Our highest endeavour 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 center of education.
Waldorf education is an art that gives teachers a depth of knowledge about the developmental stages and dimensions of the human being. Waldorf teachers broaden their horizons through the study and understanding of numerous areas of arts and sciences based in the work of Rudolf Steiner. The commitment, growth and development of teachers is of high value to the students and a daily source of inspiration and motivation.
IHF – Hulpfonds Internationaal is the organization that year after year supports teachers of Escuela Caracol in their Waldorf preparation. While local teachers go to Cuernavaca (Mexico), our international teachers receive training in Toronto, New York and California. This training is held annually during the month of holidays that the school has mid-year (July-August).
Escuela Caracol is the first and only Waldorf school in Guatemala and has achieved historical accomplishments through its support of teacher training. In 2013 Andrea Arrivillaga became the first Guatemalan to complete the Waldorf training program for primary school teachers, while this year 2014 Maribel Mendoza became the first indigenous Maya to complete the Waldorf teacher training.
Being a Waldorf teacher does not end with teacher training, it is a process that lasts a lifetime, and our school is the perfect setting for this evolution. Escuela Caracol is also a much needed community to support the emergence of a new intercultural community in Guatemala.
Anthroposophical Center of Mexico, Cuernavaca
The closer Waldorf education training center is located in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Every year it opens the doors to hundreds of people from different countries of America. It is a Waldorf initiatives meeting point, a gathering of experiences and lives. It is very important to have at least once a year this coexistence with other professionals working in similar schools to Escuela Caracol and becomes so necessary because it is a great opportunity to travel and observe other initiatives or experienced schools.
This course is organized so that you can work and study at the same time, each teacher is responsible for implementing in the classroom and in life what her or she learned. Apart from the intensive classes throughout the day, you have the opportunity to have private appointments with teachers, who are always willing to share what they know. The day is organized in anthroposophical study, methodology, movement, art and song. After attending 4 years, during the fifth is necessary to make a final written work, which is reviewed by an advisory, and also an oral presentation of once the work is done. Relationships with experienced teachers are created, and many of them have already visited Escuela Caracol to advice and share their impressions about our project.
This training provides the basis for the start of anthroposophical work and Waldorf education. It open the doors to this wonderful education.
Sunbridge Institute, New York
The Early Childhood Education program at Sunbridge Institute brings together teachers and students from all over the world.
For three weeks, we study Child Development and Anthroposophy under the guidance of Susan Howard and Ann Stahl. We also have the opportunity to do Spatial Dynamics, Eurythmy, and practical activities in the kindergarten with teachers from near (the renowned Green Meadow Waldorf School) and far.