The Recovery of Man in Childhood

This book on the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner and his development stages of children is a good perspective on Steiner's work on education. It is thought provoking, and recommended for those who question the way children are educated in public schools. A.C. Harwood's description of the Waldorf programs was helpful in understanding the importance of a multidisciplinary education system which works with the different parts of the child's brain, and, at the same time, integrates this broad-based curriculum with the appropriate stage of development.

Harwood's is the first book-length consideration of what has come to be called "Waldorf education", and it is still among the best and most comprehensive such books. Because it was written in the mid-1950s it predates more recent changes in the implementation of Rudolf Steiner's educational work that have caused it to be seen as "alternative" to conventional or mainstream educational practices. Harwood addresses all educators and parents, not a devoted subset, by introducing and summarizing the sprawling body of Steiner's writings and lectures on childhood and on education and by describing the practices of Waldorf schools in general. The book is divided into twenty chapters that take a reader developmentally through childhood and adolescence and sequentially through the general curriculum of a Waldorf school. Readers--parents and teachers especially--will gain both an overall understanding of Steiner's educational principles and a wealth of practical and insightful details regarding the practices of Waldorf schools. The language of the book is somewhat archaic because the new edition wisely leaves Harwood's graceful writing intact, but readers can easily overlook what is dated to glean what is useful. Douglas Sloan's brief but thorough introduction serves as an excellent orientation to the book and it also serves to update aspects of the book without disrupting the text. Readers who own a previous edition should consider purchasing this revised edition if only for Sloan's introduction.