Spaces Still Available for Part-Time and Full-Time Waldorf Professional Development Programs
Bringing Spirit into Life
Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto facilitates cultural renewal. We offer workshops and trainings in Waldorf Teacher Education, Remedial Education, Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy, Biodynamic Agriculture and the Arts. Here research into the spiritual nature of the human being brings practical insights for work, play and community.
Waldorf Teacher Education
Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy
We offer internationally accredited programs for Waldorf teacher education. Focus on early childhood, grades, high school or specialty subjects. Click here for Waldorf Teacher Education
Five of the six students enrolled in the full-time Waldorf Teacher Education class of 2021 at the RSCT.
“Say not the struggle nought availeth.”
Since 2014, when RSCT was required by the government to stop accepting Waldorf teacher candidates who did not have prior paid teaching experience, it...
Five of the six students enrolled in the full-time Waldorf Teacher Education class of 2021 at the RSCT.
“Say not the struggle nought availeth.”
Since 2014, when RSCT was required by the government to stop accepting Waldorf teacher candidates who did not have prior paid teaching experience, it has been a dream of RSCT leadership to obtain Private Career College (PCC) status. This would enable the Centre to once again enroll students who have been inspired by Waldorf education to make a career change.
This goal of qualifying for PCC status was included as objective #3 in the RSCT’s 2018 Strategic Plan. It reads: “Secure approval from The Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) to become a Private Career College in 2018/19. Begin operating as a Private Career College in 2019/20.”
Now, two years and hundreds of work hours later, that goal has been mostly achieved, only one year behind schedule. It’s “mostly” because so far only RSCT itself and the grade-school stream of Waldorf teacher education have been granted PCC status.
The next step will be to apply for the full-time early childhood program to be included under the PCC. Now, however, with one program and the Centre itself already recognized, getting a second program approved should go more quickly.
The Approval Process
As an example of how thorough the review process is for these approvals, the RSCT was required to hire two independent consultants, one to review the content of the program, and the other to review the method of course presentation. These reports then had to be approved by the Ministry.
RSCT also was required to provide audited financial statements for the past year, including balance sheets, statements of income and expenses, and cash flow, as well as financial projections for the next two years.
The eight directors on the RSCT board were required to fully disclose their personal finances, including mortgages, investments, references and net worth right down to the current value of their car, as part of the application process.
James had to submit a comprehensive student handbook detailing RSCT policies on subjects like anti-harassment, sexual violence, anti-bullying, and student rights and responsibilities. The completed handbook is 40 pages. Most of the document submission and review process took place online, with the next step being revealed only after the current step was completed and approved.
It was only in the final two months that RSCT was put in telephone contact with the inspector who was tasked with reviewing the application documents for approval. The current PCC status is good through 2022 and must be reviewed every three years.
It has taken two years to collect, develop and submit the required documentation and to go through the complete review and approval process. Miraculously, the final approval came through on Monday September 14th, the opening day of the 2020-21 full-time Waldorf Teacher Education program! RSCT executive director James Brian, who has been carrying the process, received many congratulatory messages.
OSAP Eligibility
Once the RSCT has been operating successfully as a PCC for two school years, students will be able to apply for OSAP student loans to attend the program.
Previously RSCT had completed another approval process to be recognized by Immigration Canada as a Designated Learning Institute in order to enable international students to obtain a study visa when they apply to RSCT.
Waldorf Teacher Education Class of 2021
In spite of the current pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions, RSCT was able to launch this year’s full time program with six students, five students attending in person, and a sixth joining online, until RSCT’s Covid institutional readiness plan is approved. A smaller number in the classroom makes it easier for each person to each have their own six-foot table, and remain physically distanced.
The current draft version of RSCT’s eleven-page Covid institutional readiness plan is based on Canada’s federal guidelines, Ontario’s re-opening plan, and documents from York Region Public Health. Until that plan is approved by the federal government, this year’s one international student, Li Shan Chu, is joining the class at 9 pm (her local time in Taiwan) each day on Zoom, and following along with them through the night until 3:30 am, so she can be “together” with her classmates in Thornhill. A live video feed of Li Shan’s face can be seen by the other students, on a large screen at the side of the seminar room.
Once the Covid institutional readiness plan is approved, Li Shan will travel to Canada where she will continue to participate in the class via Zoom while she completes her required two weeks of quarantine. She will then join the class in person for the rest of the school year.
Photo above: James Brian with the Teacher Education class, October 2020.
Once again it's that time of year when students come together to study the foundations of anthroposophy at the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto. Anthroposophy is the basis of so much exciting work in the world, from Waldorf education and biodynamic agriculture to architecture, medicine, and psychology, and organizational renewal, to mention...
Once again it's that time of year when students come together to study the foundations of anthroposophy at the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto. Anthroposophy is the basis of so much exciting work in the world, from Waldorf education and biodynamic agriculture to architecture, medicine, and psychology, and organizational renewal, to mention but a few realms of prctical life in which anthroposophical ideas have been fruitful. And then there's the personal path of inner development, the awakening of the slumbering faculties of spiritual perception through disciplined inner exercises.
This is the first year in a long time when the Foundation Studies Encounter course at the RSCT is not being led by Paul Hodgkins, who crossed the threshold this past summer. While Paul will surely be missed by all who knew him, the work of carrying the program, is now being taken up by a capable and devoted group of teachers including Grant Davis, Robert McKay, George Ivanoff, Diana Hughes, James Brian, Reg Down, Jan Patterson, Dorothy LeBaron, Fiona Hughes and Siobhan Hughes.
Two Courses, one in Thornhill, one in Halton
So far the only confirmed Foundation Studies Encounter programs that are being scheduled are at the RSCT in Thornhill on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 1 pm, starting Sept. 26th. and at the Halton Waldorf School, also 9 am to 1 pm, and also starting on Sept. 26th.
The Foundation Studies free introductory talk will be given twice, once in Thornhill, on Thursday, September 17th, and once in Halton, at the Halton Waldorf School, on Monday, September 21st. Both talks start at 7:30 pm
Encounter Course Locations, Dates and Times for 2020-21
Saturday Mornings in Thornhill 9:00 am - 1:00 pm (30 weeks)
Free Introductory Evening Thursday Sept 17, 7:30 pm at RSCT Thornhill
Term I: Sept. 26 - Dec. 12, 2020
Term II: Jan. 9 - March 6, 2021
Term III: March 27 - May 29, 2021
Saturday Mornings at the Halton Waldorf School, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm (30 weeks)
Free Introductory Evening Monday September 21 at 7:30 pm (at Halton Waldorf School)
Term I: Sept. 26 - Dec. 12, 2020
Term II: Jan. 9 - March 6, 2021
Term III: March 27 - May 29, 2021
Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy offers a remarkable opportunity for personal growth as well as a foundation for work in anthroposophical professions including the RSCT's Waldorf Teacher Education program, for which it is a prerequisite.
Covid-19 Restart Plan and Precautions
When the RSCT shut down last March, the announcement said that the RSCT would not re-open until there was a science-based plan for how that could be done safely. Such a plan was finalized last week. You can read the full 10-page document here on the rsct.ca website. But here are a few highlights from the many points and procedures outlined in that plan:
Daily self-assessment for faculty and students before coming to class
Personal protective toolkit for each person with masks, sanitizer, dishes and cutlery
Contact tracing through monitoring people coming through
Mask wearing and social distancing indoors
Minimizing exposure to shared surfaces
Frequent sanitizing of shared surfaces
Encouraging personal hygienic practices such as frequent hand washing etc.
Arrangements of furniture in offices and classroom to support distancing
Enhanced cleaning protocols for interior spaces
Reduction in discretionary personal travel for faculty and students
Signage and communication of practices and protocols to students and others
Read the full 10-page document for the complete outline of Covid-19-related safety and security procedures now in place at the RSCT.
As you may remember from the RSCT's Strategic Plan , one of our plans was to develop Waldorf childcare initiatives in addition to our main work of offering courses in anthroposophy and educating Waldorf teachers.
The first of these new childcare facilities was opened in Guelph in May...
As you may remember from the RSCT's Strategic Plan, one of our plans was to develop Waldorf childcare initiatives in addition to our main work of offering courses in anthroposophy and educating Waldorf teachers.
The first of these new childcare facilities was opened in Guelph in May of 2019 under the name Star Seedlings. Karen Weyler, who also teaches in the Early Chldhood program at RSCT is the director of childcare there.
Enrollment of children at the new initiative gradually increased over the year to the point where the project was becoming financially viable, when all of a sudden this past March of 2020, everything was closed down due to the Covid 19 shutdowns.
Now finally Star Seedlings will able to re-open in August and is looking to find more full-time children aged 18 mo to 5 yrs to enroll in the program.
In addition to the childcare, Star Seedlings is also looking to start offering a Nature Kindergarten experience for a group of about eight children aged 4-5, starting in September.
We're sharing this with you, as a friend of the Centre, to keep you informed as to what the RSCT has been up to in this realm, and also with a request to please pass this on to any parents of young children you might know in the Guelph area.
Photo above: Morning break time at the 2019 RSCT Summer Festival of Arts and Education.
Dear Friends, You're Invited
In these extraordinary times, after consulting with the participants of our Summer Festival and part-time Waldorf teacher program we have finalized our afternoon offerings. These include:
Forums focusing on diversity/equity/inclusivity...
Photo above: Morning break time at the 2019 RSCT Summer Festival of Arts and Education.
Dear Friends, You're Invited
In these extraordinary times, after consulting with the participants of our Summer Festival and part-time Waldorf teacher program we have finalized our afternoon offerings. These include:
Forums focusing on diversity/equity/inclusivity and social justice
Action Research Presentations focusing on Waldorf pedagogy
Offering either a forum or a research presentations every day (with one exception!)
Please keep these links handy over the next two weeks. Perhaps put them on your desktop. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you can’t find a link.
Since we are holding this festival online, we have the one-time opportunity of sharing these amazing presentations with those who registered for only Week 1 or Week 3, as well as anyone interested in Waldorf education and social justice. Please share these links freely.
The Action Research Presentations are given by the student teachers in the RSCT Professional Development for Waldorf Teachers Part-Time Program. Those giving the presentations are in the third and final year of the training and will graduate on July 24.
As well as working full time as teachers in schools, they have dealt with the challenging situation of online teaching in the recent months and, at the same time, they have managed to complete their research projects and will share their valuable work with us in these final two weeks of the festival. We congratulate them on their dedication and resilience.
There is no need to register for these afternoon events and there is no fee to attend. Please join us as welcome guests.
James Brian
RSCT Executive Director
Featured Guest Presenters
In addition to our student teacher presenters, we are pleased to welcome the following guest speakers at our forums over the next 10 days:
Chandra Maracle has lived at Six Nations of the Grand River for 15 years. She is a founder of Kakhwa’on:we/Real People Eat Real Food and co-founder of Skaronhyase’ko:wa/The Everlasting Tree School. She is currently a Ph. D. student at York University in the Faculty of Environmental Studies where her work is focused on Haudenosaunee food history and Eating Psychology.
Joaquin Munoz is Assistant Professor of Elementary Education, Augsburg College in Minneapolis and a Waldorf-inspired social justice educator. His doctoral thesis is called The Circle of Mind and Heart: Integrating Waldorf Education, Indigenous Epistemologies, and Critical Pedagogy. He writes, “As a Native American person myself, I am interested in Waldorf as potential reform for supporting students of color and linguistically diverse student populations.”
Douglas Cardinal is an indigenous architect from the Blackfoot band in southern Alberta who first encountered the work of Rudolf Steiner while studying architecture in university in Texas. He is considered one of Canada's most influential contemporary Indigenous architects.
Presentation Schedule for Week 2: July 14 -17
July 14, Tuesday - Action Research Presentation: 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Topic: Action Research Presentation - Angela Brooks - Inner Fitness of a Waldorf Teacher
Time: Jul 14, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
July 15, Wednesday - Forum: 3:30 to 4:30 pm Topic: RSCT Forum - James Brian - The Work of the Douglas Cardinal Foundation for Indigenous Waldorf Education
Time: Jul 15, 2020 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
July 16, Thursday - Action Research Presentation: 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Topic: Action Research Presentation - Justine Oxley - Birth as a Gesture of Constitution and Karmic Destiny
Time: Jul 16, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
July 17, Friday - Forum: 3:30 to 4:30 pm Topic: RSCT Forum - Chandra Maracle - The Impulse to Start a Waldorf-inspired Haudenosaunee Waldorf School
Time: Jul 17, 2020 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
Presentation Schedule for Week 3: July 20-24
July 20, Monday - Action Research Presentation: 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Topic: Action Research Presentation - Laura Hacker - Using the Temperaments Pedagogically in a Class Play
Time: Jul 20, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
July 21, Tuesday - Action Research Presentation: 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Topic: Action Research Presentation - Marie France Bertrand - Waldorf Methods in the Public Education System
Time: Jul 21, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
July 22, Wednesday - Forum: 3:30 to 4:30 pm Topic: RSCT Forum - Joaquin Munoz - Ideas on Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity in 2020
Time: Jul 22, 2020 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
July 22, Wednesday - Action Research Presentation: 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Topic: Action Research Presentation - Alena Lotz Oggier - Stepping into Mandarin, a Linguistic Adventure
Time: Jul 22, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time Join Zoom Meeting
July 23, Thursday - Forum: 3:30 to 4:30 pm Topic: RSCT Forum - Douglas Cardinal - The coronavirus is sending us a message about our humanity. Here’s what we need to understand.
Time: Jul 23, 2020 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
July 24, Friday – Closing Session and Graduation 3:30 to 4:30 pm Topic: Closing Session and Graduation
Time: Jul 24, 2020 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
