A New Impulse - preliminary announcement 3-day conference for Waldorf professionals
(and those with Waldorf teacher training) ~
February 18 - 20, 2010
At the Marin Waldorf School
With Christof Wiechert, Leader of the Pedagogical Section
Registration: $35
"I must give a new impulse [...] Make no mistake, it is largely a question of interest in the children and the young people and a matter of enthusiasm [...] We shall not get anywhere in any direction without enthusiasm and inner mobility[...] A person certainly cannot be tired if s/he is to be spiritually alive." Rudolf Steiner
Faculty Meeting of the Stuttgart Waldorf School, July 24, 1924
With these words Rudolf Steiner ends his engagement in the original Waldorf School. Ninety years later we might ask ourselves: Do we now also need a new impulse?
How can we balance structure and form with impulse and creativity so that they serve a "new impulse" for Waldorf schools - an impulse that is needed as we approach the centenary of this new educational paradigm.
This 3-day conference will be concentrated. The days will be relatively short - 9:00am to 3:30pm on Thursday and Friday; 9:00 to 12:30 on Saturday -- so that participants can commute more easily, need not be away from home all day, and still have something of a weekend.
In order to make this conference affordable, we will have a minimal registration fee of $35. We are investigating the possibility of having simple lunches provided by the Marin Waldorf School 8th graders, as a fund-raiser for their 8th grade trip. Local restaurants are, of course, also available. We ask you to organize any required lodging - several local motels can be found here or by searching "Marin motels" on the internet. Refreshment during coffee breaks will be provided.
The conference schedule will be:
Thursday, February 18; and Friday, February 19:
9:00: Singing
9:20: Lecture I (title coming) and Lecture II (title coming) by Christof Wiechert
10:50: get from lecture hall back to Marin Waldorf School
11:00: coffee break at Marin Waldorf School
11:30: interest groups (in context of lecture) - metaphoric speech, mastery of time, how to shape a main lesson.... We are looking for innovative topics, or old topics with innovative approaches. Suggestions welcome, send to dorit@bacwtt.org
12:30: lunch
2:00: activity (games, concentration exercises, speech exercises, class plays, math activities) (same group configuration as morning)
3:00: review and preview of next day (CJW)
3:30: coffee break
February 20 (Saturday):
9:00: Singing
9:20: Lecture III (title coming) by Christof Wiechert
10:50: get from lecture hall back to Marin Waldorf School
11:00: coffee break
11:30: plenum and conclusion
12:30: end
This conference serves as preparation for the Waldorf Seminar of the Summer Arts Festival of Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training with Christof Wiechert on lectures 1-7 of Study of Man to be held in July of 2010.
Christof Wiechert was born in 1945, and was a pupil at the Waldorf school in the Hague, Netherlands. After studying education and geography, he was a teacher for 30 years at the Waldorf school in the Hague. During this time, Christof co-founded the Dutch State Waldorf Teacher Training Seminar, and was for many years a Council member in the Anthroposophical Society in the Netherlands. Together with Ate Koopmans, he developed the "Art of Child Study" course. In September 1999, he began his work for the Pedagogical Section, and in October 2001, became the head of the Educational Department of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum in Dornach/Switzerland. He is married with five children. Christof's recent lecture tours include the Philippines, Israel, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Seattle, the Bay Area, and Orange County (7 lectures in 3 days). His current research includes the topic of Rudolf Steiner's last months at the original Waldorf school, and in particular, Steiner's efforts to guide the pioneer teachers in a new direction.
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