Teacher under investigation for teaching children how to make pipe bombs The 39-year-old teacher, who has not been named, apparently taught the children how to make gunpowder and load it into the metal pipes about the size of a one-litre bottle. The bombs were then set off at a nearby heath by using sparklers for detonators, with the resulting explosion so powerful that the pupils felt the shock wave in their stomachs. According to a report in the German newspaper Lubecker Nachrichten, the teacher constructed bombs for pupils from 2009 to 2011 at a Waldorf school in Lubeck. Waldorf schools, based on the teachings of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, take an unorthodox approach to education, stressing creativity and giving teachers considerable leeway in what they teach. "No syllabus in the world contains something like this," the mother of one of the students said. She added that the bombs were detonated at a range of 100 feet, and pupils wore nothing to protect their eyes and ears, but there have been no reports of injuries from the experiments. The lawyer for the teacher in question, who had not been named, said his client could only recall constructing bombs once in order to teach his pupils about the "forces of nature," and that devices were only about 10 centimetres long. A spokesman for the local prosecutor's office confirmed that the teacher was under investigation for a possible violation of laws governing the use of explosives. If prosecuted and found guilty he faces a fine or up to three years in jail, and the loss of his teaching license. But the school has played down the scandal, stating that the teacher remains popular with both staff and pupils, and has their support. "The teacher concerned continues to enjoy the confidence of the school board, the school's management and the parents," said Hans Peter Scherer, from the Lubeck Waldorf School. However, Heike Franzen, a local Christian Democrat politician, described the teacher as irresponsible, saying "the use of explosives has no educational context."