Grade Six Online Conference
2012 Evaluations
I just finished my two weeks of the sixth grade training, and I want to thank all three of you for putting together a very worthwhile lecture series and for administering the program efficiently and professionally. I found the lectures well-organized, thought-provoking, and inspiring. I also found all three types of video presentations, those of student work, physics demonstrations, and classroom teaching, to be very useful and worthwhile. The online format worked very well with my family's schedule. I am so appreciative that these trainings are now available to Waldorf teachers. I now have forty pages of my own notes to take with me on vacation for review!
Thank you again. I hope to see you next time in seventh grade training. I will highly recommend this program to my colleagues.
Sincerely,
Krista Wigert
Math Teacher
Live Oak Charter School
Petaluma, CA
Rich in content and ideas. Provided me with a solid skeleton for my continuing summer work - but now I feel I can also address personal renewal and take more time preparing artistically. Thank you so much for providing this opportunity for teachers. For several years I attended intensives - flat out from the year, I found myself at a desk listening to lectures and taking notes for 8 hours a day. As the day wore on - and I wore out - my notes became sketchy and illegible. (Never felt comfortable sitting in class sporting my lap top - silly, silly - worried about getting hit by lightening too!.) Needless to say - I never ever looked back at my notes and much of the valuable nuggets presented could not be cemented in my tired being... so - I personally felt it was all for not. The next year I asked if I could use my money to hire a mentor, maybe someone who had just completed the grade I was entering, and work with the for a couple days... this is when I heard of your online lectures. For me, a mother of 2, this is the perfect solution. I could listen at my leisure, make lunches and fold laundry between lectures, and best of all, take notes, comprehendible notes on my computer - notes that I know I will refer to over the course of the summer and year. I have already printed out my notes and organized them by block in a binder in which I will continue to collect and add idea as they come over the summer. I feel better prepared at this early stage than ever before! Thank you! Furthermore, I appreciated the depth of the lectures and connections to the foundation work. Often at summer workshops I have found these connections to be lean or basic. Even more here would be appreciated! Also, since I personally seem destined to pick up classes in the upper grades, I appreciated all the connections to previous years curriculum - since I have not had the occasion to teach and penetrate this curriculum I missed the boat with this the last time . . . . Thank you again ever so much - I'm sure I'll sleep better all summer! And best of all, I am able to now embark on artistic renewal! -- Annette Campana
Hi Eugene
Just wanted to tell you how much I am getting from your G6 conference. Sometime when I see you, we can chat a bit more, but it is awesome (especially the between the lines, astrally speaking...) and it is exactly what I needed for this summer! It's like getting to spend all day with you for 2 weeks!!! :) I really like the relaxed pace in that you can fully explain your ideas instead of a rushed 1.5 hr/subject/day cram-in session which happens in the art of teaching where one is frantically trying to take notes on everything the instructor is trying to throw at the group! THIS IS GREAT!!! I find myself now really looking forward to the sessions; they are very informative and confidence-building and my eyes are open for the astrality of it all!
I appreciate you as a teacher of anthroposophy; in these last few years of getting to know your work I am very much appreciative! Down here in Carmel caring for my mother; the conference helps me in more ways than just curriculum! I have also listened to your Middle school, 6th grade and am in the middle of karmic relationship Cd's and more. Thanks for being there for me right now; it is perfect!
I will probably comment more before this is completed!
-- Doris Dunning
I think you're getting better and better at presenting these conferences. Having the singing and the song sheets was really good. Also Roberto was a great addition as well.
Eugene....you did not clear your throat at all this time! Wonderful! Did you know that you "uh-ummed" quite often on the 4th and 5th conferences? Listening to you for hours makes something like that quite noticeable.
These online conferences are a saving grace to people such as I... and I thank you for stepping up to filling the void. Now.... if you could somehow include other teachers who could come out of the computer and have lunch with me and sit around and chat....then it would be perfect.
-- Nancy Cherniss
I am really enjoying the conference and the tremendous amount of incite and information given by Eugene Schwartz along with the video of Physics and the examples of the children's work. This is my second time through the grades and I just completed my masters degree from Antioch so the personal experiences and opinions of Eugene are great to hear. I do not agree with all of it but that is not important:) I loved loved loved to hear the taped lecture of the Life of Jesus because I could be a "fly on the wall" and listen to another experienced teacher work with sixth graders. I also appreciate the many Anthroposophical references in the lectures. This is my first online conference and I can see signing up for next year because I enjoy the flexibility of working and listening at times that fit into my schedule . . . .
-- Catherine (Cate) Hunko
The conference was great! I did the 5th grade conference last year and felt the same way at the end - READY!!! Well, mostly :) Now I need to go off and practice some physics experiments and do some more reading. Having read Dorothy Mills History of Rome ahead of time really helped. I have one day left and don't know if I'll get to all of the great supplemental lectures, but will do as much as I can. Whoa, there was a lot offered! For now, I got through the curriculum. I appreciate the depth of understanding you share about what Steiner had to say and why we bring the parts of the curriculum - this is most helpful. It would have been helpful to have a suggested reading list ahead of time. It was great to see Roberto doing the physics experiments and modeling the organization of the supplies! The live recorded lectures from the classroom were excellent as well. It would have been nice to have the songs downloadable - I can read music, but some of the written parts were missing and I'll never remember what they sounded like. The are listed below.
Overall, another excellent experience. Thank you for the unimaginable time and effort you put into recording and sharing all of your work with us. I'm looking forward to whatever you have to offer for 7th grade :)
-- Catie Johnson
Thank you. The program is quite nice and has done what it said it would do. I am only disappointed by the fact that there seems to be no photographs available to keep, particularly of the main lesson book pages. The videos are terrific, but in a few months the images will fade in my memory and by then the online conference access will be gone. Snapshots of the main lesson books should be part of the $300 program cost.
Other than that this is a very convenient and effective way to gain a little reminder of the soul/spirit development of the 6th graders and have a few new tools under my belt for the upcoming year.
If there was a 7th and 8th grade conference online I would purchase that as well.
-- Shannon Wiley
I am finishing at this moment my 16th day of working with the material in this conference. So for me 2 weeks was insufficient. I lost one day due to other demands in my life and had to extend three days in order to finish. I benefitted from every aspect of the conference except the painting. The only earlier experience I have had with veil painting was unlike what I observed you doing and I felt totally unsuccessful. I don't water color paint a great deal better, but I have colleagues who do beautiful water color painting with their students who also produce some outstanding paintings. I'm not convinced to start veil painting before 7th grade, but I liked the approach you demonstrated.
-- Bette Montgomery
Dear Mr. Schwartz,
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to you, Mr. Schwartz. You have given the world a great gift in the teachings you have offered here. I feel that I have spent the last two weeks in your company, and I am left with such gratitude for your generosity. How lucky I feel to have had the privilege to learn from you! How amazed I am at the breadth and scope of your teachings! I am leaving this conference feeling as if I have acquired a steamer trunk full of tools that have been specially formed to help me in my journey through the coming year. What a wonderful feeling!
Throughout hours of lectures you kept alive very clear threads that connect every subject matter. The image of a 6th grader living within polarities was a striking theme. Balance to imbalance, inner and outer, light and dark, materialism and spirit… it is all there in every lecture, taking us back time and time again to the teachings of anthroposophy, to the “why” of what we are doing, to the deep and clear pictures of the development of these students. By doing this, you did what you implore us to do—to keep the big picture in focus even as we attend to the smallest details.
Speaking of the smallest details, even these stones are left unturned. The practical nature with which you shared how to be successful with Geometrical Drawing was so appreciated. Sharing the materials you recommend, even (later in the ‘painting with patience’ video) how to remove the tape so that it will not tear the paper—are all details that absolutely make a difference and show that you know deeply what it is to be a teacher.
From the heights of anthroposophic teachings… to the details of quality materials… to the frank and honest discussions of difficult aspects… you speak on all of it. It is a testament to your having truly permeated all of this material AND to having a deep relationship to Steiner’s teachings AND to living in the fully modern world – that you are able to offer so much to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your willingness to share this with us.
Am I gushing? Well, you have not been at my house and heard the extent of it. My husband is ready for me to be done telling him how I much ‘I love Mr. Schwartz’.
A note about the fact that it is online: Perhaps some call it unconventional (putting it mildly?) but I am convinced that I have received more in these two weeks than I could have ever done in a live conference. Furthermore, it gave me access to a conference that I would not have been able to afford in either time or finances. It is a wonderful, wonderful offering that you are giving us. Please continue!!
Ok—so I know that real feedback is more helpful than just gushing—so here are some aspects I think could be tweaked:
I found it challenging to have to scroll through the entire page of the 6th grade conference every day to find where I left off. If you could have links at the top of the page with just subject headings—Physics, Math, Language Arts and so on… then, if a person clicked, it would simply jump them to the appropriate spot on the page to access the lectures and videos. Does that make sense?
The Geometry videos; “A guide for teachers” part one and two are listed twice on the page; once imbedded in the Geometry lectures, secondly imbedded at the bottom of the page under ‘painting with patience’.
You mention that you would share details about how to take care of the compass- and that we should teach the children this frequently at the beginning of the block. But I could not find/did not hear this information. I am new to a compass myself so I was eager to make sure I cared well for this new instrument. Did I miss this, or is it possible it was neglected? (I feel horrible to even point out such details when you have given so much, but I do so only to be helpful. None of this took away from the incredible over all experience.)
The videos that you offer on Physics—if you click on ‘see the full size version’ on the video of ‘color and Light- slideshow of student work’, it actually takes you to the video of ‘Teaching Color and Light’-- the 8th grade class doing the block on color and light. This is also true of the opposite—in the ‘Teaching Color and Light’ video, the linked ‘go to the full size version’ takes you to the main lesson book work slide show. In other words, it is all there, but just these two links are swapped. And it is only in the ‘go to the full size version’ links, not the imbedded video.
The uncomfortable feedback; I did not enjoy listening to Roberto Trostli’s lectures. (Sorry Roberto!!) While it is clear that he brings a great deal of intention to his speech, his lectures felt very much like he was reading. His intonation did not vary authentically and I found myself not able to push through his offerings. Contrasting this with listening to Mr. Schwartz—who was speaking without reading—I chuckled along with you when you would make a joke—I heard the change in your voice when you were modeling speaking to the 6th graders—I heard the earnestness as you encouraged us to take up a new disciplined path. I felt in all honesty, that you were with me in my dining room, outside on my picnic table as I studied on lovely days, on my couch with me in the evenings when I got cozy as I typed… That is the compelling nature of this online course, as the human touch is still very present in your talks. With Roberto, I felt that he was too constrained by the written material, almost too intentional with his speech, and the pace felt unauthentic. The result is to be made very aware of the “online-ness” of this conference while listening to him and to unfortunately not feel the human connection. (I did not finish all of his lectures, so perhaps this shifts over the course of his offerings.) Forgive my frankness here. I hope it can be only helpful, as clearly Roberto has a very deep understanding and is a wealth of knowledge on the subject of Physics and indeed, clearly a deep relationship with anthroposophy.
Lastly, I will add that I loved the lecture on language arts and found them to be deeply illuminating as a teacher/ adult on how the tenses and subjective mood point to the inner life of the sixth grader. I had never heard of these aspects of anthroposophy linked to the grammar we use. However, I will add that I am left a little uncertain on how to bring this to my 6th grader. The line of what we should know as a teacher and how we bring the material to the children is not clear in this one particular subject matter. Though, I must add that I feel VERY well served having gained a deeper understanding of these tenses for my own knowledge and feel certain that it will help me know how to offer it when the time comes.
The lectures at the bottom of the page that were offered to deepen our understanding of some of the themes in 6th Grade—how wonderful of you to offer this! As much as I would have loved to spend time on them, there simply was not enough time. I worked very steadily the entire two weeks, and still did not manage to spend time with them. This speaks to the abundance and bountiful amount of material you have given us to listen to in these two weeks. However, there they were, calling to me—yet I never quite felt like I could spare the time. If you feel that they could indeed be helpful, I wonder if you would consider making those lectures available for people after their conference was over-- for a limited amount of time. Perhaps it could be sent in a follow up email, after the conference is over, as a “bonus” set of lectures that one could access for a week or so to deepen these themes. (That seems so unbelievably ridiculous to ask such a thing of you when you have given us such abundance! It is only an idea, so please just take it with a grain of salt.)
I hope the comments fall on good ears (or eyes, as it were). Please know that you have (at least) one deeply devoted fan in NH and I look forward to learning more from you as my path continues… wherever that path may lead.
In deep gratitude,
-- Amy Robertshaw (Mom to a rising 6th grader at Monadnock Waldorf School-- who will be teaching her son as we live abroad in Prague for a year.)
Absolutely wonderful content! I wish, of course, that I could have been in a room hearing Eugene in person instead of over computer, but am grateful for this opportunity. Thank you so much for this amazing material.
-- Nancy Lewis
Dear Eugene,
I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying this class 6 conference. My wife and four children have gone to a local music festival for the weekend, aware that there is wall-to-wall Eugene Schwartz in the house at the moment, and that I have just three weeks until the start of the year! I wish I had started this at the beginning of the summer holiday, but that wasn't such a long time ago either...
Anyway, many thanks for the work; worth every cent so far, and I am particularly enjoying your willingness to break with tradition in pursuit of first principles. I have always struggled, personally, with some of the more esoteric narratives of Rudolf Steiner - and am in many ways a natural sceptic - but I think I can recognise when a teaching method comes from a good and true place, with the children at its centre, and I think this is it.
On a related note, the school governors here in Hereford have seen fit to put two of its teachers into management - myself and Fran Morgan (latterly class 8) as Assistant Principals. So I am gearing up to teach Class 6 in the morning and be something of a school leader in the afternoon... I am yet to be convinced that this is do-able, and your comments in the introduction (about needing to be more present for a class 6 than ever) have not exactly helped! Nevertheless, I am hopeful that they will respect the fact that I have an additional role, and may even draw something from the fact that my working world is occasionally bigger than our classroom. (My wife's thoughts on all this are another matter!)
Anyway, many thanks again -
--Ian Young
Steiner Academy Hereford
La dificultad más grande para mí fue el idioma. Necesite el doble de tiempo para ir traduciendo algunas partes de las conferencias. Ha sido un aporte significativo para mi trabajo. El material es muy oportuno para el trabajo concreto con los niños y niñas, los padres y los compañeros de trabajo.
Gracias por esta oportunidad de profundizar en este grado desde la pedagogía waldorf.
Pienso que el material esta bien estructurado, hay algunas repeticiones, pero es claro, se puede hacer el proceso. Tengo que seguir haciendo el esfuerzo por aprender inglés. Mientras tanto, voy a acoger este esfuerzo por compartir el trabajo que realizan.
-- Ruth Limaico
Translation:
Your Name: Your Email Ruth Limaico: ruth.2864 @ hotmail.com How did you find out about the Grade 6 Online Conference? Seeking some form of internet Waldorf education deepen Please Tell us About Your experience of the Grade 6 conference, and suggest ways in Which it may be improved. The biggest difficulty for me was the language. Need twice as long to go translating some parts of the conference. It has been a significant contribution to my work. The material is very timely for the concrete work with children, parents and colleagues.
Thank you for this opportunity to delve into this degree from Waldorf education. I think the material is well structured, there is some overlap, but clearly, the process can be done. I have to keep making the effort to learn English. Meanwhile, I welcome this effort to share their work.
I have found the material invaluable. I have especially appreciated the science theme! I just have thanks to give to the wondrous work which will surely enrich my year. Thank you!
-- Caroline Ada
Thank you again!!!!
This is my third summer taking the online course (I've braved taking a class from first through now and had two babies along the way, so traveling to conferences has been unrealistic...oh the karma there!).
Speaking of which, I've appreciated all of the advice on karmic relationships and transformations around age 12...new stuff, really thought provoking.
There was a lot of content, I feel some of it could be condensed; listening to all of the lectures on grammar was tough. I also didn't listen to all of the physics lectures, but found the videos to be outstanding (Thank you Mr. Trostli). But I did listen to everything else.
I also tremendously appreciated the instructional "how-to" videos on geometric form drawing and painting. The links to recorded lectures were also useful (the Jesus lectures are entertaining and the parent "Religion in Waldorf Schools" lectures are stimulating).
Thank you Eugene for your humor, outstanding dedication and research zeal, and for thrusting out into the open your ideas about what is "Waldorf" and what is not. Oh, and for the term "public-schoolization."
I've always felt incredibly prepared and enthusiastic for the year ahead after taking the online course; I've always come away with a few new "zingers" that help me stay grounded in the fundamentals of the work and inspire me to initiate dialogue about "change" within the school. Some highlights for me: 1) the idea that it's ok if half the class leaves after 6th grade because of karmic shift and how to find ways of getting new students in the class (I've already spoken to our development director about this one), 2) the idea that low teacher salaries are a moral issue, 3)that Waldorf schools are "religious" and how to talk about that with parents, and 4)that body odor is caused by astral loving bacteria. Excellent stuff.
Sincerely,
Alynn Nelson
Portland Waldorf School
Loved all the historical stories - great background and overall sense of subject matter.
Had to rewind the Physics portion quite a bit as there was so much to take notes on....maybe slow down the speaking rate.
There was a lot to take in and I'm still processing, but really enjoyed the courses over-all!
Thank you for making this option available!
-- Michelle Smith
I really appreciated each subject opening with a look at the anthroposophical 'why'. It was great to be able to stop and re-start each lecture as needed. I was able to type notes as I listened.
I would have liked a few suggestions for recorder pieces - both alto and soprano - and perhaps the addition of a few tongue twisters and speech exercises. As I teach in a charter school, each year I seem to spend quite a bit of time finding (or writing) the perfect blessings for snack and lunch. Some ideas there would also be well received. I also think it would be a great idea if you could somehow link all the people who subscribed to each grade level conference. It is always nice to continue to share ideas with others.
You generously gave me an extra week, as I have been caring for my son and stretched for time. Thank you for this - it was needed!
-- Kris Mize
I found this format more helpful than I had imagined. I had just come back from the Grade 6 Intensive in Sacramento and was looking for another point of view, mainly because my colleague who usually hands me her materials to browse through did not follow through this year. I found your perspective generally enlightening, and the ideas of the etheric and astral body never made as much sense to me as they do in the light of the lectures as well as the developmental stage of the Six Grader.
All the lectures were excellent; I especially appreciated the practical hints of what to talk about and what to leave out! The lecture about work with parents also was very useful, and I will try to bring it to the faculty.
Your talking speed was just right, and the mix between facts and stories or comments just right to be able to take notes at the same time. While Roberto's was also slow, his talk was very dense, so I had to stop the video many times.
I appreciated the videos of the physics demonstrations, the introduction to geometry as well as the Main Lesson book. The singing was beautiful and very useful as well, but I would have liked to have the music to all the voices and had trouble reading the words. In terms of the poetry provided, I would have loved to get things one does not usually find, rather than copies from a book that is readily available and probably one of the books most people own. But that may be my own problem because I did not grow up with the English language and cannot rely on my own memories of poetry I encountered.
Taking two different courses, maybe especially one from the East Coast and another from the West Coast, does not make for easy planning, because the messages were quite different, in fact in some areas diametrically opposed (as befits the Grade 6 curriculum).
-- imkejo@gmail.com
Great. Thank you. It's a wonderful resource and so helpful to have all this for preparation, for working with the parents, and for knowing how to stand before the students in a new way!
For someone not very familiar with Roman history, I found the history segments inspiring and motivating, but I found myself still confused about how several of the pieces fit together. Obviously, it just requires a lot of independent learning about this rich historical period, but maybe a: "Make sure you touch on x, y, and z would help someone like me swimming in SO MUCH information." :-) Also, my class is a mixed 5/6 class so I'm having to figure out different streams of the Greek and Roman history to bring this year and identify parallel streams that can be worked for Roman history into the Renaissance next year...so I my task is less straightforward...
Loved having Roberto. Loved all the ML book pages. Loved the parent, colleague and SELF advice. Would be curious to know your perspective on how much we should "lead" the students in their drawings and ML page creaion at this stage. I've seen teachers photocopy compositions to be copied into books, I've seen teachers still give board drawings, I've seen teachers give almost nothing in guidance.
Overall, great! I recently heard one teacher say she gets more from you online that in a week at RSC!
-- Greer Galloway
2012 Evaluations
I just finished my two weeks of the sixth grade training, and I want to thank all three of you for putting together a very worthwhile lecture series and for administering the program efficiently and professionally. I found the lectures well-organized, thought-provoking, and inspiring. I also found all three types of video presentations, those of student work, physics demonstrations, and classroom teaching, to be very useful and worthwhile. The online format worked very well with my family's schedule. I am so appreciative that these trainings are now available to Waldorf teachers. I now have forty pages of my own notes to take with me on vacation for review!
Thank you again. I hope to see you next time in seventh grade training. I will highly recommend this program to my colleagues.
Sincerely,
Krista Wigert
Math Teacher
Live Oak Charter School
Petaluma, CA
Rich in content and ideas. Provided me with a solid skeleton for my continuing summer work - but now I feel I can also address personal renewal and take more time preparing artistically. Thank you so much for providing this opportunity for teachers. For several years I attended intensives - flat out from the year, I found myself at a desk listening to lectures and taking notes for 8 hours a day. As the day wore on - and I wore out - my notes became sketchy and illegible. (Never felt comfortable sitting in class sporting my lap top - silly, silly - worried about getting hit by lightening too!.) Needless to say - I never ever looked back at my notes and much of the valuable nuggets presented could not be cemented in my tired being... so - I personally felt it was all for not. The next year I asked if I could use my money to hire a mentor, maybe someone who had just completed the grade I was entering, and work with the for a couple days... this is when I heard of your online lectures. For me, a mother of 2, this is the perfect solution. I could listen at my leisure, make lunches and fold laundry between lectures, and best of all, take notes, comprehendible notes on my computer - notes that I know I will refer to over the course of the summer and year. I have already printed out my notes and organized them by block in a binder in which I will continue to collect and add idea as they come over the summer. I feel better prepared at this early stage than ever before! Thank you! Furthermore, I appreciated the depth of the lectures and connections to the foundation work. Often at summer workshops I have found these connections to be lean or basic. Even more here would be appreciated! Also, since I personally seem destined to pick up classes in the upper grades, I appreciated all the connections to previous years curriculum - since I have not had the occasion to teach and penetrate this curriculum I missed the boat with this the last time . . . . Thank you again ever so much - I'm sure I'll sleep better all summer! And best of all, I am able to now embark on artistic renewal! -- Annette Campana
Hi Eugene
Just wanted to tell you how much I am getting from your G6 conference. Sometime when I see you, we can chat a bit more, but it is awesome (especially the between the lines, astrally speaking...) and it is exactly what I needed for this summer! It's like getting to spend all day with you for 2 weeks!!! :) I really like the relaxed pace in that you can fully explain your ideas instead of a rushed 1.5 hr/subject/day cram-in session which happens in the art of teaching where one is frantically trying to take notes on everything the instructor is trying to throw at the group! THIS IS GREAT!!! I find myself now really looking forward to the sessions; they are very informative and confidence-building and my eyes are open for the astrality of it all!
I appreciate you as a teacher of anthroposophy; in these last few years of getting to know your work I am very much appreciative! Down here in Carmel caring for my mother; the conference helps me in more ways than just curriculum! I have also listened to your Middle school, 6th grade and am in the middle of karmic relationship Cd's and more. Thanks for being there for me right now; it is perfect!
I will probably comment more before this is completed!
-- Doris Dunning
I think you're getting better and better at presenting these conferences. Having the singing and the song sheets was really good. Also Roberto was a great addition as well.
Eugene....you did not clear your throat at all this time! Wonderful! Did you know that you "uh-ummed" quite often on the 4th and 5th conferences? Listening to you for hours makes something like that quite noticeable.
These online conferences are a saving grace to people such as I... and I thank you for stepping up to filling the void. Now.... if you could somehow include other teachers who could come out of the computer and have lunch with me and sit around and chat....then it would be perfect.
-- Nancy Cherniss
I am really enjoying the conference and the tremendous amount of incite and information given by Eugene Schwartz along with the video of Physics and the examples of the children's work. This is my second time through the grades and I just completed my masters degree from Antioch so the personal experiences and opinions of Eugene are great to hear. I do not agree with all of it but that is not important:) I loved loved loved to hear the taped lecture of the Life of Jesus because I could be a "fly on the wall" and listen to another experienced teacher work with sixth graders. I also appreciate the many Anthroposophical references in the lectures. This is my first online conference and I can see signing up for next year because I enjoy the flexibility of working and listening at times that fit into my schedule . . . .
-- Catherine (Cate) Hunko
The conference was great! I did the 5th grade conference last year and felt the same way at the end - READY!!! Well, mostly :) Now I need to go off and practice some physics experiments and do some more reading. Having read Dorothy Mills History of Rome ahead of time really helped. I have one day left and don't know if I'll get to all of the great supplemental lectures, but will do as much as I can. Whoa, there was a lot offered! For now, I got through the curriculum. I appreciate the depth of understanding you share about what Steiner had to say and why we bring the parts of the curriculum - this is most helpful. It would have been helpful to have a suggested reading list ahead of time. It was great to see Roberto doing the physics experiments and modeling the organization of the supplies! The live recorded lectures from the classroom were excellent as well. It would have been nice to have the songs downloadable - I can read music, but some of the written parts were missing and I'll never remember what they sounded like. The are listed below.
Overall, another excellent experience. Thank you for the unimaginable time and effort you put into recording and sharing all of your work with us. I'm looking forward to whatever you have to offer for 7th grade :)
-- Catie Johnson
Thank you. The program is quite nice and has done what it said it would do. I am only disappointed by the fact that there seems to be no photographs available to keep, particularly of the main lesson book pages. The videos are terrific, but in a few months the images will fade in my memory and by then the online conference access will be gone. Snapshots of the main lesson books should be part of the $300 program cost.
Other than that this is a very convenient and effective way to gain a little reminder of the soul/spirit development of the 6th graders and have a few new tools under my belt for the upcoming year.
If there was a 7th and 8th grade conference online I would purchase that as well.
-- Shannon Wiley
I am finishing at this moment my 16th day of working with the material in this conference. So for me 2 weeks was insufficient. I lost one day due to other demands in my life and had to extend three days in order to finish. I benefitted from every aspect of the conference except the painting. The only earlier experience I have had with veil painting was unlike what I observed you doing and I felt totally unsuccessful. I don't water color paint a great deal better, but I have colleagues who do beautiful water color painting with their students who also produce some outstanding paintings. I'm not convinced to start veil painting before 7th grade, but I liked the approach you demonstrated.
-- Bette Montgomery
Dear Mr. Schwartz,
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to you, Mr. Schwartz. You have given the world a great gift in the teachings you have offered here. I feel that I have spent the last two weeks in your company, and I am left with such gratitude for your generosity. How lucky I feel to have had the privilege to learn from you! How amazed I am at the breadth and scope of your teachings! I am leaving this conference feeling as if I have acquired a steamer trunk full of tools that have been specially formed to help me in my journey through the coming year. What a wonderful feeling!
Throughout hours of lectures you kept alive very clear threads that connect every subject matter. The image of a 6th grader living within polarities was a striking theme. Balance to imbalance, inner and outer, light and dark, materialism and spirit… it is all there in every lecture, taking us back time and time again to the teachings of anthroposophy, to the “why” of what we are doing, to the deep and clear pictures of the development of these students. By doing this, you did what you implore us to do—to keep the big picture in focus even as we attend to the smallest details.
Speaking of the smallest details, even these stones are left unturned. The practical nature with which you shared how to be successful with Geometrical Drawing was so appreciated. Sharing the materials you recommend, even (later in the ‘painting with patience’ video) how to remove the tape so that it will not tear the paper—are all details that absolutely make a difference and show that you know deeply what it is to be a teacher.
From the heights of anthroposophic teachings… to the details of quality materials… to the frank and honest discussions of difficult aspects… you speak on all of it. It is a testament to your having truly permeated all of this material AND to having a deep relationship to Steiner’s teachings AND to living in the fully modern world – that you are able to offer so much to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your willingness to share this with us.
Am I gushing? Well, you have not been at my house and heard the extent of it. My husband is ready for me to be done telling him how I much ‘I love Mr. Schwartz’.
A note about the fact that it is online: Perhaps some call it unconventional (putting it mildly?) but I am convinced that I have received more in these two weeks than I could have ever done in a live conference. Furthermore, it gave me access to a conference that I would not have been able to afford in either time or finances. It is a wonderful, wonderful offering that you are giving us. Please continue!!
Ok—so I know that real feedback is more helpful than just gushing—so here are some aspects I think could be tweaked:
I found it challenging to have to scroll through the entire page of the 6th grade conference every day to find where I left off. If you could have links at the top of the page with just subject headings—Physics, Math, Language Arts and so on… then, if a person clicked, it would simply jump them to the appropriate spot on the page to access the lectures and videos. Does that make sense?
The Geometry videos; “A guide for teachers” part one and two are listed twice on the page; once imbedded in the Geometry lectures, secondly imbedded at the bottom of the page under ‘painting with patience’.
You mention that you would share details about how to take care of the compass- and that we should teach the children this frequently at the beginning of the block. But I could not find/did not hear this information. I am new to a compass myself so I was eager to make sure I cared well for this new instrument. Did I miss this, or is it possible it was neglected? (I feel horrible to even point out such details when you have given so much, but I do so only to be helpful. None of this took away from the incredible over all experience.)
The videos that you offer on Physics—if you click on ‘see the full size version’ on the video of ‘color and Light- slideshow of student work’, it actually takes you to the video of ‘Teaching Color and Light’-- the 8th grade class doing the block on color and light. This is also true of the opposite—in the ‘Teaching Color and Light’ video, the linked ‘go to the full size version’ takes you to the main lesson book work slide show. In other words, it is all there, but just these two links are swapped. And it is only in the ‘go to the full size version’ links, not the imbedded video.
The uncomfortable feedback; I did not enjoy listening to Roberto Trostli’s lectures. (Sorry Roberto!!) While it is clear that he brings a great deal of intention to his speech, his lectures felt very much like he was reading. His intonation did not vary authentically and I found myself not able to push through his offerings. Contrasting this with listening to Mr. Schwartz—who was speaking without reading—I chuckled along with you when you would make a joke—I heard the change in your voice when you were modeling speaking to the 6th graders—I heard the earnestness as you encouraged us to take up a new disciplined path. I felt in all honesty, that you were with me in my dining room, outside on my picnic table as I studied on lovely days, on my couch with me in the evenings when I got cozy as I typed… That is the compelling nature of this online course, as the human touch is still very present in your talks. With Roberto, I felt that he was too constrained by the written material, almost too intentional with his speech, and the pace felt unauthentic. The result is to be made very aware of the “online-ness” of this conference while listening to him and to unfortunately not feel the human connection. (I did not finish all of his lectures, so perhaps this shifts over the course of his offerings.) Forgive my frankness here. I hope it can be only helpful, as clearly Roberto has a very deep understanding and is a wealth of knowledge on the subject of Physics and indeed, clearly a deep relationship with anthroposophy.
Lastly, I will add that I loved the lecture on language arts and found them to be deeply illuminating as a teacher/ adult on how the tenses and subjective mood point to the inner life of the sixth grader. I had never heard of these aspects of anthroposophy linked to the grammar we use. However, I will add that I am left a little uncertain on how to bring this to my 6th grader. The line of what we should know as a teacher and how we bring the material to the children is not clear in this one particular subject matter. Though, I must add that I feel VERY well served having gained a deeper understanding of these tenses for my own knowledge and feel certain that it will help me know how to offer it when the time comes.
The lectures at the bottom of the page that were offered to deepen our understanding of some of the themes in 6th Grade—how wonderful of you to offer this! As much as I would have loved to spend time on them, there simply was not enough time. I worked very steadily the entire two weeks, and still did not manage to spend time with them. This speaks to the abundance and bountiful amount of material you have given us to listen to in these two weeks. However, there they were, calling to me—yet I never quite felt like I could spare the time. If you feel that they could indeed be helpful, I wonder if you would consider making those lectures available for people after their conference was over-- for a limited amount of time. Perhaps it could be sent in a follow up email, after the conference is over, as a “bonus” set of lectures that one could access for a week or so to deepen these themes. (That seems so unbelievably ridiculous to ask such a thing of you when you have given us such abundance! It is only an idea, so please just take it with a grain of salt.)
I hope the comments fall on good ears (or eyes, as it were). Please know that you have (at least) one deeply devoted fan in NH and I look forward to learning more from you as my path continues… wherever that path may lead.
In deep gratitude,
-- Amy Robertshaw (Mom to a rising 6th grader at Monadnock Waldorf School-- who will be teaching her son as we live abroad in Prague for a year.)
Absolutely wonderful content! I wish, of course, that I could have been in a room hearing Eugene in person instead of over computer, but am grateful for this opportunity. Thank you so much for this amazing material.
-- Nancy Lewis
Dear Eugene,
I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying this class 6 conference. My wife and four children have gone to a local music festival for the weekend, aware that there is wall-to-wall Eugene Schwartz in the house at the moment, and that I have just three weeks until the start of the year! I wish I had started this at the beginning of the summer holiday, but that wasn't such a long time ago either...
Anyway, many thanks for the work; worth every cent so far, and I am particularly enjoying your willingness to break with tradition in pursuit of first principles. I have always struggled, personally, with some of the more esoteric narratives of Rudolf Steiner - and am in many ways a natural sceptic - but I think I can recognise when a teaching method comes from a good and true place, with the children at its centre, and I think this is it.
On a related note, the school governors here in Hereford have seen fit to put two of its teachers into management - myself and Fran Morgan (latterly class 8) as Assistant Principals. So I am gearing up to teach Class 6 in the morning and be something of a school leader in the afternoon... I am yet to be convinced that this is do-able, and your comments in the introduction (about needing to be more present for a class 6 than ever) have not exactly helped! Nevertheless, I am hopeful that they will respect the fact that I have an additional role, and may even draw something from the fact that my working world is occasionally bigger than our classroom. (My wife's thoughts on all this are another matter!)
Anyway, many thanks again -
--Ian Young
Steiner Academy Hereford
La dificultad más grande para mí fue el idioma. Necesite el doble de tiempo para ir traduciendo algunas partes de las conferencias. Ha sido un aporte significativo para mi trabajo. El material es muy oportuno para el trabajo concreto con los niños y niñas, los padres y los compañeros de trabajo.
Gracias por esta oportunidad de profundizar en este grado desde la pedagogía waldorf.
Pienso que el material esta bien estructurado, hay algunas repeticiones, pero es claro, se puede hacer el proceso. Tengo que seguir haciendo el esfuerzo por aprender inglés. Mientras tanto, voy a acoger este esfuerzo por compartir el trabajo que realizan.
-- Ruth Limaico
Translation:
Your Name: Your Email Ruth Limaico: ruth.2864 @ hotmail.com How did you find out about the Grade 6 Online Conference? Seeking some form of internet Waldorf education deepen Please Tell us About Your experience of the Grade 6 conference, and suggest ways in Which it may be improved. The biggest difficulty for me was the language. Need twice as long to go translating some parts of the conference. It has been a significant contribution to my work. The material is very timely for the concrete work with children, parents and colleagues.
Thank you for this opportunity to delve into this degree from Waldorf education. I think the material is well structured, there is some overlap, but clearly, the process can be done. I have to keep making the effort to learn English. Meanwhile, I welcome this effort to share their work.
I have found the material invaluable. I have especially appreciated the science theme! I just have thanks to give to the wondrous work which will surely enrich my year. Thank you!
-- Caroline Ada
Thank you again!!!!
This is my third summer taking the online course (I've braved taking a class from first through now and had two babies along the way, so traveling to conferences has been unrealistic...oh the karma there!).
Speaking of which, I've appreciated all of the advice on karmic relationships and transformations around age 12...new stuff, really thought provoking.
There was a lot of content, I feel some of it could be condensed; listening to all of the lectures on grammar was tough. I also didn't listen to all of the physics lectures, but found the videos to be outstanding (Thank you Mr. Trostli). But I did listen to everything else.
I also tremendously appreciated the instructional "how-to" videos on geometric form drawing and painting. The links to recorded lectures were also useful (the Jesus lectures are entertaining and the parent "Religion in Waldorf Schools" lectures are stimulating).
Thank you Eugene for your humor, outstanding dedication and research zeal, and for thrusting out into the open your ideas about what is "Waldorf" and what is not. Oh, and for the term "public-schoolization."
I've always felt incredibly prepared and enthusiastic for the year ahead after taking the online course; I've always come away with a few new "zingers" that help me stay grounded in the fundamentals of the work and inspire me to initiate dialogue about "change" within the school. Some highlights for me: 1) the idea that it's ok if half the class leaves after 6th grade because of karmic shift and how to find ways of getting new students in the class (I've already spoken to our development director about this one), 2) the idea that low teacher salaries are a moral issue, 3)that Waldorf schools are "religious" and how to talk about that with parents, and 4)that body odor is caused by astral loving bacteria. Excellent stuff.
Sincerely,
Alynn Nelson
Portland Waldorf School
Loved all the historical stories - great background and overall sense of subject matter.
Had to rewind the Physics portion quite a bit as there was so much to take notes on....maybe slow down the speaking rate.
There was a lot to take in and I'm still processing, but really enjoyed the courses over-all!
Thank you for making this option available!
-- Michelle Smith
I really appreciated each subject opening with a look at the anthroposophical 'why'. It was great to be able to stop and re-start each lecture as needed. I was able to type notes as I listened.
I would have liked a few suggestions for recorder pieces - both alto and soprano - and perhaps the addition of a few tongue twisters and speech exercises. As I teach in a charter school, each year I seem to spend quite a bit of time finding (or writing) the perfect blessings for snack and lunch. Some ideas there would also be well received. I also think it would be a great idea if you could somehow link all the people who subscribed to each grade level conference. It is always nice to continue to share ideas with others.
You generously gave me an extra week, as I have been caring for my son and stretched for time. Thank you for this - it was needed!
-- Kris Mize
I found this format more helpful than I had imagined. I had just come back from the Grade 6 Intensive in Sacramento and was looking for another point of view, mainly because my colleague who usually hands me her materials to browse through did not follow through this year. I found your perspective generally enlightening, and the ideas of the etheric and astral body never made as much sense to me as they do in the light of the lectures as well as the developmental stage of the Six Grader.
All the lectures were excellent; I especially appreciated the practical hints of what to talk about and what to leave out! The lecture about work with parents also was very useful, and I will try to bring it to the faculty.
Your talking speed was just right, and the mix between facts and stories or comments just right to be able to take notes at the same time. While Roberto's was also slow, his talk was very dense, so I had to stop the video many times.
I appreciated the videos of the physics demonstrations, the introduction to geometry as well as the Main Lesson book. The singing was beautiful and very useful as well, but I would have liked to have the music to all the voices and had trouble reading the words. In terms of the poetry provided, I would have loved to get things one does not usually find, rather than copies from a book that is readily available and probably one of the books most people own. But that may be my own problem because I did not grow up with the English language and cannot rely on my own memories of poetry I encountered.
Taking two different courses, maybe especially one from the East Coast and another from the West Coast, does not make for easy planning, because the messages were quite different, in fact in some areas diametrically opposed (as befits the Grade 6 curriculum).
-- imkejo@gmail.com
Great. Thank you. It's a wonderful resource and so helpful to have all this for preparation, for working with the parents, and for knowing how to stand before the students in a new way!
For someone not very familiar with Roman history, I found the history segments inspiring and motivating, but I found myself still confused about how several of the pieces fit together. Obviously, it just requires a lot of independent learning about this rich historical period, but maybe a: "Make sure you touch on x, y, and z would help someone like me swimming in SO MUCH information." :-) Also, my class is a mixed 5/6 class so I'm having to figure out different streams of the Greek and Roman history to bring this year and identify parallel streams that can be worked for Roman history into the Renaissance next year...so I my task is less straightforward...
Loved having Roberto. Loved all the ML book pages. Loved the parent, colleague and SELF advice. Would be curious to know your perspective on how much we should "lead" the students in their drawings and ML page creaion at this stage. I've seen teachers photocopy compositions to be copied into books, I've seen teachers still give board drawings, I've seen teachers give almost nothing in guidance.
Overall, great! I recently heard one teacher say she gets more from you online that in a week at RSC!
-- Greer Galloway