Book excerpt: Agnes Nobel examines the importance of art in the development of the child and looks for some answers to the vital question: what is education for? She goes on to investigate why Waldorf schools attach such importance to art in education. She describes Steiner's picture of the developing child, his views on the imprint of early experience in the child's whole being and the importance of living relationships and community in the Waldorf school. She shows how these ideas were expressed in the curriculum of the schools. There have been many books written on the Steiner approach to education, but they have usually been written from within the Steiner educational movement. This book takes an independent view of Waldorf education and critically assesses its unique qualities, successes and relevance to the modern day.