pedagogical section newsletter
march 2021
Dear Colleagues and Friends of the Pedagogical Section:
The past year has given all of us more food for thought than we ever bargained for. The country, indeed the world, has been gut-wrenchingly afflicted by Covid-19, social, and political upheavals. One often feels surrounded by, perhaps even occasionally swept up by currents of fear, despair, conspiratorial thinking, and binary modes of thought. Serenity, perseverance, contemplative perspective, and the courage to stand for the spiritual core of life can seem beyond our reach. The urgency of NOW demands action, whether or not one feels empowered by one’s own convictions and insights to take those actions. As members of the School for Spiritual Science, our challenge is to insist on ripening our thoughts and representing something deeper than what passes for wisdom in materialistic modes of thought.
Some of the PSC Members in Colorado 2019 from top left to right:
Michael Holdrege, Chicago WS, IL
Ina Jaehnig, Denver WS, CO
Jennifer Snyder, Sacramento, CA
Frances Vig, Chicago WS
Douglas Gerwin, Center for Anthroposophy, Amherst, MA
Elan Leibner, Chairman, Hopewell, NJ
James Pewtherer, Amherst, MA
Betty Staley, CA
Laura Radefeld, Green Meadow WS, Spring Valley, NY
Holly Koteen-Soule, Seattle, WA (not pictured)
The Section Council has been working to bring a spiritual perspective to at least one of those upheavals. During our last few meetings, all via Zoom, we have been studying the questions of racism and diversity, specifically in their relationship to anthroposophy and Waldorf education, and undertaken various aspects of further research.
We have held several conversations with colleagues and alums of color, as well as with the leadership of AWSNA, WECAN, and the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education. From these conversations, it is clear that our movement, like the country at large, is having to reckon with blind spots and unintended consequences of prejudices we weren’t necessarily aware we had. At the same time, we do not intend to get swept into condemnations of anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner, or Waldorf education. Anthroposophy is not a religion, and Steiner does not need to be defended as if the whole enterprise of anthroposophically-inspired work would crumble if something he said wasn’t acceptable in today’s society. Ultimately, a love-centered view of the human being and of the meaning of life is Steiner’s most lasting legacy, and the challenge of actuating that view in the field of education is the challenge of the Pedagogical Section. Love in its spiritual aspect knows no bounds of race, ethnicity, gender, or physical abilities. We have, and always will, fall short of actuating love fully. That should only spur us on to try all the more. Some of us have begun writing about these topics, and those musings will begin to appear during the coming months.
On a more heartening front, I am happy to announce two new members of the PSC:
Vernon Dewey is a class teacher at the Denver Waldorf School. He is currently teaching 8th grade and will transition into a pedagogical leadership role at his school next year. He has particular interest in the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has written thoughtfully about them during our internal deliberations.
Victoria Reyes is a high school humanities teacher at the Austin Waldorf School. Born in Colombia, she came to the U.S. at nineteen, and has also been active in the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion at her school. She brings both a true love of this country and a clear eyed view of its challenges.
Welcome to both of our new members!
Inner Work Workshops
The Pedagogical Section Council is hosting a series of online sessions in support of teachers’ inner, meditative work. Each session is led by two Council members and lasts about 90 minutes. In order to allow for a relaxed atmosphere, the sessions are held on Saturday mornings (12 Eastern). Advance registration is free, but required for entry.
Attendees may come to any of the sessions. No advance knowledge or practice are needed. The desire to meet and converse with others who are seeking to strengthen the dimension of inner meditative work is the only requirement.
PSC Publications
A reminder to our members and friends that all PSC publications are available via Waldorf Publications.
Those publications will soon include a re-printing of Towards the Deepening of Waldorf Education.
A Great Deal of Gratitude
The work of the Pedagogical Section Council has been generously supported by AWSNA, many of its member schools individually, and by many individuals who have made contributions large and small. The council is immensely grateful to all of you for making its work possible. Thank you!
A special note of gratitude to Patrice Maynard of the Waldorf Publications arm of The Research Institute for Waldorf Education. For the past two years, she has spearheaded our fundraising efforts and dedicated many hours to the many tasks associated with them. Thank you, Patrice!
Artistic Study led by Frances Vig:
Report from the International Forum
Douglas Gerwin & James Pewtherer
As with most Anthroposophical organizations worldwide, the International Forum/Hague Circle has had to cancel all of its in-person meetings over the last 11 months due to Covid-19 restrictions. The group has had a few virtual meetings on Zoom, which limited our scope of activities as meeting times tried to accommodate time zones that have stretched around the globe.
Going forward, the IF has re-scheduled its May 2020 Madrid meeting for May 2021 in Budapest, but current travel and meeting restrictions in Hungary make this meeting provisional at best. We have also re-scheduled our expanded November 2020 to November 2021 in Dornach, Switzerland. This meeting will include active younger colleagues as guests. It aims to provide an opportunity to host working groups on the inner and outer needs of Waldorf/Steiner education in the next decades. It will also review the work of the Hague Circle since its inception in 1970.
More generally, Waldorf schools from around the world have managed to continue to hold classes in spite of the pandemic. The conditions have ranged from no limits on operations (New Zealand) to strictly applied quarantine rules based on one’s frequently monitored health status via a phone app (China) to mixed in person and remote classes (many countries). As challenging as these times have been, our schools have forged ahead in spite of sometimes severe circumstances.
The next World Educators Conference at the Goetheanum has been moved a year later to Easter week of 2023. Discussions are underway on possible themes. Preliminary thoughts have been in the direction of more consciously using will activity to counter the over-intellectualism of our times in order to reach out and care for the world. Society’s focus on the head has led to rampant egoism and to a growing isolation of one person from another. Limb activity, conversely, centers the human ego into the world and can cultivate true brotherhood and solidarity.
3 March 2021 R
eport submitted by Douglas Gerwin & James Pewtherer,
members of the International Forum and the Pedagogical Section Council for North America