Wellspring of Waldorf
We hope you enjoy this new video about the origins of Waldorf education and the wellspring of its special insights and approaches: anthroposophy. Scroll down below the video for a special resource guide, plus a link to a special membership offer.
Behind a Waldorf education there’s a whole movement based in a larger, deeper, and more hopeful view of humanity…..
Explore these eight topics about Waldorf Education and Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy, presented in short, accessible segments with Liz Beaven, Ed.D. and Melanie Reiser, Ph.D. (time in video):
- (00:00) Origins of Waldorf Education
- (12:50) Anthroposophical View of the Human Being
- (16:00) Evolution of Human Consciousness
- (21.50) Human Development
- (31:20) Inner work of the Teacher
- (36.50) Freedom and Responsibility of the Teacher
- (40:20) Pedagogical Practices
- (46:05) Waldorf School Culture
Additional content for this video has been provided by: Cedar Springs Waldorf School, CA; Community School for Creative Education, CA; Green Meadow Waldorf School, NY; Waldorf School of the Roaring Fork, CO; and the Waldorf School of Lexington, MA.
Suggestion: Watch the video in segments then talk about it as a group! Use the accompanying written materials (linked below) to enhance your conversation and understanding of Waldorf Education.
Resource Guide
To accompany the video we’ve prepared a fifteen-page resource guide. You can view it online or view/download a PDF: pc/laptop viewing version or mobile viewing version or text only for printing.
Special Membership Offer
Are you a busy teacher or parent? Do you want to find ways to connect with and deepen your spiritual life? We can help! Join the ASA and access our enriching online content, including over 20 educational webinars and our lively podcast. Click here for a very special ASA membership offer (that includes two free webinars!) for teachers, parents, and board members.
Other resources
Check out our online store for more great webinars, both free and by donation. And be sure to tune into our podcast, The Anthroposopher, on most podcast apps.
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Many thanks to the Waldorf Educational Foundation for funding this project!
Thank you Laura, and Liz and Melanie. Great way to celebrate forward into the next hundred years! I appreciated also that both organizations of Waldorf/ Steiner education where represented . A wonderful way to acknowledge , and encourage a deepening of what lies in this education. Well done !
Thank you so much for this informative and warm view of Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education.
It brought back many fond memories of my teaching in the Waldorf setting. It was not without a little sadness that at present I am not connected socially to any Waldorf School or organization locally of Anthropohsohy. I probably have been a Waldorf teacher most of my life but it wasn’t until my youngest son went off to college that I acted on my desire to become involved in this type of education and philosophy/ After my son left for college, I left my husband in a quandary to head off to Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA. Left on a Thursday, spent a day with my sister in Minneapolis and drove straight through to arrive at RSC just in time for the first class of the year at 8 am on Monday. I had little money but it felt “right” to follow what I had wanted to do for years. Everything fell into place. In the two years there I never had to spend any money on a place to stay. A place always showed up just when I felt I couldn’t continue and always with no financial obligation or debt. It was an interesting saga for me at 53, the oldest in the class.
I subsequently taught in the Olympia Waldorf School in WA, The Walakot Waldorf School on the Pine Ridge Reservation in SD and had a kindergarten class for five years in Marquette, MI while trying with other dedicated souls to start a Waldorf School. Needless to say that endeavor did not suceed mostly because only a couple of people were interested in Anthroposohy I was 70 when I stopped working towards a local school. My son had an accident and so I was completely in his support and his wife and my newborn grandson
Now I am almost 82, my son in WI near where I live was killed two years ago. I still grieve but am now thinking., ‘What can I do to help humanity evolve as well as myself ?”
It is a long journey I have taken. Your presentation of Waldorf education an on going journey of itself was inspiring. Thank you so much for your efforts to help humanity evolve through Anthroposophy and Waldorf education.
Sincerely
Martha Penn formally Martha Cablk.
Martha, thank you so much for your sharing. You show how the inspiring insights come home to human hearts and turn into loving service in the world. Warm regards – John Beck
Reading Martha’s sharing, I identified with the loneliness one can feel at times; when one does not find like-minded people to share spiritually with. I am in a similar situation; and would really appreciate meeting with and studying together with any anthroposophist or student of Steiner near me. I live in Dowagiac Michigan. My contact information can probably be received from the Society office in Ann Arbor. Also, my phone is in the Dowagiac phone book.
I remember, however, what a Christian Comunity priest, the wonderful Richard Lewis, told me once, in 1978. He said: “You’re never alone. You may think you’re alone, but you’re never alone.” It’s reassuring to read Steiner’s works on one’s spiritual development; and to know that–for example–he said that as we ourselves develop spiritually, it’s improving the whole of humanity. Another greatly reassuring comment by Steiner, is that in the distant future, God will be successful; because human beings will eventually get along with each other, help each other, and love each other. I also remember comments to me by Rev. Richard Lewis, like: “Every good deed keeps on working strongly into the future.” My love and best wishes to all of you!