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Dear Colleagues,
Greetings from a very colorful East Coast! I have the good fortune to be here as the autumn leaves complete their annual display. Last Thursday, I drove up to Amherst, MA, with colleagues for several days of meetings of the Pedagogical Section Council of North America*. On the drive, we were bathed in color, often passing through what felt like tunnels of rich autumn hues - surrounded, immersed. What a marvel of nature! What a gift to the soul! At times, I closed my eyes and imagined what this land must have looked like before roads, towns, and heavy human presence; hills aflame with color as far as the eye could stretch. Brisk, bracing air with the hint of the winter to come - an invitation to move vigorously, then retreat into quiet and warmth. All four seasons are present in my daily life in Northern California, but they lack the dramatic contrasts that so many of you enjoy. They are more subtle, and require attention to catch them (think of spring bulbs blooming happily alongside roses).
In addition to the incredible gift of color and landscape, I was also given a reminder of the power of place, story, image, and poetry. I began my Waldorf journey in Manhattan, first as a parent, then an intern, then a fledgling class teacher. The Rudolf Steiner School (which will celebrate 100 years in 2028) and several key individuals there provided me with my young wings and helped me to begin to fly. I know that those formative years and individuals made a deep impression, one that I am eternally grateful for. Most of us can readily recall those individuals and experiences that helped us shape our beginning art and craft of teaching.
I was struck by the fact that, as soon as I was immersed in this autumnal beauty, seasonal songs and poems from first and second grade came flooding back, intact. Although I visit many classrooms, I have not taught first or second grade since the early 1990s. Yet, here they were, old, familiar friends - “Scarlet and yellow and golden and brown, winds of October bring all the leaves down.” Full verses, complete songs, images of children. After I moved across the country, I recall reviewing my rather small but growing East Coast repertoire of poems, songs, and stories and immediately realizing that many of them would not fit my adopted Sacramento setting. New materials or adaptations were needed if I was going to provide my students with images that were authentic and congruent with their experience. As one small example, winds of November were more likely to bring leaves tumbling - that was an easy fix! Others were more complex. This was an incredibly valuable lesson in place and context, the need to adapt and respond, and the requirement to pay attention.
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We know the power of mental images. There are many stories of individuals who survived incarceration, even solitary confinement, harsh conditions, and deprivation by recalling stories, songs, and poems from their youth. Mental images sustain us and give us strength. They endure within us; they help us recall and remember. They help us develop flexibility of thought and the capacity to think anew. We offer these lasting gifts as a core part of Waldorf teaching and learning; as you work to memorize new poems and stories, know that you are enriching lives and planting seeds. Part of the magic is that we are doing so for the children, our first responsibility, but also for ourselves.
We are, of course, also offering these gifts as key themes in our upcoming January conference, where we will take up the theme of “The Power of Story: Weaving Connections, Building Community.” Those of us who will gather in Los Angeles will have a direct experience of the power of story with our keynote presenters, Baba the Storyteller and Anjum Mir. This will be an interactive, experiential conference - we urge every member school to find a way to send a couple of representatives for this experience. Imagine the power of people from all of our schools gathered together to meet, greet, be moved, to imagine, and to connect around our shared work. If I suddenly had a large pot of money, bringing all schools together would be an early priority.
We know the realities of school budgets, the constraints of school and personal schedules, and the marvelous spread of our schools from Hawaii to Alaska to northern New Hampshire to Florida. We understand the need for enrichment and inspiration for all of us at the midpoint of the school year. We are committed to access and equity, and we know that not everyone can gather in person; therefore, we will again be offering a virtual conference. We also understand that this needs care and attention and that a choppy live stream of an in-person event is very unsatisfactory. We looked closely at our current capacity and the interactive quality of our keynotes this year. From that, we decided to offer a separate yet closely related conference experience for those who will be online. There will be more to come shortly as we firm up our plans, but as a first taste, we are delighted that David Sewell McCann will provide “keynotes” that will build understanding of the power and necessity of storytelling, its capacity to restore, and opportunities for participants to build their storytelling confidence and skill. This will be accompanied by forums for discussion, thematic workshops, and arts or crafts. We are really excited by both our in-person conference and our reimagined virtual conference. Watch for details, coming very soon! Mark your calendars for January 16-18. Discuss who from your school will attend in person. Spread the word!
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The leaves and brisk air are calling to me. It is time for a walk, a chance to join the squirrels and scuff my feet through the leaves, to soak in the color, before I head to Circle of Seasons Charter School in Pennsylvania. They are our next member school to have completed their self-study and to be ready to welcome a group of peers onto their campus for a site visit. I am excited to see their wonderful work.
Warm wishes for this autumn season to each of you and to your school communities!
Liz Beaven
Executive Director
| | | *The Pedagogical Section Council of North America is a group of experienced Waldorf educators who work together to research, and deepen, and enliven the roots of Waldorf education. I am fortunate to be a member of the Council and, as such, I am able to bring the perspectives and questions of Public Waldorf education to our discussions. | | | We’re getting ready! Registration opens soon. | | |
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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