In Light of the Spirit

John Gardner was a lead teacher and Faculty Chair at the Waldorf school in Garden City for three decades. He also served as the inspiring leader of Waldorf Education at Adelphi University during those same decades. Countless Waldorf teachers were instilled with an unassailable, practical idealism by John Gardner during their training there.

Many of his insights and revolutionary ideas are well known in his published books. In this new release of Waldorf Publications, edited by Douglas Gerwin, we find the lesser-known essays of this remarkable leader, a remarkable man. In his lifetime, Mr. Gardner inspired many with his characteristic gestures of reassurance, clarity, and open-hearted questioning.

John Gardner wrote and gave lectures on a dazzlingly broad range of topics, including radical and thrilling ideas about education, government, the future, and the young. He also explored equally radical and thrilling ideas about reordering society. This exciting collection includes all of these topics: his deepest and most stimulating lectures.

• A newly edited collection of John Fentress Gardner’s lesser-known writings on Waldorf education, anthroposophy, and social renewal.
• Offers practical insights for Waldorf teachers on child development, the main lesson, the class teacher, school leadership, authority, and teaching through the arts.
  
• Examines education’s role in advancing human freedom, environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and a more peaceful future.
• Essential reading for Waldorf educators, teacher trainees, school leaders, parents, and readers interested in Rudolf Steiner’s educational and social ideas.

Waldorf Publications
ISBN: 978-1-963686-19-7
Publication Date: 2/2026
Format: Paperback
Pages: 198
Illustrations: None