Rudolf Steiner established his first school in the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart (Germany) for the children of the workers. It was a free school. Steiner did not really want his name attached to the name of this education lest it appear sectarian. Hence the school became the Waldorf School.  Over time, however, his name has crept into the names of many schools so that now one can find the education being referred to both as Steiner Education and Waldorf Education.

Rudolf Steiner had extraordinary insight into the processes of human development.  He made it clear that already in our time, and increasingly in the future, sound practical undertakings in all spheres of life need to have their foundations in a deeper insight into the nature of the human being and the reactions that exist between humans and the wider world. One aspect of this work was in the field of education.

Teachers in a Steiner school share a commitment to deepening their understanding of the growing human being and the pedagogical indications that arise out of this knowledge.

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