Light and Life:  The Transformation of the Etheric in Learning

We are pleased that Wilfried Sommer, Craig Holdrege and Jon McAlice are returning to work with high school and middle school science teachers in February 2018.

This year we will be working to better understand the role the etheric plays in the learning process with a special focus on adolescence. Although we are accustomed to think of the etheric in relation to the young child, these living forces also play a central role in the emergence and individualization of thinking. Can we learn to work more consciously with them in helping our students grow concepts that can live on in them? Wilfried will continue his work on developing methods of teaching physics phenomenologically with a special emphasis on optics. Craig and Jon will focus on various aspects of the etheric in nature and in the development of thinking. The afternoons will give teachers the opportunity to work more intensely in their respective fields.

Wilfried Sommer taught physics, math and computer technology at the Waldorf School in Frankfurt before becoming a lecturer at the teacher training for Waldorf Education Kassel. He is now a Full Professor of the School of Education with an emphasis on the phenomenological methods of teaching at Alanus University.

Craig Holdrege is the co-founder and director of The Nature Institute. His passion is to develop what Goethe termed a "delicate empiricism". Craig taught biology in Waldorf Schools for 21 years, and has been involved in teacher training since the 1990’s. He has a Ph.D. in sustainability education and completed a program in phenomenological science at the Science Research Laboratory at the Goetheanum, Switzerland.

Jon McAlice is a co-founder of the Center for Contextual Studies. His research in contemporary education (contextualization, the experience of meaning, the role of self-directed activity in learning) has born fruit throughout the Waldorf educational movement in the growing recognition of the significance of direct experience in the learning process.

THE CONFERENCE FEE has been calculated to cover the cost of hosting the conference including meals. This includes snacks, as well as lunch and dinner on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The fee is set at $400. No one should feel as though they are prohibited from attending due to finances. For this reason we have reduced fee options available on the website until January 30.

QUESTIONS?

Email Beth  at findingcontextorg@gmail.com