News

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…

by Karen Atkinson, Director of Renewal Courses, Center for Anthroposophy Summer is a sacred time in the rhythm of the year—a chance to rest, reflect, and prepare. At the heart of this season, we invite you to step into an experience designed not only to replenish your spirit, but to deepen your relationship with Waldorf education and anthroposophy through community, conversation, and the arts. Renewal Courses with Center for Anthroposophy are week-long professional development seminars open to Waldorf educators, administrators, parents, trustees, artists, and seekers alike. Whether you are new to Waldorf education or a long-time practitioner, Renewal Courses offer a space to engage meaningfully with your path, your practice, and a vibrant community of others who are seeking the same goal. This summer, choose from a wide variety of in-depth courses—available both in-person and online—offered over two independent weeks. From preparing for Grades 1–8, to exploring the Waldorf Journey from Grades 1-12, Renewal Courses provide the practical tools, philosophical depth, and human connection that help you grow both personally and professionally. Each course offers: Each day begins in community: Additional offerings at Renewal are a time to go deeper. Highlights include: If you attend in person, you’ll have access to a rich array of self-care opportunities—your chance to truly rest, replenish, and nourish your work-life balance. Choose from: Because we believe that who you are matters, and in caring for ourselves, we care more deeply for those in our schools and communities. Renewal Courses are where connection, courage, and creativity meet. Whether you’re preparing to teach or seeking spiritual and artistic nourishment, there’s a place for you in the Renewal Community. Let this summer be a time to reconnect with your purpose, your path, and the shared journey of Waldorf education. We can’t wait to welcome you! 

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…

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…

In late October 2024, the newly formed Kairos Emergency Pedagogy Without Borders team conducted their first crisis intervention in Asheville, North Carolina, following the devastation of Hurricane Helene. Led by Emergency Pedagogy founder Bernd Ruf and Argentinian team leader Alicia D’urso, a 16-member team of trained specialists worked with children, parents, and educators across multiple sites in the Asheville area, including the Asheville Waldorf School, SOLA, and local Latino communities. The team provided trauma education and healing through Waldorf pedagogical methods, helping communities still reeling from widespread destruction and displacement. Through artistic activities, movement exercises, and specialized trauma support, they worked to strengthen the resilience of affected families while establishing their presence as part of the international Emergency Pedagogy without Borders network. Read the full report on Kairos Institute’s crisis intervention work in Asheville →

Help Fund Emergency Pedagogy Team USA—For Immediate Release   Healing in a World of Need “Traumatized children and adolescents require stable and competent teachers schooled in diagnosing and averting disorders brought on by physical and emotional trauma. Emergency pedagogy is a field that provides immediate pedagogical support to children and youth in the acute phase after experiencing traumatic events.”  Bernd Ruf   In the summer of 2022, Kairos Institute opened its doors. It began offering training in Emergency and Trauma Pedagogy and in Art Therapy. Educators from across the country gathered for the inaugural opening of Kairos Institute at the Center for Anthroposophy in Wilton, New Hampshire, to learn from Bernd Ruf, author of “Educating Traumatized Children.” Ruf is a master Waldorf educator and traumatology expert who founded the Parzival Center and co-founded The Emergency Pedagogy Center in Karlsruhe, Germany.  He has personally led over 130 crisis interventions since 2006 and trains groups such as ours worldwide. There are presently 23 trainings. Subsequent trainings in Certified Modules (we work with the Freunde of Waldorf Education and support their work) were held in the summers of 2023 and 2024.  With three years of completed Modules, dozens of Waldorf educators are certified to participate in crisis interventions and want to help bring the tools of Emergency Pedagogy and artistic therapies to children, families, and communities, both domestically and internationally.  In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, members of the Waldorf community in Asheville have asked Kairos to bring members of our newly formed Emergency Pedagogy Team USA to support their community through this intensely devastating and traumatic time. We quickly identified a team that feels prepared to go, and we are actively seeking funding. We will send our team at the end of October and will work with a professionally trained leader.  Financial support is urgently needed to launch support for domestic crisis intervention in the USA.  In addition to Asheville, we are witnessing the need for Emergency and Trauma Pedagogy in Waldorf communities nationwide that have experienced climate and human-made disasters. We are preparing to support our schools now and into the future.  We need your help.  Please help us bring Emergency Pedagogy to the communities that have experienced trauma so that these communities can be empowered to become increasingly trauma-resilient. Emergency and Trauma Pedagogy is Education as Preventative Medicine. It is intended to prevent the onset of PTSD and help restore health and well-being to students, teachers, and their families. Children, adolescents, families, and school communities are counting on all of us to support their need for a healthy and trauma-prepared childhood. Please consider donating on behalf of these communities in need NOW.  Thank you so much for your support!  To donate: In gratitude and community of hearts… with Emergency Pedagogy Team USA Karine Munk Finser Founder & Director of Kairos Institute