Great Lakes Waldorf High School Teacher Training

COURSE 1 – Foundations of Waldorf High School Pedagogy
July 5-22, 2022
Location: Virtual
Time: 11:00am – 1:00 pm CST on Zoom

Instructors
Shawn Lavoie, Juan Pablo Barillas

Course Description
To lay the foundation for a Waldorf High School we start with the big picture: what do we want to create and why? What are the roots of this education and what are the many ways it’s flowering across the world? What do adolescents need today? This class assumes you have a connection to Waldorf High Schools already and want to learn more. The goal is to familiarize ourselves with the foundation so that we can more soulfully and creatively build Waldorf high schools, so needed to meet the challenges of our time.
-Introduction to the historical and philosophical roots of Waldorf Education
-Image of adolescence through the lens of anthroposophy and modern science
-Biography work for teachers
-Core methodologies
-Curricular Cycles
-Teacher/Student relationship
-School design considerations, comparing models
-Application to specific curricular area

​COURSE 2 – Deepening Waldorf High School Pedagogy
July 5-22, 2022
Location: Virtual
Time: 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm CST on Zoom

​Instructors
Shawn Lavoie, Victoria Reyes

Course Description
Waldorf schools are governed by a “republic of teachers”, each with their specialty, of course, but more importantly a shared understanding of the health of the whole. The healthy whole has the students at the center: who they are, what they need, where they’re going. This course starts from the premise that you’re here in a specific capacity—a teacher, board member, administrator, passionate parent, etc.—and aims to move everyone towards a deeper understanding of how the whole school works together and how each role is a necessary component. We’ll base our work in a study of adolescence in the light of anthroposophy and other frameworks, with the aim of creating schools that profoundly meet the needs of students.
Curricular-area focus: Humanities, Arts, Sciences and Math
-Inner Work of the teacher
-Assessment
-Student support
-Multiple perspectives on the art and science of learning
-Meeting culture
-Embodying Shared Values
-Application to a problem of practice