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Dear Colleagues,
Love is in the air with a plentiful supply of red roses, chocolates, hearts, and chubby cupids. It seems an appropriate theme for this week’s message! Many children are busy cutting and gluing Valentine’s cards for classmates, teachers, and loved ones. Our thoughts are on the generous love we see over and over again in this work of Public Waldorf education. So, a brief appreciation of love, in four parts!
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Teachers
Teachers are remarkable, in and of themselves. Teaching in its ideal is a vocation, driven by a profound desire to have an impact and to make a difference. In our Public Waldorf schools, we ask already-remarkable teachers to go further, to tap into their artistry and creativity, to bring harmony and beauty, to work with rhythm and the power of routine, to tell stories, to be willing to be that special someone in a child’s life, to understand and work with the lawfulness of child development in the midst of a system that is not so sure about that. As I go into schools, I routinely see deeds of love, optimism, creativity, patience, and wisdom by teachers.
Bob Marley had words on being loved that resonate with what teachers provide: “Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful….You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are.” Thank you, teachers, for the gifts of love you give so generously every day. The impact may be longer and greater than you can possibly know!
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Administrators and School Leaders
Love sometimes means having to say no, hold the line, keep the good of the whole in mind while looking at the needs of the many, often competing, parts. Even with collaborative leadership structures, the buck stops somewhere. Leadership can at times be lonely; you are called upon to consult, listen, then act based on your analysis of what is truly best and needed - and often, in complex organizations such as schools, what is required (a pressure deeply familiar to school leaders, but not always widely understood or appreciated). It is amazing to watch a principal, director, dean, whatever the term, engage with staff and students, encouraging and recognizing - then head back to the office to deal with a budget that won’t balance, a District requirement, or a student who has lost their way.
For you, dear leaders, a blossom from Max DePree: “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader.” Thank you, school leaders, for your daily artistry. You make it all possible!
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Childhood
We can’t have thoughts of love without addressing children and childhood! These futurenauts, courageously heading into the unknowable, are the reason for the rest of it. Here’s to the amazing, creative, utterly predictable yet totally surprising nature of childhood. In a hurried, pressured modern life that is out of step with the much slower needs of our children, our schools stand as havens, honoring and respecting children’s needs, pace, and worldview. Thank goodness for schools built with a love of childhood in mind, with ample recess and movement, food for those who need it, adults who love and see each child, bountiful opportunities for creativity and imagination, and constant support for strengthening connections - with self, others, the earth, and the world! On behalf of them, “let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” (Sitting Bull)
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Faith and Hope for our Future
Engagement in education is a commitment to hope. Adapting a phrase from a coffee cup, when we teach/administer/support a school, we touch the future. Trite, yet deeply true. Our work demands energy, commitment, and trust in the human story. On this Valentine’s Day, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for showing up each day, for being present with our children, for guiding and leading them into their futures. Know that you are appreciated and that you make a difference. We know that “in the end, the love we take is equal to the love we make” (Paul McCartney) and that our work, challenging as it is, has many rewards - but, as it is Valentine’s Day, let’s hope that it comes with a little chocolate or a few flowers!
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With deep gratitude for our teachers, staff, school leaders, and our remarkable students,
Liz Beaven
On behalf of our Alliance
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Congratulations to our newest member school, Under The Canopy, which was unanimously approved by Tulsa Public Schools to open in the Fall of 2025.
Read the press release here.
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Professional Development and Teacher Preparation | |
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Save the date
July 10th-19th
Alliance Led
Professional Development
Summer 2024
Week 1: July 10th-12th
Fundamentals: The Essential Characteristics of Public Waldorf Education
Week 2: July 15th-19th
Early Childhood through 8th-Grade, Leadership, and SPED/Student Support Tracks
The Alliance Summer PD will be taking place virtually. Details to come in the coming weeks.
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Summer Professional Development and Teacher Education
Gradalis Teacher Training Certification Program
New Cohort begins June 20th through July 12th, 2024, Denver, Colorado
https://gradalis.edu
Gradalis Early Childhood Program Concentration
New Cohort begins June 20h through July 18th, 2024, Denver, Colorado
https://gradalis.edu
Sunbridge’s Summer Series
June and July 2024, online
June 23-28 in person- Chestnut Ridge, NY
https://www.sunbridge.edu/courses-workshops/summer-series/
Antioch University Waldorf Teacher Education
2024 Entering Cohort
June 24-28, Minimal Online Hours
July 13-28, Residency in Wilton
https://www.antioch.edu/academics/education/waldorf-education-med/
Gradalis Teaching as an Art Week: Grade Level Preparation for the working teacher
July 7- 12, 2024, Denver, Colorado
https://gradalis.edu
Journey School Summer Renewal 2024
July 8-12, Early Childhood and Grades 1-4, Aliso Viejo, CA
Juley 15-19, Grades 5-8, Aliso Viejo, CA
https://www.journeyschool.net/renewal/
Great Lakes Waldorf Institute- Summer Professional Development Offerings
July 8-12, 2024, online & July 15-19, 2024, in person (Milwaukee, WI): Feeling for Reality: Developing Skills for Felt-Perception in the Waldorf High School
https://www.greatlakeswaldorf.org/high-school-2024
July 22-26, 2024, online: Teaching for Black Lives in Waldorf Schools
https://www.greatlakeswaldorf.org/teaching-for-black-lives-course
Gradalis Understanding Waldorf Education (UWE) Program
September 2024-April 2025, Online
https://gradalis.edu
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For more information:
Liz Beaven, Executive Director
Carly Fedor, Administrative Assistant
Alliance for Public Waldorf Education
1000 River Rock Drive, Suite 218
Folsom, CA 95630
Public Waldorf is a service mark of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America and is used pursuant to a license.
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