Individual & Collective Faculty Studies 

Mountaintop Waldorf School fosters a community of inclusion and respect for all people. Any form of discrimination is unacceptable, and we explicitly reject any racial doctrine attributed to or inferred from the ideas of Rudolf Steiner. We recognize that in The Mission of Folk-Souls and other teachings, Steiner expresses racist ideas that we do not condone in any form. As an educational institution in the town of Saugerties and the greater Hudson Valley region, we recognize the importance of both acknowledging and actively countering the forces of exclusion that exist in our communities and that undermine the dignity and humanity of many of our members, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

 

Workshops taken by the whole Faculty:

Spring 2019

WECAN Regional Workshop hosted by Mountaintop Waldorf School:

Considering our Cultural and Community Biases in early Childhood presented by Megan Gil

 

Fall 2020:

Anti-Racism Workshop, with cultural worker Dev Luthra

Six sessions to discuss and examine our own attitudes around race, culture, upbringing, and power.  Dev shared many resources; videos, books, articles, and podcasts to explore and examine.

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Winter 2021:

WECAN Conference: Toward a kinder, more compassionate society: Black Lives Matter in Waldorf Early Childhood classrooms and communities.

Keynote speaker: Lalena Garcia.
All participants were introduced to the early childhood curriculum around healing racism that has been put together by Lanena Garcia in cooperation with the Black Lives Matter movement. The focus of this year’s WECAN conference was on activities around Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Access. The thirteen principles of the Black Lives Matter movement translated into child friendly language and introduced to us. One of the main topics  of this workshop was how to talk to young children about race and make our schools and communities welcoming towards a diverse population of children.

A large variety of smaller workshops were offered during the afternoon, some of these were: poetry around race, making diverse puppets in the classroom, explicit talk to children about social justice and creating a diverse set of stories and songs within the Waldorf philosophy.

For this workshop everyone read: They are not too young to talk about race, a pamphlet put out by The Children’s community School in Philadelphia.

 

 

Books read with the whole faculity:

Mindful of Race by Ruth King

 

Workshops taken Individually:

Fall 2019

Undoing Racism/Community Organizing, People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond; pisab.org

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Summer 2020:

AntiRacist Table: Help create an Anti Racist America a 30 day challenge, online course.

How are you really? A 5 weeks circle for parents with children of color. Lead by Rox Etheridge

Meeting Racism and Bias by Developing Imaginative Consciousness : An online workshop with EduCaredo LTD

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Fall 2020

Converstions around the Table: 2021 & the Tides of Race and White Supremacy with Michael Steele Hosted by The Anti Racist Table

America’s Racial Karma: An invitation to Heal with Dr. Larry Ward and Furyu Nancy Schroeder. Lotusinstitute.org

The Earthgate, Overcoming Trauma by Larry Ward, Lotusinstitute.org

Undoing Racism, from the People’s Institute

Spaces Intended by Us, through the Good Work Institute

Becoming Better Ancestors, Healing Racism for Parents Who Identify as White, with Rox Etheridge and Felise Nguyen

Critical Consciousness, by Megan Wilson

Teaching Your Children about Race with Dr. Erin Winkler hosted by AntiRacist Table

Building Racial Equity An online 6 hour training with Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation

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Winter 20/21:

Becoming Better Ancestors, A ten-week circle, Healing Racism for Teachers, led by Rox Etherigde and Felise Nguyen

Rooted: Framework and Education for Creating an Antiracist Environment for Children, 6 weeks online class with Lalena Garcia

Radical Mindfulness Workshop I and II, with Good Work Institute

Just Transition Workshop, with Good Work Institute

Developing a Social Equity Practice, with Good Work Institute

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