I have just returned from Brazil where the public schools are so under-resourced that anyone who can afford it sends their children to private schools. These offer a ticket to opportunity and a better life. Waldorf schools are a small but growing part of this sector. They offer a real alternative to the overly academic, test driven education that is on offer elsewhere. Waldorf schools, whose work is grounded in the arts, not only offer holistic education, they create opportunities for whole communities to wrestle with the ideals of human development: body, mind and spirit. Such idealistic striving sets them apart from the others and it clearly meets a deep longing these children, their teachers and parents have for a meaningful, active and artistic education. Waldorf schools actively encourage parents and teachers to engagement with one another in practical, conscious spirit-life. Waldorf education offers a unique space, a space for the mysterious, where universal spirit unites with human endeavor in the service of educating children. Furthermore, Waldorf schools are places where people striving together to offer the best for their children and to build hope for the future. Seeing the struggles that educators face the world over, it is ever clearer that Waldorf schools are oases in the desert of 21st century materialism. They secure and nurture seeds for the continuing development of humanity.
Making Space for the Mysterious is the theme for our Summer Festival of Arts and Education. We have invited an inspiring roster of workshop leaders whose aim is to work through their uniquely cultivated specialty to create a fertile, creative space to foster professional and personal development for all participants. Please consider joining us this July. |
