by David Barham, Executive Director

On August 20, 1919, 106 years ago, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) opened his course for the men and women who would become the first teachers at the first Waldorf school.

This course, over time called Study of Man or Foundations of Human Experience or Anthropological Foundations, would indicate the way forward for a new understanding of the human being and how a new approach to education could meet the true needs of the human being- in body, in soul and in spirit.

Steiner tells us, we must learn how to teach in the way demanded by the human being, by the totality of the human essence. We now call this Waldorf education.

In his opening remarks, Steiner said:

“To achieve a renewal of modern spiritual life, the Waldorf School must be a true cultural deed. We must reckon with change in everything; the ultimate foundation of the whole social movement is in the spiritual realm and the question of education is one of the burning spiritual questions of modern times. We must take advantage of the possibilities presented by the Waldorf School to reform and revolutionize the educational system.”

The success of this cultural deed is in our hands.

He goes on, We have a difficult struggle ahead of us, but, nevertheless, we must do this cultural deed. We must bring two contradictory forces into harmony. On the one hand, we must know what our ideals are, and, on the other hand, we must have the flexibility to conform to what lies far from our ideals. It will be difficult for each of you to find how to bring these two forces into harmony. This will be possible to achieve only when each of you enters into this work with your full strength. Everyone must use their full strength from the very beginning.

Each of us must be completely responsible.

He concludes his opening remarks by telling his listeners- us- 

“We dare not be simply educators; we must be people of culture in the highest sense of the word. We must devote our interest to the great needs and tasks of the times, both of which are unimaginably large.”

We are all the righteous warriors Rudolf Steiner envisioned 106 years ago- the ones who willingly, joyfully and with everything we’ve got, take on the responsibility for the true cultural deed needed.

The great American Civil Rights icon Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) said, 

“We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.”

Center for Anthroposophy wants to walk arm in arm with all of you,  the angelic troublemakers, looking to bring healing to the children and young adults who need us more than ever. Thank you for using your full strength to be completely responsible. We are in this joyful revolution together.

Onward, angelic troublemakers!

We have a wonderful issue this time around, with footprints from some of the speakers from our various Wilton, NH summer residencies, Diana Tesni and David Sloan. 

Douglas Gerwin, former WHiSTEP Director & CfA Executive Director, shares with us the opening chapter of a project he is editing, In Light of the Spirit: A New Anthology of Essays by John F. Gardner on Waldorf Education and Social Reform. We are delighted to share inspiring profiles of our newest alums, members of the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program Class of 2025. Finally, I am delighted to have had the opportunity to sit down with Sage Lewis, CfA’s tech guru ( and so much more) about the powerful interests and passions in his life and work. 

Do read on!

As always, please drop us a line and let us know what you think about Center & Periphery. 

Thank you & enjoy!