BC Waldorf Collective Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion                    November 2023

 

BC Waldorf Schools have, since their inception, espoused principles of respect for human rights and the diversity of humankind. Today, all BC Waldorf schools continue to define diversity as a range of racial identifications, ancestries, nationalities, native languages, socioeconomic backgrounds, family structures, ages, belief systems, gender and sexual identities, abilities, appearances, occupations, and political affiliations. Enhancing our diversity is a journey of both moral and educational importance and a learning and growth experience for all.

 

The BC Waldorf Collective commits to actively cultivating and sustaining a commitment to anti-racism training, policies, and practices across school operations to support environments where students, parents and staff can learn, grow, and thrive together. We strive to become truly equitable organizations with long-term impacts in creating a more just world for all.

 

To do this, we: 

 

• acknowledge that Rudolf Steiner made statements that reflect harmful assertions regarding race and ethnicity. Racism, explicit or implicit, stands in direct conflict to the fundamental principles of anthroposophy; 

• actively reject racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist and other discriminatory aspects of Rudolf Steiner’s lectures;

• strongly disavow any attempts to justify systemic injustices based on evolutionary or karmic theories espoused by Rudolf Steiner; 

• take responsibility for and commit to working together to address any dehumanizing or disparaging aspects of our shared history; and, 

• uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

 

We commit to:  

 

• ongoing review of how the BC Waldorf Collective operations and educational programs support and perpetuate systems of oppression;

• deconstructing and rebuilding those systems so our communities of learners, families, and employees are equitably served; 

• dedicating resources to ongoing training in anti-racist and decolonization practices for employees, which will include the creation and review of policies and procedures that speak directly to bias-incidents and redress;  

• calls 62 and 63 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, as a means of building intercultural respect, empathy, and understanding;  

• behaving humbly, transparently, and with courage, while guided by our Collective values; 

• providing educational environments where all students feel a sense of belonging; and,

• affirm and embrace all backgrounds, experiences, and identities, knowing that every person makes a rich and valuable contribution to education and school life.