Center & Periphery Newsletter —Spring 2025
During this winter season at the Center for Anthroposophy (CfA), the directors of our seven programs––a record number!––are forming new courses and line-ups of faculty in preparation for the spring and summer terms ahead. In this issue of Center & Periphery, CfA’s thrice-yearly newsletter, you can read about the latest selection of our in-person and online courses and services. Continue reading…
Center & Periphery Newsletter — Winter 2025
During this winter season at the Center for Anthroposophy (CfA), the directors of our seven programs––a record number!––are forming new courses and line-ups of faculty in preparation for the spring and summer terms ahead. In this issue of Center & Periphery, CfA’s thrice-yearly newsletter, you can read about the latest selection of our in-person and online courses and services. Continue reading…
Center & Periphery Newsletter — Special Douglas Gerwin Appreciation Issue
Click the image for the full newsletter: Center & Periphery September 2024: Special Douglas Gerwin Appreciation Issue —————————————————————————————————————– From the Editor’s Notepad October 2024 Dear Friends, Greetings, and thank you for reading our Center & Periphery newsletter. Please allow me to introduce myself: I am David Barham, and after having led the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program (WHiSTEP) as Director these past few years, I am now also serving as the Center’s new Executive Director and the editor of this triannual newsletter. Today’s special edition is dedicated to our dear friend, Douglas Gerwin, who after serving CfA so magnificently for so many years, recently stepped back from his work as the Executive Director and as the Editor of this publication. On Tuesday, July 2, before a large and enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers, we gathered at the High Mowing School in Wilton, NH to celebrate Douglas with heartfelt talks, live music, spoken word eurythmy, a hilarious skit, and lots and lots of laughter, hugs, human warmth (and cakes and cookies!) Please read on for glimpses from that special evening honoring that special man, our own “Captain Waldorf,” Douglas Gerwin. It truly takes a global village to honor Douglas’s lifetime of devotion to the Waldorf movement. With warm regards, David BarhamExecutive DirectorCenter for Anthroposophy —————————————————————————————————————– Introduction to the Evening from new Center for Anthroposophy Executive Director, David Barham Good evening and welcome everyone. My name is David Barham and I will be your MC for tonight’s festivities, and I want to warmly welcome all of the Center for Anthroposophy and Antioch alums who are here with us tonight. While we have over 150 people on campus for our live week of Renewal and for the residency for our brand new Mentor Training program, it is a delight to have our alumni with us as well. It is always wonderful to have our alumni back on Abbot Hill to reconnect, catch up and share stories. We are also delighted to welcome all of the friends and colleagues of Douglas Gerwin who have come this evening. And of course, it is especially wonderful to welcome Douglas and Connie back to Abbot Hill! For tonight is an incredibly special event. Tonight we come together to honor our friend and colleague Douglas Gerwin. I’m only going to speak briefly here as we have an extraordinary group to honor Douglas in words, music, eurythmy and more. They will share and celebrate Douglas’s endless accomplishments and lifetime of service to Waldorf education, and especially Waldorf high school education. Whether it be CfA/Antioch, the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, the Waldorf Research Institute, the Hague Circle/International Forum, or the Pedagogical Section Council, Douglas has given deeply of himself and deepened the impact of Waldorf education. Everyone in the Waldorf movement, here in North America, and all over the Waldorf world, knows Douglas. Douglas created and served as the Director of the Waldorf High School Teacher Education until just a few years ago, and also led our entire organization as Executive Director. You will hear tonight of the incredibly combination of skills, insights, tireless energy, depth and profound human care and kindness Douglas brings to everything he does. It is my honor to now serve as the Director of Center for Anthroposophy’s Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program. Beginning in August, I will also begin serving as CfA’s Executive Director. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I would hold these two positions that Douglas has been identified with for so long. Douglas’s shoes are big shoes to fill indeed- bigger than mine as you can see, and leave me with so much to grow into. I could speak all night about my respect and admiration for Douglas, how he has mentored me and made it possible for me to step into this work. I will let the others do so. But there is one thing I need to do here, in front of Douglas, and you all: I want to state my intention publicly to serve Center for Anthroposophy, the high school program and Waldorf education as faithfully and with as much passion and devotion as Douglas did for all of those years, and give everything I have to be worthy of filling these big- and much fancier- shoes. Thank you for all Douglas. For the hours of your time, your stories, your multi-part answers to my endless questions, your patience, your inspiration, and especially for your trust in me to carry on your legacy of work and care for this movement and our organization. —————————————————————————————————————– A reflection from Tuesday, July 2, 2024 from Deborah Dornemann On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, friends, family and alumni of Antioch and the Center for Anthroposophy gathered together for a farewell tribute to Dr. Douglas Gerwin, a renowned leader, researcher, writer, teacher and promoter of Waldorf education. A joyous mood filled the hall at High Mowing School in Wilton, New Hampshire. It was a reunion of like-minded souls, warmed with memories of shared endeavors, hopes, and years of collaboration. The evening featured music, eurythmy, skits and a heartfelt sentiment of gratitude. Oh, and there were props…many props, as well as fun with word play! The event started with the image of Douglas’s shoes, which David Barham, the successor of Douglas with CfA, will undoubtedly try to fill with steadfastness and earnest striving. It was acknowledged that Douglas’s shoes are larger and fancier than Davids. It is also evident that both walk the same path of integrity and purpose. David Sloan, a long-time colleague of Douglas, used many words to describe his friend: writer, educator, acclaimed speaker, Godfather, pastor, patron, counselor, regal eagle, fast care driver, treasured friend and, possible oxymoron, ‘Witty Anthroposophist’. David gave Douglas a cap that read, “Captain Waldorf: Wiltin’ in Wilton.” After many deep belly laughs, the pendulum swung in another direction, and we were gifted with hearing the very talented pianist and composer, Matt Witherow perform Brahms, Intermezzo Op 118, a favorite of Douglas. It
Center & Periphery Newsletter — Winter 2024
During this winter season at the Center for Anthroposophy (CfA), the directors of our seven programs––a record number!––are forming new courses and line-ups of faculty in preparation for the spring and summer terms ahead. In this issue of Center & Periphery, CfA’s thrice-yearly newsletter, you can read about the latest selection of our in-person and online courses and services. Continue reading…
Center & Periphery Newsletter — Autumn 2023
With this issue, we kick off what we hope will become a regular feature of our thrice-yearly publication––namely, interviews with our alumni describing their life’s journey as Waldorf early childhood, elementary, high school, and subject teachers. What––or, more likely, who––drew them to Waldorf education, and how did they find their way? Continue reading…
Center & Periphery Newsletter — Spring 2023
Journeying often serves as a metaphor both for mapping out a course of education as well as charting a path towards healing. In this spring issue of our newsletter Center & Periphery, we offer several iterations of this image. Continue reading…
Center & Periphery Newsletter — Winter 2023
Close to my home in Central Massachusetts, a clustering of maple trees stands tall and naked against a grey winter sky. Beneath the dark and rough bark of these trees, immensely potent forces of new life are flowing. These will soon become evident as sap begins to flow from small taps jutting from the trunks into little white pales belted around the trees. We are gearing up for a season of sweet maple syrup. Continue reading…
Center & Periphery Newsletter — Fall 2022
In this issue, we entertain some inspiring solutions––both in-person and online––to the deepening crisis in education. We ask: What’s wrong? What’s needed? What’s coming? Along the way, we outline some novel approaches to traditional forms of educating adults and explore new approaches to educating youth and those responsible for teaching them.
Center & Periphery Newsletter — Spring 2022
CfA’s Online Newsletter Center & Periphery Spring 2022 From the Editor’s Notepad From the Editor’s Notepad Douglas Gerwin, Ph.D. Executive Director, CfA Dear Friends, After two years of being mostly online, Center for Anthroposophy (CfA) and its affiliated Waldorf Teacher Education Program at Antioch University New England are resuming in-person classes this summer. In all, a record 11 cohorts will be meeting in Wilton, New Hampshire, on the campus of High Mowing School: Two groups for Waldorf high school teacher training Three groups for Waldorf elementary teacher education Two groups for Antioch’s advanced transdisciplinary studies in healing education One group inaugurating CfA’s Kairos Institute with a program in “Emergency Pedagogy” with Bernd Ruf One group for Waldorf administrators and leadership training One group of Antioch students launching their doctoral studies in Waldorf education One-week Renewal Courses in professional development Add to this growing line-up CfA’s Explorations program in foundational studies and its regional Building Bridges satellite program for Waldorf teacher training, both of which meet during the school year, and you have the complete palette of courses on offer this year. Each of these programs is featured below, along with news of further fresh initiatives and developments on the move at CfA. Douglas GerwinExecutive DirectorCenter for Anthroposophy Dear Friends, After two years of being mostly online, Center for Anthroposophy (CfA) and its affiliated Waldorf Teacher Education Program at Antioch University New England are resuming in-person classes this summer. In all, a record 11 cohorts will be meeting in Wilton, New Hampshire, on the campus of High Mowing School: Two groups for Waldorf high school teacher training Three groups for Waldorf elementary teacher education Two groups for Antioch’s advanced transdisciplinary studies in healing education One group inaugurating CfA’s Kairos Institute with a program in “Emergency Pedagogy” with Bernd Ruf One group for Waldorf administrators and leadership training One group of Antioch students launching their doctoral studies in Waldorf education One-week Renewal Courses in professional development Add to this growing line-up CfA’s Explorations program in foundational studies and its regional Building Bridges satellite program for Waldorf teacher training, both of which meet during the school year, and you have the complete palette of courses on offer this year. Each of these programs is featured below, along with news of further fresh initiatives and developments on the move at CfA. Douglas GerwinExecutive DirectorCenter for Anthroposophy Douglas Gerwin, Ph.D. Executive Director of CfA Back in Person! As of June 2022, all of CfA’s summer programs are scheduled once again to be held “in person” on its summertime home base in Southern New Hampshire. “Discover Your Destiny – Practice Your Passion” A new banner greets visitors to CfA’s completely redesigned website and archived resources. At the same time, fresh images and ads depicting CfA programs have appeared across print and online media. Even the CfA logo is a little different, if you look carefully. To Be a Successful High School Teacher Apart from demonstrating a firm footing in one or more subjects, a high school teacher needs to be versed in the ways of three “PC’s” in order to succeed with teenagers. Be “Inspired” and “In Community” with Renewal Courses 2022 “Inspirations!” and “Return to Community!” represent the two overarching thematic banners of this year’s Renewal Courses –– the first week online, the second week once again in person. Kairos: Healing in a World of Need through Visual and Performing Arts Starting with Bernd Ruf’s course on “Emergency Pedagogy,” CfA’s Kairos Institute is launching the first of a multi-unit training this summer intended to treat and prevent trauma through the healing modalities of the arts. Explorations Online –– and Now International Thanks to its “live” online format, CfA’s Explorations Program in foundational studies now draws participants from across five continents. Homecoming Party for CfA and Antioch Alumni CfA/Antioch Alumni Association is hosting a Homecoming and Birthday Party this summer. Waldorf Leadership Program Graduates Its First Cohort The inaugural group of CfA’s new Waldorf Leadership Development completes its year-long program with a festive celebration. Building Bridges Both East and West After a year-long hiatus, CfA resumed its “Building Bridges” program this past September with a vibrant group of faculty and staff from the Northeast Woodland School in Conway, New Hampshire. Sign up to receive our Center & Periphery Newsletter! Name First Last Email By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive information from: Center for Anthroposophy, 233 Cannongate III Nashua, NH 03063. To revoke your consent, simply click on the SafeUnsubscribe® link.Emails are serviced by Constant Contact. CAPTCHAPhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. You’ll receive the newsletter via email.
Center & Periphery Newsletter Winter 2022
Center & Periphery The Online Newsletter of the Center for Anthroposophy Winter | 2022 In This Issue Dateline Freeport, ME: Passing the Baton of Waldorf High School Teacher Training Dateline Wilton, NH: Preview of Renewal Courses for Summer 2022 Dateline Wilton, NH: Healing Children’s Trauma in a World of Need Dateline Keene, NH: New Cycle of CfA’s Waldorf Leadership Development Course Dateline Wilton, NH: “Explorations” Goes International Dateline Wilton, NH: “Explorations” for High School Teachers, Too Dateline Punxsutawney, PA: The Significance of Groundhog Day for High Schools Dateline Wilton, NH: Taking Orders for Our Alumni Conversation Café From the Editor’s Notepad Midway between winter solstice and spring equinox comes a potent period of gestation, during which time the earth begins to stir with intense yet still invisible growth. Likewise, at our Center for Anthroposophy, we are entering a season of immense yet still largely behind-the-scene activity in virtually all of our programs, which this year have grown to six with a seventh still to be seeded. In this issue of our thrice-yearly online newsletter, we preview changes in our established programs and sketch out some new ones about to be launched during the coming seasons. –– Douglas Gerwin Executive DirectorCenter for Anthroposophy Dateline Freeport, ME: Passing the Baton of Waldorf High School Teacher Training CfA has chosen David Barham to assume the leadership of its Waldorf high school teacher education program starting next year, taking over from its founder, Douglas Gerwin. Here is a brief portrait of Douglas’ successor. Known in some high school circles as “Cap’n Waldorf”, Douglas Gerwin has for the past quarter-century steered the helm of the Waldorf High School Teacher Education Program, a vehicle for training high school teachers that he launched in 1996 at the Center for Anthroposophy (CfA) and affiliated with the Waldorf program at Antioch University New England. During his time as founding leader of this specialized program, Douglas has welcomed aboard some 200 high school trainees from Waldorf schools across North America, as well as overseas from Latin and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. On this continent alone, alumni of this program are currently teaching in 33 of the 40 extant North American Waldorf high schools, as well as in some two dozen other schools and institutes here and abroad. Now, after 25 years on the bridge of this seasoned vessel, Douglas will begin to hand on the wheel to his successor, David Barham, who has been appointed Director of high school program starting in September 2022. Douglas will retain his other chief role at CfA as its Executive Director during a further year of transition. David will be heading up the sole program in the English-speaking world that focuses specifically on the preparation of Waldorf high school teachers in their subject specializations. At present the program––affectionately nicknamed “WHiSTEP”––offers six such areas, each led by seasoned and practicing Waldorf high school teachers with decades of experience in their specific subjects: Arts & art history [ Patrick Stolfo ] Biology and earth science [ Michael Holdrege ] English language and literature [ David Sloan ] History and social studies [ Paul Gierlach ] Mathematics [ Jamie York ] Physics and chemistry [ Michael D’Aleo ] In addition to Douglas Gerwin, the high school program includes long-standing faculty members who lead courses for all trainees, including Eurythmy [ Laura Radefeld ], Creative Speech [ Craig Giddens ], Music [ Meg Chittenden ], Spacial Dynamics [ Jan Lyndes ], and Painting [ Charles Andrade ], along with a wide circle of expert guest presenters and mentors. For the past 30 years, David Barham has worked in four North American Waldorf schools, including one in Mexico, dividing his tenure equally between elementary school class teaching and high school humanities. For the past decade he has taught English and history at the Maine Coast Waldorf School in Freeport, ME, where he currently resides. While teaching full time in schools, David has also served as College chair, high school faculty chair, trustee, and school delegate to the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). In the fall of 2021, he was appointed to AWSNA’s Leadership Council as Leader for the Northeast/Quebec region. A graduate with a Master’s degree in Waldorf education from Antioch University New England, David is currently completing a CfA certificate program in Waldorf Leadership Development. His undergraduate degree at Tufts University was in English and Religion. An ardent folk singer and guitar player, David formed an acoustical rock-n-roll band some years ago with the name “Almond Butters Band”, a five-person group that appears at local gigs. He also leads online seminars for AWSNA on reimagining the Waldorf high school humanities curriculum as well as workshops for elementary and high school teachers. David is married to Kelly, a Waldorf early childhood educator, and has had three children move through Waldorf education. David came to anthroposophy first as a biodynamic farmer, then as a worker at a Camphill village before signing on as a class teacher, initially at Pine Hill Waldorf School and later at the Maine Coast Waldorf School. In between he also taught high school humanities at High Mowing School and, for the past 12 years, at Maine Coast. In 2018, David used a half-year sabbatical to walk the entirety of the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. “I knew I was ready for a new direction on my Waldorf vocational path, but could not clearly see the future,” he writes. “As I look back, I now see all of the changes that have led to this moment.” As WHiSTEP Director, David will be teaching not only prospective and practicing high school teachers but also adults in other programs sponsored by CfA, while keeping his hand active in the Waldorf high school classroom. CfA is fortunate to be welcoming David Barham into its leadership circle and adding his expertise to the line-up of senior-level high school instructors who constitute the full crew of the WHiSTEP faculty. David Barham Dateline Wilton, NH: Preview of Renewal Courses for 2022 Karen Atkinson, Coordinator of CfA’s annual Renewal Courses, previews the coming summer of week-long professional development courses imbued with active engagement in the arts and anthroposophy. Dear Friends and Colleagues, Recently, I ventured out on
