NEW VIDEO! A Conversation About Reading: Susan R. Johnson, M.D.
program overview
What are "Deepenings?"
Deepen your understanding while gaining new insights into the foundations of human development and learn practical pedagogical approaches to classroom learning support to meet the varied developmental needs of today's classes. Deepenings are designed to take you through layers starting at the foundation and deepen from there.
Content Overview
Rudolf Steiner and Audrey McAllen state that the development of the physical body is essential in forming the vessel for the incarnating soul and spirit. McAllen told us that the “house” (the body) needs its “furniture” (the soul) and neither works without the other. The development of the individual structural physical body—universal in its archetypal form and function—provides the foundations essential for human development to build this "house." Modern children are experiencing difficulties in bringing this development to its completion, and this threatens the possibility of developing full consciousness later in life.
The structural physical aspect of the human being develops in a certain way—it is a process where one level builds upon the previous. Higher functioning is dependent upon foundational functions. McAllen brought Steiner’s insights together for educators so that we can observe developmental readiness in terms of physical development paired with the presenting symptoms of academic and/or behavioral issues. The discovery of underlying causes becomes possible as you learn to observe the neuro-developmental functions of the child that offer lenses for the teacher to discover the child’s inner experience based on the outer expression.
The children come to us bringing challenges which seem to be growing in intensity and frequency as time goes on. We ask, “How do we support them?” McAllen described how teachers can bring to the children archetypal movements and gestures for developing the "house" so mature human consciousness can occur. These archetypal motions support the children’s work to incarnate through an imprinting process that is enhanced and completed by them. This embodying process refers to entering into and using the physical body in the way for which it was developed. As this process unfolds, each individual child can strive to fulfill his/her pre-birth intentions for this life at this time and in this place chosen by the child.
From observations and questions about the children in their care, Waldorf teachers bring both common and unique experiences. “Deepenings” aim to start here—with real experiences in real time paired with pedagogical knowledge—then to go deeper into the pedagogy to penetrate the issues from the very foundations of the process of human development given us by Steiner. We work with real life issues that teachers in the group are facing today and bring clear focus to how the curriculum and developmental picture come together. Our goal is to take you through the developmental layers starting with Foundations and deepening further with each level to "Build the House" and finally, to "Move-in & Maintain."
This hybrid course is made up of a sequence of short in-person meetings for practical work, supplemented by asynchronous work and online communication between sessions. A certificate is earned for completion of each of the three layers. Practical pedagogical approaches to classroom learning support will offer you and your colleagues skills to meet the varied developmental needs of today's classes.
