished correcting the medical textbook he had written with Ita Wegman the day before his death.(1)
His last article also has a resolutely forward-looking mood in
view of the already rapid technological progress of the time: «Needless to say, there can be no question here of advocating a return to earlier states of civilisation. The point is that man shall find the way to bring the conditions of
modern civilisation into their true relationship-to himself and to the Cosmos.»(2)

As in many places, a conference will be held at the Goetheanum from March 28-30 to mark the occasion. Pedagogy will have a special place here, with the
participation of Linda Williams from the USA and Hornfay Cherng from Taiwan, among others.

You will also find announcements of three projects: A colloquium on trauma and emergency pedagogy, a conference on support for children and young people
with learning difficulties and the world conference to mark 100 years of Steiner Waldorf Kindergarten and Early Childhood Education.

The scientific papers recently published on Waldorf Resources also testify to the dynamism of Waldorf education: «The seven core principles of Waldorf education for children with autism spectrum disorder» (in English by Nor Amalina Binti Rusli, Malaysia, and Katinka Bacskai, Hungary), «Awakening long-term interest in reading through Waldorf pedagogy» (in Spanish by Aida Montenegro, Colombia) and «Playing with open-ended material», in English by Dag Oystein Nome, Norway) on one of the central themes of early childhood education.

Good reading and best wishes from the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum

Philipp Reubke

(1): More details in: «In His Studio—Rudolf Steiner’s Illness»
(2): https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA026/English/RSP1973/GA026_c29.html

100 years of Steiner Waldorf Kindergartens and Early Childhood Education

«Kindness, strength and love. Seeds for healthy unfolding» – this is the title of the upcoming «World Conference for Steiner Waldorf Kindergartens and Early Childhood». Because just like plants, children also need certain conditions to develop well.

The IASWECE (International Association for Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood) together with the Pedagogical Section will hold the event next year, from 8 to 12 April 2026, at the Goetheanum. Be part of it!

Here more