School Renewal (eBook)

School Renewal: A Spiritual Journey for Change

As a result of today’s crisis in education, people are beginning to realize that schools involve far more than providing children with knowledge and skills. Schools are communities and, like all communities, may be healthy or unhealthy.

School Renewal addresses the problems and challenges of a school community. Through the use of fairy tales, myths, and the personal experience of Waldorf education, Torin Finser describes how both teachers and parents can come to grips with common problems such as burnout, interpersonal conflicts, and the traps of routine.

Most important, the author stresses that an educational community must come to terms with the many unseen dimensions of each individual. He shows how these little-understood aspects of the mind can be cultivated and nourished to keep the school and education alive.

School Renewal does not offer mere formulas, dogmas, or slapdash solutions. Instead, it encourages a new way of thinking about education and personal growth—for children and for the adults who care about them.

C O N T E N T S:

1. Introduction
Stained-glass Windows
Ewen’s Heart Cup

2. Sarah’s Story
One Day in the Life…
Three Years Later…
Meanwhile, back at School…
Nowhere to go

3. It’s a Balancing Act
Two Companions on the Journey
Another Companion
The Spark of Life
Technology and Faith
Balance

4. Looking in the Mirror
The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs
The Martyr
Personal Change
I Need to Be Loved

5. Tools for the Inner Journey
Remember when…
Reading Destiny
Learning to Pray Again
Sleep

6. Relating to One Another
Soul Landscapes
To Be Alone or Together
Mentoring and Evaluation

7. Learning Group Skills
Stages of Group Development
Separation and Return
Framing
Affirming Decisions

8. Leadership and Community
Parent Evenings
Facilitation
Leadership
The New Community

TORIN M. FINSER, PhD, has served Waldorf education for more than four decades, first as a class teacher and later as the Director and faculty member of the Waldorf Teacher Education Program at Antioch Uni-versity New England. A former General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America, he also helped found the Center for Anthroposophy in New Hampshire. His research and writ-ings have reached people all over the world, including several books that have been translated into multiple languages. Torin has served as a consultant, workshop leader, and keynote speaker at numerous conferences. He is married to Karine, has six children, and is also now a very happy grandfather!