the official website for the Association of Waldorf Schools of North Americasm

Smiling adult holds hand-dyed wool roving, standing in front of bright watercolor painting
Instructor looking at the work of an adult student
Teachers as students
Three adults playing recorders
Connecting with experience
Large group of teachers holding hands in a circle
Adult student drawing a portrait in pencil
Adults giving a play performance in a classroom
Form drawing
Four adults performing with marionettes
Adult student stands behind instructor looking at clay head sculpture in progress
Adults learning to throw the javelin
Adult leaning to pain with watercolors
Group of teachers singing together as a choir
 

 
  INTERESTED IN WALDORF TEACHING?
 
Waldorf is among the fastest growing educational movements in the world. North America hosts more than 250 Waldorf schools and numbers worldwide have doubled in the last decade to more than 1000 schools. Consequently, there is constant demand for qualified Waldorf teachers. 

Today’s teacher education centers offer full-time and part-time programs. Most programs lead to a Certificate in Waldorf Education while others offer the option of earning a Master’s degree (M.S. Ed.). All programs offer an integrated curriculum that provides a sound philosophical, artistic and practical foundation for Waldorf teaching.
 
  THE ART OF BEING A WALDORF TEACHER
 
In the heart of a Waldorf teacher lives the commitment to help each student reach for his or her highest potential. Waldorf teacher preparation gives you a deep understanding of the whole human being as it unfolds through the critical phases of childhood—so that you can guide students on their life journey.

Equally important is the Waldorf teacher’s commitment to ongoing self-development. Waldorf teacher preparation stretches you in all directions— socially, intellectually, physically, and artistically—to push you beyond your comfort zones and help you develop the capacities needed to inspire your students.

Waldorf teaching is, above all, an art. Waldorf teacher preparation builds the capacities needed to create lively, memorable lessons in which your students are engaged and self-motivated.
  WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A WALDORF TEACHER?
 
Rudolf Steiner gave four answers to this question as he prepared the original circle of 12 teachers – six women and six men – to inaugurate the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart following the end of World War I. He said:
 
• A Waldorf teacher is a person of initiative 
• A Waldorf teacher needs to be interested in every facet of life 
• A Waldorf teacher can make no compromise with untruth 
• A Waldorf teacher must be fresh, never sour

Some of these qualities can only indwell; they cannot be taught, though surely they can be enhanced by a lifetime of practice. Others, however, can be educated – literally “drawn forth”.

AWSNA’s 14 member teacher-training institutes engage students in a disciplined course of study and teacher preparation grounded in anthroposophy. All institutes undertake self-study and peer review as part of a rigorous path to membership.

Save The Date

2019 AWSNA SUMMER CONFERENCE:
Hosted by:
The Waldorf School of Philadelphia

June 24-27, 2019 ~ Philadelphia, PA

Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.
~ Rudolf Steiner