Building Bridges

to Waldorf Teacher Education

Baltimore / DC
2024

We are delighted to announce the start of our Building Bridges
Program in the Baltimore/DC region starting on March 8, 2024!          More details… 

Program Introduction

Meeting the needs of our students today requires new tools, insights and perspectives. Yet often teachers spend so many waking hours attending to the needs of their students that there is little time left for more than essential preparation for the next day. Many end up asking: How can I find the inner and outer resources to continue? How can I become a better teacher, especially a Waldorf teacher?

With these questions and more in mind, we are pleased to offer practicing teachers a series of workshops designed to introduce the anthroposophical foundations of Waldorf education through study, group discussion, and the practice of the arts. Continuity of themes is carried across the sessions. Philosophical and curricular content are complemented by artistic practice.

The content of these courses will include the option of doing our Explorations Program (online) for those who do not have a foundational background. Alums of Explorations can begin with the face to face weekends of Building Bridges. Together, these components can lead to advanced standing upon acceptance at the Waldorf Teacher Education Program at Antioch University.

Required reading for Explorations and Building Bridges: Guided Self Study by Torin Finser, available from SteinerBooks.org.

Portrait of Torin Finser

Torin Finser, Ph.D.

Program Director

Contact us for questions about the program.

Program enhancements for 2024!

We’ve successfully carried out this program in several communities over the past few years (Alaska, Colorado, two in the Sacramento, CA area, Northeast Woodland in Conway, NH and Atlantic Beach, FL). Thanks to input from our alums, current students, and faculty, we have revised the program to:

  • Increase the depth and breadth of the program with more content and delivery options.
  • Use the success of our online Explorations program to cover some of the basic material early on, saving the face to face (f2f) residencies for content that is best experienced in person.
  • Use a 12-month cycle with more time for digestion of material (the old BB format was a shorter 6-7 sequence)
  • Increase accessibility with fewer weekends (thanks to the Explorations component) thus making it easier for distant students to travel to NH residencies
  • Keep the cost down to you, your school,s and CfA.

With these five goals in mind, we are happy to introduce our new format:

In all, this is a 12-month program with some breaks for holidays (including 3 months off during the summer).

Explorations Online, every other weekend, (12-2 EDT on Sat and Sun) beginning March 12/13 and ending May 14/15. These workshops will include basic exercises, self-development, practical training in thinking, parent work. All session also including a sampling of arts (speech, eurythmy, pastels).

Continuation of Explorations Online in September and perhaps October with an add-on session each Saturday taught by instructors who will meet f2f with students during rest of the program We find the approach helps accelerate the readings, opens conversations, and sets the stage for the f2f sessions. These intro sessions will focus on human development and a continuation of self development. The Explorations workshops in the early fall will most likely cover social and emotional needs of children with Kim John Payne and "Healing the Hurt" with Heather Scott – instructors who could not otherwise contribute to f2f residencies due to travel/time/expense.

Face-to-face-residencies weekends, Nov. to early March, with some breaks for holidays. These courses will build on the work already done virtually, but engage students vigorously in arts, group conversation, workshop style presentations, etc.
This will be a 12-month program with some breaks for holidays (3 months off in the summer).

Building Bridges
Preparation for Success

Building Bridges sessions are designed as engaging and inspiring in-person learning experiences, with each faculty member contributing to the rich learning community that you will form with your fellow participants.  To ensure your success in each session, please set aside time to complete any preparatory work assigned by the faculty.  In many cases, this preparatory work takes the form of readings.  Please watch for communications from individual faculty members about specific assignments for each session.  You will need to purchase, and in some cases begin reading, the following books in advance of the first session:

Required readings for BB:

  • Guided Self-Study by Torin Finser,  ISBN 978-1-62148-130-0

  • The Storyteller’s Way by Ashley Ramsden and Sue Hollingsworth. Hawthorn Press; IBSN 978-1-907359-19-4

  • Why on Earth: Biography and the Practice of Human Becoming by Signe Eklund Schaefer, ISBN 978-1-62148-040-2

Additional required reading may be shared electronically.

Recommended reading:

Parables by Torin Finser, ISBN 978-162148-230-7

What you'll experience

Over the course of the three phases, we'll explore these questions:

  • What are the best strategies for working with parents?
  • How can I improve my ability to communicate and work with conflict when it arises?
  • How can I enhance my skills of classroom management and discipline?
  • In which new ways can I work with the differentiated learning needs of my students?
  • How does the Waldorf curriculum expand my ability to work with diversity and multiculturalism?
  • How can I better prepare and develop imagination, inspiration, and living thinking?
  • How does my view of the world/philosophy of education inform my lesson planning and curriculum choices?

Program Leadership

Portrait of Torin Finser

Torin Finser, Ph.D.

Program Director

Faculty

David Barham, M.Ed.
Carla Beebe Comey, M.Ed.
Eva Binamu
Karine Munk Finser, M.Ed.
Torin Finser, Ph.D.
Alison Henry, M.Ed.
Jan Lyndes, M.Ed.
Anna Scalera, M.Ed.
Heather Scott, M.A.
Debra Spitulnik, M.Ed.
Teresa Thorman M.A.

Who Should Enroll

These workshops are designed to accommodate practicing teachers who may only be able to use occasional professional days. Those intending to apply for the full Waldorf teacher education program at Antioch University New England will need to do so by the following May. Some workshops will require 2-3 hours of preparatory reading, while others may entail a short project or reflective paper afterwards.

Opportunities for Further Studies to earn a Waldorf Teaching Certificate and an M.Ed.

Building Bridges participants completing Parts I and II below will earn a Waldorf Certificate recognized by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. Those seeking a fully accredited M.Ed degree recognized by the HLC will also need to complete Part III.
Students taking all 12 months (WLD + Explorations):$4,450*
Students who have completed foundational (Explorations) studies**:$3,600*

*Please note that all tuition paid online using credit card will incur 3% bank processing fee.
**Anyone who has completed Explorations in the past need not take Phase 1 but only the supplementary sessions of Phase 2 before going on to Phase 3.

CANCELLATIONS: An enrolled student may withdraw from the program upon written request to milan@centerforanthroposophy.org . Such a request must be received at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the program in order to receive a refund for the registration fee (less $75 cancellation fee). No refunds will be granted if cancellation is received within 30 days of the program start date.

Limited Financial Aid is available upon request. To inquire, please fill out and submit the form below.

Building Bridges Financial Aid Application

Name
Building Bridges Program Location
Please choose one

Next three questions for teachers and school staff only:

All applicants:

Your annual family income:(Required)
Do you intend to pursue Waldorf Teacher Training upon completion of this course?(Required)
Please help us to confirm you're a human!
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Building Bridges sponsored by the Center for Anthroposophy

Upon completing Part I with CfA you may apply to Antioch University New England to continue either in the Certificate or also the M.Ed. track described above.

Waldorf Teacher Certification – At Antioch University New England with the total of 28 Credits
  1. Application to Antioch's Waldorf teacher education program may include application for 7 advanced standing credits
  2. Acceptance to Antioch's Waldorf teacher education program
  3. Attendance at 2, three-week sessions in Wilton, NH in July (7 and 6 credits respectively, for a total of 13 credits)
  4. Completion of a practicum and independent study semester during the two intervening spring semesters (4 credits each course for a total of 8 credits)
  1. Completion of the Waldorf Teacher Certification outlined above (28 credits)
  2. Write-up and defense of a Master’s thesis (4 credits)