and incites a "counter-campaign" (or, as pro-waldorf people would call it,
"attack"). It seems the recent article on Counterknowledge, among other efforts
of British critics recently, has made an impression on the Information Officer.

The spring news letter from SWSF, STEINER WALDORF SCHOOLS FELLOWSHIP (The
Association of Steiner Waldorf Schools in the UK and Ireland) quoted below.
******************

REBUTTING WALDORF CRITICS
STEINER WALDORF SCHOOLS FELLOWSHIP (The Association of Steiner Waldorf Schools
in the UK and Ireland)

As we go about our busy lives, content in
the knowledge that we are trying to do
the best for our children, it would hardly
occur to us that other people might question
our good intentions.
However, once you enter the world of the
Internet and Google for Steiner Waldorf, you
rapidly become aware that there are now many
attacks being made on Steiner Waldorf
education in Internet forums and blogs. The
kind of statements that are being made can
make your blood run cold; such is their
malevolence and hatred. This has been a
feature of life for schools in the USA for a
number of years but it has now spread over
here to the point where prospective parents
may actually be dissuaded from choosing a
Steiner school for their child.
The people making these attacks are
comparatively few in number but they are
obsessive and trawl the internet and
blogosphere for potential threads that they
can use to post anti-Steiner misinformation
and scare stories, under a variety of
different aliases.
I have recently become involved in trying to
rebut some of the more outrageous online
stories. For example, a web log (blog) put up by
a young mother who talks about her
experiences as the parent of a young son. In
one posting, she wrote that she has been
thinking about sending her son to her local
Steiner school. Almost immediately, her blog
received postings from anti-Waldorf critics
who tried to put her off the idea with a series
of alarmist posts alleging all sorts of nonsense
about cults, brainwashing, racism etc.
Fortunately, on this occasion, I (and others)
have been able to give a more accurate picture
of our schools, together with examples of the
lies and distortions peddled by the Waldorf
Critics, and I think the young mother is now at
least willing to go and visit the school and
come to her own conclusions.
I would be very grateful if teachers and parents
who share these concerns would be willing to
join me in posting replies to anti-Waldorf
threads in an attempt to give a more accurate
picture to the outside world of what Steiner
education is all about. We are also coordinating
this internationally through the
European Council for Steiner Waldorf
Education. Please contact me at
[adress omitted] if you are interested in
becoming involved.
JEREMY SMITH, SWSF Communications Officer
************************