Highly recommended account by a class teacher of what actually goes on inside the classroom of a Waldorf school.

Torin Finser takes on some of our contemporary challenges and proposes new solutions. Rather than simply "kicking the can down the road," as often happens with issues such as sovereign debts, Middle East conflicts, and environmental issues, Finser calls for individual initiative. Drawing on a variety of rich cultural and spiritual traditions, he makes the case for social change that begins within. To do so, one must first access resources that support initiative and innovation. Key questions discussed in this book include: * How is it possible to live a spiritual life in our materialistic age? * Can an individual person still make a difference? * How can we use a whole-systems approach to innovation? * How can planetary wisdom help us find appropriate leadership styles? * What are the inner conditions needed to work with the transcendent Self? * In the swirl of multi-tasking, how can we find moments of solitude and reflection? We need new, a ethical individualism that is fully transformative. As quoted from the Peace Pilgrim in chapter 2: This is the way of peace-overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love. Today's world needs people of initiative-those willing to become the change that is so desperately needed. This book offers a wakeup call for inspired leadership.

What does a healthy, successful school look like? Is it is all about measurable outcomes, test scores, and pass/fail grades set by the government? Can learning be quantified in short-term measurements or does real learning take years to manifest in a career or biography. All seem to agree that a healthy school is also a community and that community depends on the quality of relationships-chiefly the relationships among students, teachers, and parents. This book features a comprehensive examination of the parent-teacher relationship in all its dimensions, from parent evenings and conferences to communication, conflict, and the life-cycle of parent involvement in their school. In between the chapters on practical advice are sections that consider the issues from a deeper, spiritual dimension. This book is intended to stimulate conversation, self reflection and relational practices that awaken community life in and around our schools. "The world of parent-teacher relations has grown more complex over the years and at its worst can feel like a minefield. Torin demines and demystifies the experience with information, insights, stories, and warmth, creating a safe passage for teachers and parents." -Joan Almon, Waldorf educator and cofounder of Alliance for Childhood "Readers of my books will appreciate Torin's approach to parent-teacher relations. He looks at the key issues through various lenses and gives both practical and spiritual advice to all who seek to build healthy relationships around our school-age children. I highly recommend this new book " -Thomas Moore, bestselling author of Care of the Soul "What Torin has so sensitively crafted here will give you greater simplicity and spaciousness in school community life. I highly recommend this book to all parents and teachers, but especially to those connected to Waldorf schools." -Kim John Payne, M.Ed., author of Simplicity Parenting and Beyond Winning "This book is a call for parents and teachers to work more effectively together on behalf of our children. Torin uses a variety of approaches to stimulate conversation and help us strengthen the communities around our schools. I highly recommend this provocative book " -David Sobel, author of Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities

In today's educational crisis, many people are coming to realize that there is far more to a school than imparting knowledge and skills to children. Schools are communities, and like all communities, they can be healthy or unhealthy. School Renewal speaks to the problems and challenges of a school community. Using fairy tales, myths, and personal experience within the Waldorf method of education, Torin Finser describes how teachers and parents can handle such common problems as burnout, personal conflicts, and falling into routine.

Most importantly, Finser stresses, an educational community must address the many unseen dimensions of each human being. He shows how these little-understood aspects of the mind can be cultivated and nourished to keep school life alive.

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

Education for Nonviolence describes how we can actually do something about our increasingly violent world. Few in the media draw a clear connection between the all-too-frequent tragedies we hear and read about in the news each day and the way as parents and teachers we raise and educate our children. Abstract concepts, rote learning, and standardized tests cannot develop the emotional and social intelligence our children need later in life to build relationships, contribute to society, and succeed in the workplace. The author describes how Waldorf independent and charter schools provide much-needed pathways toward wholeness--sensory and nature-based education; the arts; character education; community building; traditions of hospitality; meeting the needs of boys...to name just a few of the topics covered in this book. Waldorf schools are founded on the social ideals grounded in an abiding belief that our schools can make a crucial difference in building a future society that is less violent, more just, and truly compassionate. May this book help us rededicate ourselves to our social mission as we celebrate a century of Waldorf education in 2019.

Recently, a chasm has opened between many of our leaders and those who work for them. We have witnessed the sacrifices of airline workers and the unconscionable compensation of top executives; the ideals of Olympic Games and the conduct of certain committee members; the sacrament of religion and the priests who abused the sanctity of the human body; the needed services of United Way and their extravagant executive "perks"; and hopes for a democratically fair system versus the 2000 presidential election. The values of hard work, inalienable rights, fairness and public service held by most Americans is often lacking in our leaders. An ethical chasm has opened up in our midst, and unless we do something, our future will fall victim to our inadequacies. Our standing in the world in years to come will depend less on our military might, and more on our moral strength. We need to begin a united search for ethical leadership. As we take Torin's journey of discovery with him, we see the roots of this loss of ethical leadership and begin to understand that there is a way out of this situation-by applying the spiritual principles of Rudolf Steiner's spiritual science. In Search for Ethical Leadership is grounded with practical tools that offer us real hope for the future of ethical leadership.

Como consecuencia de la actual crisis en educacion, la gente esta empezando a darse cuenta de que las escuelas abarcan mucho mas que la provision de conocimientos y aptitudes a los ninos. Las escuelas son comunidades y, como todas las comunidades, puede ser o no saludables. Renovacion escolar aborda los problemas y desafios de una comunidad escolar. Mediante el empleo de cuentos, mitos y la experiencia personal de la educacion Waldorf, Torin Finser describe la forma en la que tanto maestros como padres afrontan problemas cotidianos como el agotamiento, los conflictos interpersonales y las trampas de la rutina. Lo mas importante es que el autor hace hincapie en que una comunidad educativa debe llegar a un acuerdo con las numerosas dimensiones ocultas de cada individuo. Muestra como se pueden cultivar y alimentar estos aspectos poco entendidos de la mente con el fin de mantener viva la escuela y la educacion. Renovacion escolar no ofrece formulas ni soluciones chapuceras. En su lugar, anima a una nueva manera de pensar acerca de la educacion y el crecimiento personal (para los ninos y los adultos que se preocupan por ellos). ...si se me pudiese conceder un deseo en nombre de la renovacion escolar, pediria una mejora significativa en la calidad del sueno de padres y maestros. Ningun otro cambio tiene un potencial mas beneficioso que el de eliminar el estado de agotamiento cronico que se produce a final de semana en la mayoria de escuelas.

Society debates, legislates, and regulates education more than it does any other profession. It has become popular to think that democracy gives everyone an equal say in educational matters, while those in other professions are relatively free to work according to standards set by their professional organizations. It would be unthinkable to mandate that a dentist give patients a certain number of fillings per week, with anything less being labeled a "failure." Yet we allow politicians to set specific standards and test scores for our children, forcing teachers to endure countless commission reports and endless political debates about what should happen in our schools. What if the voices of our teachers were heard equally in today's public discourse? Teachers work with children everyday and have always understood intuitively the materials and curriculum needed. Teacher research, however, allows teachers to go beyond intuitive understanding to a level of documented inquiry that can stand the light public scrutiny in publications, news media, workshops, and town meetings. In Silence Is Complicity, Dr. Finser offers teachers the tools needed to speak out and be heard, empowering their advocacy for educational change. With first-hand experience and earned knowledge, teachers have the real authority to mandate the needs of their students. It's time to give teachers the necessary tools for a greater voice in educational matters. Teacher research, as outlined in this book, can support a dynamic counter-movement that empowers teachers, parents, and communities to say, "Politicians, back off "