What You Need to Know About Contemporary Waldorf Education | Interview with Susan Goldstein | Episode 88

Since its inception in 1919, Waldorf Education has been embraced world-wide.  In this interview with Susan Goldstein, we take a look into the past, present, and future of Waldorf Education and discuss its role in the face of current events.

 

"Imbue thyself with the power of imagination.  Have courage for the truth.  Sharpen thy feeling for responsibility of soul."  - Rudolf Steiner

 

The Waldorf model of education is a timeless and time-tested schooling method that is gaining more and more attention and accolades world-wide, but do you know how it began and how it's been evolving in modern times?

For this week's episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with Susan Goldstein, a seasoned Waldorf educator and mentor, to discuss most commonly raised questions about validity of Waldorf education.

Plus, if you're wondering how Waldorf is adapting to modern times, current events, advances in technology, and racial disparities, in this episode we address all of this and more!

 

Resources From This Episode:

Susan Goldstein: susgoldstein@yahoo.com

Teaching as a Lively Art by Marjorie Spock: https://rudolfsteinerbookstore.com/product/teaching-lively-art/

You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/216341/you-are-your-childs-first-teacher-third-edition-by-rahima-baldwin-dancy/

Conscious Parenting: A Guide to Living with Young Children by Stephen Spitalny: https://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Parenting-Children-Stephen-Spitalny/dp/B01B9A3PCE

The Five Golden Keys by Helle Heckmann: https://store.waldorfearlychildhood.org/products/five-golden-keys

School as a Journey The Eight-Year Odyssey of a Waldorf Teacher and His Class by Torin M. Finser: https://steinerbooks.org/ebooks/school-as-a-journey-the-eight-year-odyssey-of-a-waldorf-teacher-and-his-class

Frankfurt Memorandum: Rudolf Steiner and the subject of racism by Ramon Brüll and Dr. Jens Heisterkamp: https://www.themomsiknow.com/s/Frankfurt_Memorandum_English.pdf

 

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About Susan Goldstein

Susan was born on February 8, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pa., the youngest of three children.  She attended public schools from K-12th grade.  When asked as a child what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have said without hesitation, “a teacher”.  To Susan, it was clear that this was always going to be her path.

She graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Education and began teaching in the Philadelphia Public schools.  She taught for several years, but always felt that something was wrong with what she was doing...somehow, something was missing.

After the birth of her own two children, she taught in a private nursery school for several years where she began to see the importance of play and developing the imagination.

When her own children were about to begin school, her family moved to Colorado, and in this rural community in Western Colorado, there was a Waldorf School.  A visit to this school was Susan's first taste of Waldorf education and immediately she knew that this was the education she had been searching for, and she began teaching in this little Waldorf school before even completing her Waldorf Teacher Training. 

After two years of teaching a combined class of 4th/5th grade and then 5th/6th grade she enrolled at Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento.  She completed her student-teaching at the Santa Cruz Waldorf School and fell in love with both the school and the community.  She then taught three full class cycles, grades 1-8, in Santa Cruz.

Since then, she has also worked as the Assistant Director of the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training and the Pedagogical Director of the Santa Cruz Waldorf School.  She has taught many courses over the years at BACWTT and also at Rudolf Steiner College’s Public School Institute.  She has completed the Waldorf Remedial Education training and the Waldorf Mentoring training, and has had the privilege of traveling to many of the Waldorf schools throughout the United States, mentoring and evaluating Waldorf teachers.

 

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