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Between Aspergers and ADHD
A Lecture Given by Eugene Schwartz
at Green Meadow Waldorf School, Chestnut Ridge, NY
Back in the 1980s, Eugene Schwartz was the first Waldorf educator to lecture publicly about ADHD, and a few years later he was also the first to discuss Aspergers. In this groundbreaking lecture, he compares these two learning and behavioral challenges, delineating their differences, but pointing our some striking similarities. Above all, he helps us understand that both syndromes are clarion calls from the spiritual world announcing the necessity of entirely new ideas in education.
As Kay Hoffman, Green Meadow’s Administrator, tells the audience in her introduction,
“I am certain that you will enjoy and be stimulated by what he has to say, and you will understand why we who work with him here at Green Meadow affectionately call him ‘EuGenius.’”
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Religion in the Waldorf School
Three Lectures Given by Eugene Schwartz
at Green Meadow Waldorf School, Chestnut Ridge, NY
Even as Independent Waldorf schools work hard to present a secular face to the world, and public Waldorf schools work within the values-neutral setting of state education, religion remains a charged subject in Waldorf education. These three lectures were given by Eugene Schwartz at Green Meadow Waldorf School to an audience composed of Jewish, Sufi, and Buddhist parents who were concerned about the school's emphasis on Christian Festivals. In spite of Eugene's frankness and unapologetic approach to the subject, the number of participants grew dramatically from one lecture to the next. These lectures represent the clearest and deepest treatment of this controversial subject to be found anywhere.

Lecture 1: Religion in the Waldorf School
Parents are justifiably frustrated by the vague responses they receive from faculty when they ask about religion in the Waldorf school. And many parents are justifiably up in arms when faced with the "November Surprise" of weeks of Advent that lead up to the "January Shock" of Three Kings' Day -- holidays they did not even know existed. Eugene cuts to the quick and gives a bracing and sometimes revelatory picture of the Christian underpinnings of Waldorf education.

Lecture 2: Cosmic Christianity
"When Steiner says Christian,"Waldorf teachers like to say, "He doesn't mean what YOU think of as 'Christian.'" All right, then just what DOES he mean? In this lecture, Eugene condenses the content of hundreds of Steiner lectures to give an insightful response to that important question.

Lecture 3: Christianity on Earth
Christ is not only a "cosmic" being, however. In Steiner's view, Christ is actively engaged in earthly life, and the Waldorf schools are a manifestation of His connection to modern humanity. Drawing on Steiner's difficult lectures on "The Fifth Gospel," Eugene presents rarely-expressed thoughts about the nature of Waldorf education. At the conclusion of this lecture, an Orthodox Jewish mother said, "The picture of Christ that you elicit from Steiner is not about 'religion.' It is all about how we face LIFE. I am thrilled that my children are in a Waldorf school."
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A Talk with Fathers:
Is Waldorf Education a Good Investment?
A Lecture Given by Eugene Schwartz
at the Westside Waldorf School, Santa Monica, CA
It is a truism that it is almost always the mother who immediately intuits that Waldorf education is right for her child, while the father goes along, slowly but surely recognizing the school’s high caliber. In our times, many parents of both sexes embody Oscar Wilde’s description of the man who “knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” Speaking to an audience of L.A. dads, Eugene goes straight to the issue of money, and examines whether the value of a Waldorf education is commensurate with its high price. This serious and weighty issue is taken up with humor and levity. This is a lecture meant to be listened to on your morning commute!
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The Child from Nine to Twelve
A Workshop Given at the Circle of Seasons Charter School,
Allentown, PA
While imitation serves as the primary means by which the young child apprehends the world, between ages seven and nine authority becomes the window through which the child views her surroundings. In the Waldorf school the Class Teacher serves as the central source of authority, helping her students make sense of the world through her own poise and confidence, organization and enthusiasm. Although the very word “authority” is anthenama to many parents, the child needs it nonetheless, and Eugene provides a number of examples that illustrate the importance of authority in school and home alike. In the second lecture, we explore the ways in which this authority breeds healthy rebellion among the adolescents who gratefully accepted it in the primary grades. With the advent of sixth grade, the child’s developing inner life calls for an approach that is more personalized and respectful of the young person’s nascent life of soul.
Click here to download Lecture 1: The Nine Year-Old
Click here to download Lecture 2: From Nine to Twelve

Letting Stories Teach
A Lecture Given at the Merriconeag Waldorf School
Freeport, ME
Rich and diverse as they may be, but all the subjects in the Waldorf grade school curriculum have one thing in common — they are filled with narratives. From fairy tale in Grade One to contemporary biographies in Grade Eight, from tales of adventure in the primary grades to scientific and mathematical discoveries in the Middle School, the Waldorf grade-schooler is regaled with the myths and sagas, chronicles and histories that give life and meaning to every subject that she or he learns. In this lecture, Eugene Schwartz shares some of these stories and how they affect the child's changing consciousness.
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The Other Two-Thirds of the Class
A Lecture Given at the Cedarwood Waldorf School,
Portland OR
No North American Waldorf practitioner would deny that twenty-first century parents are profoundly different from Waldorf parents of the last century. These differences are often explained in terms of such dismissive sociological categories as “Generation Y Parents” or “Helicopter Parents.” Eugene Schwartz argues that the new generation of parents -- and the generations that will follow them -- are actually a great blessing to Waldorf education, indeed, they are the ones who will help schools meet and form the future. In this lecture Eugene describes the surprising and profound ways in which parents are rightfully connected to their children, and encourages schools to envision a dramatically different relationship to their parent body.
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Note: The lectures below are being migrated to a new server and are not currently available for streaming. Please continue to check back with us!

From Child Study to Self Knowledge
Four Lectures Given by Eugene Schwartz
at Rudolf Steiner House, London, UK
Sponsored by the St Michael Steiner School
For the past two decades the subject of the “Child Study” has assumed a central place among the tasks of Waldorf Steiner Schools teachers. Myriad approaches are suggested in workshops and conferences, while a plethora of handouts provide exhaustive checklists to aid the teacher in her observations. Then why are there an ever-growing number of children whose needs, problems, and life situations seem to elude our understanding? What are we missing? Unfortunately, in order to answer this plaintive question, we had to organize yet another workshop! Eugene approaches the Child Study from some unusual vantage points. There are no handouts, but we hope that listeners may feel new enthusiasm for this important collegial task.
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Information or Transformation
A Lecture Given at the Westside Waldorf School,
Santa Monica, CA
Eugene Schwartz contends that the most important changes that are occurring in Waldorf schools are due to parents, not teachers. If parents effect change without understanding the fundamentals of Waldorf education, Waldorf schools will look more and more like “public schools with a pretty face” -- but an informed parent body can help guide the teachers into the 21st century. Other topics covered in this lecture include the role of Michael in the Waldorf Movement, reincarnation and the classroom, and the failure of school media policies. A refreshing look at a number of controversial issues.
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Waldorf Education in the Twenty-First Century
A Lecture Given at the Mountain Phoenix Community School,
Denver, CO
The Education of the Child, Rudolf Steiner’s first educational lecture, was given over 100 years ago. And in just a few years we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the first Waldorf School in 1919. Has Waldorf education kept pace with the almost incomprehensible changes that have occurred since that lecture was given? Are Waldorf schools prepared for the growing numbers of children diagnosed with ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, or even mental illness? How has the growth of the Waldorf public school movement affected the independent Waldorf schools? What steps must Waldorf teachers take to keep their schools relevant and even ahead of the ever-changing times in which we live? These are some of the issues Eugene Schwartz explores in this comprehensive lecture given to an audience of Waldorf charter school teachers and parents. Note: A slideshow that may be viewed on Vimeo.com was shown at the conclusion of this lecture.
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Click here to view the accompanying slide show on Vimeo.com

No Success Like Failure
A Lecture Given at the Yuba River Charter School,
Nevada City, CA
Even as mainstream American schools move inexorably towards measurement-based standards as the only benchmark of achievement, an increasing number of psychologists, neurologists, and educators are moving in a diametrically different direction. How can we understand the remarkable "success" of adults whose predictors in primary school marked them for certain failure? Do we need completely different benchmarks -- methods of teaching, and assessment, that look at the whole of life, rather than short-term mastery? Drawing on the game-changing research of Carol Dweck of Stanford and Martin Seligman, former President of the American Psychological Association, and the latest developments in neurology, Eugene Schwartz will explore the ways in which Waldorf education authenticates the interwoven roles of success -- and failure -- in the classroom.
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What Does It Mean to Be an Adult?
A Lecture Given at the Lagunitas Waldorf-Inspired Program,
San Geronimo, CA
Sometimes questions whose answers appear to be perfectly obvious open up entirely new perspectives to us. Eugene Schwartz addresses the concept of “adulthood” from two vantage points. On the one hand, he examines Rudolf Steiner’s renewed approach to the Four Temperaments, giving new life to this sometimes overused “filter system.” On the other hand, Eugene examines the slow, and by no means certain, transitions from Imitation, Authority, and the Search for Truth that constitute humanity’s steep learning curve. This is a lecture that brings some fresh thoughts to our experience of Adulthood.
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Life After Death
Lectures Given at Anthroposophy NYC,
New York City
Although Rudolf Steiner spoke frequently about the importance of understanding the role of death -- and the Dead -- this subject remains perennially unpopular among American anthroposophists. Eugene explores Steiner's often surprising and sometimes counter-intuitive indications about the nature of life after death, and suggests how much help they may provide us as we face the challenges of modern life.

Lecture 1: Man Becomes Cosmos
This first lecture looks at the growing interest in and consciousness of life after death -- even among anthroposophists! We examine Rudolf Steiner's research into the unfolding of the etheric and astral bodies after death, and the powerful experiences that the dead have in the midst of the First Hierarchy and the "Teachers of Humanity." The profound importance of our feelings and actions during earthly life is by no means diminished when we ascend into the spiritual worlds. The central role of the human being in relation to the universe is an important theme in all of Steiner's lectures concerning death.
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Lecture 2: Cosmos Becomes Man
This lecture will focus on the "second half" of our life after death, beginning with what Rudolf Steiner termed the "Midnight Hour" and ending with our new birth. As we examine this lengthy descent into matter, Steiner grants us insights into such issues as heredity and individuality, love and gender, and karma and human freedom. 
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Lecture 3: Life Against Death
As the proportion of an older population grows greater, issues surrounding aging and dying loom larger in the world's wealthiest nations. On the one hand, the prolongation of life — even to the point of eternal life — is the expressed goal of some technocrats and biologists. On the other hand, the infirmities that accompany extreme old age generate grim statistics that confound hospitals, economists, and politicians alike. Between Luciferic defiance and Ahrimanic fear — what is the mission of death?
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Click here to view the Jason Silva “Singularity” videos shown at the lecture

Harry Potter and the Secret Brotherhoods
A Lecture Given at Anthroposophy NYC,
New York City
It has been over 21 years since J.K.Rowling began writing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and 18 years since the book was first published. Eugene Schwartz believes that it is time for a new look at these phenomenonal, best-selling books, and that an effective way to view them may be through the lens of Anthroposophy. Eugene’s particular emphasis will be on the relationship of the Wizards and Muggles to the “Anglo-American Secret Brotherhoods” described by Rudolf Steiner during the World War I years. However, these lectures also look at Harry Potter’s life and inner development at Hogwarts in the light of Waldorf education, and the “Christian” quality of a seven-volume series in which Christ is never mentioned or alluded to.
At present, only Lecture 2 is available. The remaining three lectures will be posted over the next months.
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In the Midst of Life: the Mission of Death in Our Time
A Lecture Given at the Renewal Conference,
Wilton, NH
Although Rudolf Steiner spoke frequently about the importance of understanding the role of death -- and the Dead -- this subject remains perennially unpopular among American anthroposophists. Eugene explores Steiner’s often surprising and sometimes counter-intuitive indications about the nature of life after death, and suggests how much help they may provide us as we face the challenges of modern life.
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The Neverending Story
Introduction to a Showing of the Film
at the Rubin Museum
New York City
The Rubin Museum, the preeminent exhibition space for Tibetan Buddhist art in North America, regularly screens films considered to be of exceptional cultural and spiritual value. Since Michael Ende, the author of the book on which the movie “The Neverending Story” is based, was a Waldorf graduate and an anthroposophist, Eugene Schwartz was invited to introduce the evening. He was asked to relate the movie to Anthroposophy and to a new exhibit of Buddhist art that had gone on display in the museum, and he was given a 9-minute limit. He later complained, “Everyone is supposed to have 15 minutes of fame. Why did I get only 9?”
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The New Clairvoyance
A Lecture to Young People
given at the Heartbeet Community Conference
Hardwick, VT
Coming of age in the late 1960s, Eugene encountered many of the spiritual paths that suddenly arose with explosive power in North America. Almost all promised rapid self-development and spectacular experiences of spiritual sight, and their practitioners had nothing but praise for their gurus and teachers. And then there was Anthroposophy, which asked a great deal of the seeker and, by comparison, seemed to offer little in return. . . . In this lecture, Eugene discusses how very much lives in that “little,” and why Rudolf Steiner’s path of self-development is so deeply in harmony with the demands and needs of modern life.
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The Karma of Education
Four Lectures Given by Eugene Schwartz
at Rudolf Steiner House, London, UK
In these lectures, given at the invitation of the St. Michael Steiner School in South London, Eugene explores the multifarious descriptions of life after death given by Rudolf Steiner. He traces the progress of the human soul and spirit through the “planetary spheres” as the consequences of one life become the foundation for the next, and he pays special attention to the pedagogical ramifications of this modern understanding of Karma. Click on the lecture links to access them.
Click here to download Lecture One
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Click here to download Lecture Four

Computers and Consciousness
A Lecture Given by Eugene Schwartz
at Anthroposophy NYC
Eugene examines the historical, philosophical, and technical roots of the “computer revolution.” Drawing together the threads of lives from Frances Bacon to Steve Jobs, and discoveries from Leibnitz to Turing, he vividly depicts the “mise en scene” wrought by Ahriman to bring the modern computer into being. But Eugene also looks at the way in which computers challenge us to understand the Michaelic nature of our higher intelligence, and the means by which anthroposophical impulses can meet and tame this wild child of modern technology.
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Of Prophets and Profits:
Navigating Otto Scharmer’s Theory U
A Lecture Given by Eugene Schwartz
at Anthroposophy NYC
In this lecture, the third in a series entitled “Steiner & Sons,” Eugene explores the organizational theories of Otto Scharmer, an MIT professor and renowned corporate consultant whose roots lie in Anthroposophy. Navigating a clear course through the complexities of Scharmer’s demanding language and concepts, Eugene relates contemporary corporate life and its challenges to the ancient Mysteries and links modern businessmen to pre-Christian Initiates finding their way in a world of entirely new conditions. Scharmer’s “futuristic” approach, when seen in the light of Rudolf Steiner’s cosmology, is presented as a harbinger of Michaelic transformation.
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