Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
As a Waldorf community and school, we hold the dignity of life and the human being at the centre of our work. We stand in solidarity against racism and the systems of oppression that allow it to persist and harm people of colour. We are committed to understanding our role in perpetuating and benefiting from those systems and taking action to deconstruct them.
It is our responsibility to bear witness to what is happening in the world, to elevate the voices of marginalized people, to change the course of inequities, and to take an active role in breaking down structural prejudice in all forms where it exists particularly in Waldorf education.
As a school body, we uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” and we seek to build an educational environment that enables all students to realize their full freedom and individuality. We affirm and embrace all backgrounds, experiences, and identities, knowing that every person makes a rich and valuable contribution to our education and school life. We strive to base our education at VWS in accordance with Steiner’s later pronouncement that we “must seek to unite people of all races and nations, and to bridge the divisions and differences between various groups of people.”
We are listening, and we are learning.