School without stress
The best job imaginable …
As the Waldorf schools have taken the hurdle of the first hundred years, the time has maybe come to think about some things that could change. The idea, for example, that being a teacher is stressful. [more]
School without stress
How do I teach without stress? Practical tips
That the job of teacher belongs to those professions in which people are subject to great stress for relatively long periods of time is well known. Just think of the many teachers who want to take early retirement or the burnout numbers. [more]
School without stress
Taking oneself out of the firing line
I write from the perspective of an English teacher who retired a few years ago and is aware of the danger of glossing over her experiences with hindsight. On the other hand, I did sit in on a lesson in a class 7 as a development consultant only a few months ago and experienced the way that it remains the task of the middle school teacher “to take oneself out of the firing line of the rebellious pupil tribe, always seeking boundary experiences.” Expressed in less militaristic terms: how can teachers manage to progress from a monologue to a dialogue with the pupils and also between the pupils? How did I deal with that situation myself? [more]
School without stress
Pegasus help
On the southern wall of our living room a surprise lurks in the plaster. Sized about 40 x 27 centimetres, a half-relief is rises above the grainy substrate showing a winged horse. [more]
Waldorf sustainability
How sustainable is the Waldorf curriculum?
Book fair in Leipzig: on occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the Waldorf school movement in 2019, there was a large stand at which, among other things, a short presentation was given each day on the subject: “What does Waldorf education mean today”. On one of the days I fell into conversation with some people attending the fair on the question as to what extent the current topic of sustainability comes up in the Waldorf curriculum, and if it does, how Waldorf goes about getting its pupils to live and act accordingly. [more]
Waldorf sustainability
Still some room for improvement. Snap poll on the subject of sustainability
We used a snap poll to get a picture of what the German Waldorf schools are (already) doing with regard to sustainability. That includes aspects of the running of the school, energy management, nutrition, architecture (conversions/new builds/building materials), lessons (subjects and practice placements) and public relations work (guiding principles). The questionnaire went to all German Waldorf schools and they only had just under four weeks to respond to twenty-one questions. Twenty-nine Waldorf schools responded – thank you. Here is a provisional result which makes no claim to being representative. [more]
Waldorf sustainability
Maschsee European environmental school
The Hanover-Maschsee free Waldorf school is one of the oldest Waldorf schools in Germany. Sustainability was a principle guiding its actions from the beginning, long before the concept became a political buzzword. But what does sustainability mean in 2020? What are the expectations of pupils, teachers and parents when they look at the subject in the time of Greta and the “climate crisis”? [more]
Waldorf worldwide, Waldorf sustainability
Doing change – the story of Sonomotors
Former Waldorf pupils develop an innovative electric car, set up a startup company and seek a new way of community funding. [more]
Spotlight, Waldorf sustainability
The virus: war and peace. Notes on corona
“Nous sommes en guerre!” We are at war – the words of the French president in his address to the nation summon up resistance, literally. What we need now is empathy, solidarity and responsibility says the German chancellor in her speech. Both are probably true. Yet the enemy is invisible, lives within us. [more]
Bund der Freien Waldorfschulen e.V.