Rudolf Steiner College: Introduction to Waldorf Methods applied to At-Risk Youth & the Public School Classroom

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The Waldorf Approach Applied in the Public School Classroom

More than 1,000 teachers have attended the Public School Institute in the eleven years since it was created. It was founded in response to a request from a leading Sacramento educator at a time very much like today-when the arts were being removed from public school programs, and hence children's lives-because of budget cuts.

Focus of the institute is giving K-8 teachers a joyful and empowering hands-on experience of fully integrating the arts and active learning into the academic curriculum-so they cannot be removed. Also emphasized is the relationship of child development to curriculum and optimal learning.

Teachers will learn:

• Methods to integrate recitation, storytelling, drama, painting, modeling, movement, and music into the teaching of history, geography, social science, language arts, mathematics, and science

•Innovative, practical ways to develop and strengthen literacy and numeracy

• How to inspire and motivate students to reach high levels of achievement and meet district and state standards

• How to nurture emotional intelligence, kindness, and responsibility in the classroom through character building activities

For more information and registration go to
Public School Institute.

What Leading Educators have said about the Public School Institute

I believe that Waldorf education possesses unique educational features that have considerable potential for improving public education in America. . . . Waldorf schools provide a program that . . . not only fosters conventional forms of academic achievement, but also puts a premium on the development of
imagination and the refinement of the sensibilities.

Elliot Eisner, Professor of Education and Art, Stanford University;
Past President, American Educational Research Association

Waldorf education embodies in a truly organic sense all seven of the intelligences that Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner speaks about in his Theory of Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal. . . Steiner had the breadth of vision seventy-five years ago to see something that educators are now waking up to. . . And Steiner’s vision is a whole one, not simply an amalgam of the seven intelligences. Many schools are currently attempting to construct curricula based on Gardner’s model simply through an additive process (What can we add to what we’ve already got?). Steiner’s approach, however, was to begin with a deep inner vision of the child and the child’s needs and build a curriculum around that vision.

Thomas Armstrong, Author
Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom and Awakening Genius

What Participants have said about the Public School Institute...

Every teacher and administrator should attend this institute. What a great way to gain insight into the development of the child and how we as educators can aid in fostering a nurturing, healthy environment and curriculum for the child.

William Grange,
Journey School, Capistrano Unified, CA

After 20 years of teaching, I feel renewed. The institute has transformed me––and my teaching will never be the same.

Teri Leo,
Del Paso Heights School District, Sacramento, CA

Professional Development for Teachers of At-Risk Youth

On the last day of school, two fifteen year old boys – one Hispanic, the other Hmong – played a Mozart duet on their recorders. Both had been expelled from public schools for violent acts, constant failure in class, and refusal to follow directions. But their music lessons were rigorous. They had never worked so hard on anything. When they finished playing their duet before an audience of 45, classmates cheered and they even clapped for themselves. It was a miracle.

Ruth Mikkelsen, Principal
Yuba County Court and Community Schools
2002-2003 Administrator of the Year, Colusa/Sutter/Yuba Counties

Fall Weekend Session: Nov. 14 –15, 2003

In this course, educators in alternative schools will learn how infusing a standards-based curriculum with the arts and Waldorf methodology can lead to a successful, transformative educational experience for both teachers and students.

Focus of the course is disseminating an innovative model program for at-risk youth developed over the past several years at the Yuba County Court and Community Schools in partnership with Rudolf Steiner College. The project is currently supported by the California Arts Council (as an arts demonstration project) and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation.

• Students improve academic skills, as well as their attitude toward school, themselves, and
their communities

• The arts–– drawing, music, painting, storytelling, movement, poetry, and drama–– are integrated fully
into academic lessons

• The integrated arts program, in sync with current neurological research, increases students’ learning abilities, and helps break the cycle of failure and hopelessness in which these students are often trapped

For more information and registration click on Professional Development for Teachers of At-Risk Youth.

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home programs summer education housing The Waldorf Approach Applied in the Public School Classroom More than 1,000 teachers have attended the Public School Institute in the eleven years since it was created. It was founded in response to a request from a leading Sacramento educator at a time very much like today-when the arts were being removed from public school programs, and hence children's lives-because of budget cuts. Focus of the institute is giving K-8 teachers a joyful and empowering hands-on experience of fully integrating the arts and active learning into the academic curriculum-so they cannot be removed. Also emphasized is the relationship of child development to curriculum and optimal learning.
				Teachers will learn: • Methods to integrate recitation, storytelling, drama, painting, modeling, movement, and music into the teaching of history, geography, social science, language arts, mathematics, and science •Innovative, practical ways to develop and strengthen literacy and numeracy • How to inspire and motivate students to reach high levels of achievement and meet district and state standards • How to nurture emotional intelligence, kindness, and responsibility in the classroom through character building activities
For more information and registration go to Public School Institute.
What Leading Educators have said about the Public School Institute I believe that Waldorf education possesses unique educational features that have considerable potential for improving public education in America. . . . Waldorf schools provide a program that . . . not only fosters conventional forms of academic achievement, but also puts a premium on the development of imagination and the refinement of the sensibilities. *Elliot Eisner,* Professor of Education and Art, Stanford University; Past President, American Educational Research Association Waldorf education embodies in a truly organic sense all seven of the intelligences that Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner speaks about in his Theory of Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal. . . Steiner had the breadth of vision seventy-five years ago to see something that educators are now waking up to. . . And Steiner’s vision is a whole one, not simply an amalgam of the seven intelligences. Many schools are currently attempting to construct curricula based on Gardner’s model simply through an additive process (What can we add to what we’ve already got?). Steiner’s approach, however, was to begin with a deep inner vision of the child and the child’s needs and build a curriculum around that vision. *Thomas Armstrong,* Author Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom and Awakening Genius What Participants have said about the Public School Institute... Every teacher and administrator should attend this institute. What a great way to gain insight into the development of the child and how we as educators can aid in fostering a nurturing, healthy environment and curriculum for the child. William Grange, Journey School, Capistrano Unified, CA After 20 years of teaching, I feel renewed. The institute has transformed me––and my teaching will never be the same. *Teri Leo*, Del Paso Heights School District, Sacramento, CA
Professional Development for Teachers of At-Risk Youth
			On the last day of school, two fifteen year old boys – one Hispanic, the other Hmong – played a Mozart duet on their recorders. Both had been expelled from public schools for violent acts, constant failure in class, and refusal to follow directions. But their music lessons were rigorous. They had never worked so hard on anything. When they finished playing their duet before an audience of 45, classmates cheered and they even clapped for themselves. It was a miracle. Ruth Mikkelsen, Principal Yuba County Court and Community Schools 2002-2003 Administrator of the Year, Colusa/Sutter/Yuba Counties
	Fall Weekend Session: Nov. 14 –15, 2003 In this course, educators in alternative schools will learn how infusing a standards-based curriculum with the arts and Waldorf methodology can lead to a successful, transformative educational experience for both teachers and students. Focus of the course is disseminating an innovative model program for at-risk youth developed over the past several years at the Yuba County Court and Community Schools in partnership with Rudolf Steiner College. The project is currently supported by the California Arts Council (as an arts demonstration project) and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation. • Students improve academic skills, as well as their attitude toward school, themselves, and their communities • The arts–– drawing, music, painting, storytelling, movement, poetry, and drama–– are integrated fully into academic lessons • The integrated arts program, in sync with current neurological research, increases students’ learning abilities, and helps break the cycle of failure and hopelessness in which these students are often trapped For more information and registration click on Professional Development for Teachers of At-Risk Youth.
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