By Michael Soule
Over the past year, the faculty and board of Sound Circle Center (SCC) have wrestled with the question of how to respond to the changing times and the needs of the coming generation of Waldorf teachers.
Three things have proven to be really important in our process:
What has emerged through conversations with the pedagogical leadership in our area schools is a new sense of shared development. Sound Circle is not an institute that provides trained teachers to the schools, but the schools and Sound Circle are working collaboratively to support the development of the next generation of teachers.
What has emerged from our wish to be responsive to the times and the needs of potential students is a new format for the grades training program that is more accessible (an intensive retreat format) and affordable ($8500/yr., $17,000 total), with an increased emphasis on three areas of development:
Artistic experiential practice is the foundation of developing the new capacities we need as adults. Education at every level is an artistic, experience-based schooling of the soul.
Our development as individuals is a collaborative journey including students and faculty alike. We are all learning, growing and gaining insight together on a continuous path of development – we are never finished.
The proving ground of learning is in the classroom, where we can observe, interact and practice with mentors and peers where we can make mistakes and learn from them. We become teachers by teaching! We start with experience, reflect on it and gain insight, and try again.
Our new Grades Teacher Training program weaves traditional foundation studies into the coursework in a journey that includes 3 three-week summer intensives, 5 day intensives in Oct. and Feb. each year, regular online touch-ins, 6 weeks of practicum each year with an experienced teacher, 4 mentor visits while you are teaching and 4 advisor sessions.
Year One:
Summer Retreat (3 wks. on Whidbey and in Seattle), June 24, July 1, July 9, 2019
October and February Retreats (5 days each on Whidbey Island), Oct 14-18, Feb 17-21
Regular online conferences
Observations and practicum (6 weeks)
Year Two:
Summer Retreat (3 wks.), June 29, July 6, July 13 2020
October and February Retreats (5 days each on Whidbey), Oct 12-16, Feb 15-19,
Regular online conferences,
Observations and practicum (6 weeks)
COMPLETION SESSION (includes graduation)
Summer Retreat (3 wks.) June 28, July 5, July 12, 2021
Check out our faculty, course details, and our other offerings at www.soundcirclecenter.org
Over the past year, the faculty and board of Sound Circle Center (SCC) have wrestled with the question of how to respond to the changing times and the needs of the coming generation of Waldorf teachers.
Three things have proven to be really important in our process:
- Establishing a commitment to one another to study together, not only the mechanics of teacher training, but also the underlying principles and the transformational nature of Waldorf Teacher Education.
- Exploring how to transform and enliven the relationship between the center and the periphery, including the relationship between the core and adjunct faculty and between Sound Circle and the school communities that the institute serves.
- Developing core experiences for young teachers that prepare them to enter the classroom with the creative capacity to make the content their own and be able to adjust it to the children and context in which they find themselves.
What has emerged through conversations with the pedagogical leadership in our area schools is a new sense of shared development. Sound Circle is not an institute that provides trained teachers to the schools, but the schools and Sound Circle are working collaboratively to support the development of the next generation of teachers.
What has emerged from our wish to be responsive to the times and the needs of potential students is a new format for the grades training program that is more accessible (an intensive retreat format) and affordable ($8500/yr., $17,000 total), with an increased emphasis on three areas of development:
Artistic experiential practice is the foundation of developing the new capacities we need as adults. Education at every level is an artistic, experience-based schooling of the soul.
Our development as individuals is a collaborative journey including students and faculty alike. We are all learning, growing and gaining insight together on a continuous path of development – we are never finished.
The proving ground of learning is in the classroom, where we can observe, interact and practice with mentors and peers where we can make mistakes and learn from them. We become teachers by teaching! We start with experience, reflect on it and gain insight, and try again.
Our new Grades Teacher Training program weaves traditional foundation studies into the coursework in a journey that includes 3 three-week summer intensives, 5 day intensives in Oct. and Feb. each year, regular online touch-ins, 6 weeks of practicum each year with an experienced teacher, 4 mentor visits while you are teaching and 4 advisor sessions.
Year One:
Summer Retreat (3 wks. on Whidbey and in Seattle), June 24, July 1, July 9, 2019
October and February Retreats (5 days each on Whidbey Island), Oct 14-18, Feb 17-21
Regular online conferences
Observations and practicum (6 weeks)
Year Two:
Summer Retreat (3 wks.), June 29, July 6, July 13 2020
October and February Retreats (5 days each on Whidbey), Oct 12-16, Feb 15-19,
Regular online conferences,
Observations and practicum (6 weeks)
COMPLETION SESSION (includes graduation)
Summer Retreat (3 wks.) June 28, July 5, July 12, 2021
Check out our faculty, course details, and our other offerings at www.soundcirclecenter.org
