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hmm, why would one need to punch holes on a site that claims to be 'open'? Is it not your agenda to be 'open'? What is it?

I don't have a problem with someone trying to keep waldorf schools accountable, even one with such a passive aggressive undertone as this one. I wish that the public school system was under this level of scrutiny, as it could stand to have some of its operating premises examined under such a close light.

As a parent of a child attending a waldorf school in Ottawa, I appreciate some of the concerns, although, through my research and questioning, I have found most of it is conjecture.

I'm sure you know that waldorf schools are individually incorporated non-profit organizations and, as such, can be quite different than others, despite the common curriculum. In this frame, you might be interested in the following facts:

- No update on your website that the california court case initiated by PLANS was dismissed because there was no evidence brought to the court to prove that Anthroposophy is a religion.
- All of the Waldorf and other independent schools in Canada are under the superivision of municipal and provincial governments with respect to health and safety, which includes inspection of playground equipment. If that is not the case in the U.S., I would strongly recommend that you encourage your governments to taking appropriate responsibility for the wellbeing of your children.
- There is nothing suspicious about an organization putting out talking points when a certain matter comes to the public's attention. Many organizations do this in an effort to ensure that people not aware of an issue can provide information in a manner that won't be easilty be manipulated by the media. I received these talking points in my capacity as an parent outreach member at our school and they were quite benign. They were also only suggestions.
- Steiner was a racist, no doubt about it. Yet as a South Asian with much interest in the development of a proper historical record, I have yet to find a school system that does a better job of integrating world history into the core curriculum. Given this and the Waldorf approach of cross-disciplinary education, I have even less concern about the curriculum of Waldorf schools being racist. That being said, I am sure that, like public and other schools, there are racist ideals being taught by racist teachers. Of course, many in the anti-racism movement in Canada look to the model of multiculturalism as being quite racist. Despite that I grew up in in public schools in Toronto, I still in the higher grades of high school found myself explaining basic notions of cultural identity to people who assumed that my family all walked around with painted foreheads and with saris and dhotis. No room for intracultural diversity within history there...
- no worries, most Waldorf schools have no problem with you video taping your child's performance. I am a professional photographer and have taken hundreds of pics in all of the classrooms during class and special events. The concern is only that media vehicles hamper creative development in young children, a position that anyone interested in searching the web will find is supported by most child development experts in both Canada and the US.

Is there somewhere where you discuss your agenda? I am curious to learn your motivations in creating this site. I remember hearing something about one of these site owners having a bad breakup with a wife who had her (your?) child in a waldorf school, or was that dan dugan...

Anyways, look forward to reading through your site. I'm sure it will provide hours of entertainment. If only I had such free time to engage in an endeavour such as this

cheers,

lyndon
lyndongoveas.com