The Kingdom of Childhood Intro in Essays

‘He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.’ ~Friedrich Nietzsche

It is with this idea in mind that I aim to review Steiner’s lectures on education. It is to fulfill my own need for clarity on how Steiner concludes that we should treat children with the highest regard, that we should uphold in ourselves the highest standards. That he tells us this is the way to raise and educate children is laudable and noteworthy- especially for the time in which he lived. However, Steiner neglects the Why, arguably the most fundamental question to ask, and to answer. In my review, I attempt to compare Steiner’s conclusions with that method of moral philosophy based in empiricism, evidence, and reason. In this way, I bridge into Steiner’s works a new Why?/Why! and continue to speculate about how he missed it.

As further introduction to Steiner’s works stands the article by Susan Howard; Essentials of Waldorf Early Childhood Education. Summed in her concise quote;
“Thus the essential element in early childhood education is actually the educator, who shapes and influences the children’s environment, not only through the furnishings, activities, and rhythms of the day, but most important, through the qualities of her own being her relationships: to the children and other adults in the kindergarten, to the parents, to daily life in the kindergarten, and to living on earth.”