1919: Discord and Destiny

Two lectures by Eugene Schwartz at Anthroposophy NYC, 138 West 15th Street

Saturday, October 5, 2019, 10 am – 12 pm and 2 pm – 4 pm

$35 for both lectures ($20 for one lecture)

During the autumn of 2019, Waldorf schools worldwide are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the first Waldorf school. Eugene Schwartz contends that the year 1919 was, in fact, destined to be the only year, in which Rudolf Steiner could have taken this momentous step. In two lectures, Eugene focuses on the words and deeds of Rudolf Steiner in the context of the artistic, political, pedagogical, and scientific developments of that time, from the Peace Conference in France to the Communist Revolution in Germany, from the worldwide influenza pandemic to the epidemic of nicotine addiction. And we will reflect on the relationship of the chaos and courage so inextricably woven into the events of the year 1919 to our lives and tasks in 2019.

10 am: Winter and Spring

“The Winter of Our Discontent.” The aftermath of the Great War. Death tolls from combat and from the Spanish flu. Machinations of the Paris Peace Conference. Rudolf Steiner’s view of the War and the Peace. The Threefold Social Order. The 70-year “lifespan” of an institution. Maria Montessori, John Dewey, and A.S. Neill. Rudolf Steiner’s activities on behalf of social change. The Waldorf Astoria Cigarette Factory and the story of tobacco. The founding of a new school in the midst of economic and social foment and political uncertainty.

2 pm: Summer and Autumn

Preparations for the new school. Rudolf Steiner as a trainer of teachers. The “Core Curriculum” and the “Waldorf Curriculum.” The centrality of relationships in the school. Authority and social life. Monks and Knights. Religion lessons and services. The school doctor and the “helping class.” The Weimar Constitution. The opening of the school. Rudolf Steiner and the school faculty. The Mission of the Archangel Michael. The renewal of the Mysteries and the new path of Initiation. The three “schools”: The Waldorf School, the School of Spiritual Science, and the School of Michael. “Waldorf Methods” devoid of Anthroposophy. The next hundred years of Waldorf education.