Shining Mountain adheres to the philosophy of education and pedagogical indications initiated by Rudolf Steiner in 1919. Rudolf Steiner, scientist, philosopher, and educator agreed to establish and direct a school for the children of the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. Steiner’s goal was to establish an education with a culturally rich, age appropriate curriculum that would educate the body, mind and spirit of children. The school was to be independent from state interference, educate boys and girls together, and to be inclusive of children of all economic backgrounds. The teacher was to be free to teach in association with a circle of colleagues, and the school affairs were to be “self-administered.”
Steiner intended Waldorf education to focus not only on what knowledge must be acquired to enter society, but also to awaken capacities in children that would bring new impulses into society. Since the founding of the first school, Rudolf Steiner Waldorf education has become a global independent school movement with more than 1000 schools worldwide in over 60 countries.