Warren Lee Cohen

Mascha Perrone’s third grade at the Toronto Waldorf School learned how to make sourdough starter from flour and water (as described in my book Baking Bread with Children). After 2 weeks of careful tending by the children, the starter was alive and bubbling and fragrant. It was ready to bake with. The parents came together one evening to knead and sing the starter into dough for Pita bread. The next day we lit a fire in the outdoor wood-fired oven, waited for it to get hot and then baked pita bread to our hearts’ and stomachs’ content. They were delicious!!! The children engaged in this experience from start to tasty finish and their enthusiasm was compelling.

Two days later they delivered to me one of the most beautiful and heartfelt thank you notes that I have received, It included a picture drawn by each child that captured what stood out for them in this experience- what an excellent example of how to both deepen a lesson and teach gratitude in one generous gesture. Below are just a few of the pictures

Paulo Freire had a passion for education and its potential to educate towards freedom. He was responsible for a huge surge in literacy in 20th century Brazil. In particular he saw how cultivating critical thinking can lift people out of situations of oppression and give them the moral character and inner strength they need. Interestingly, Waldorf education, inspired by Rudolf Steiner has also been called an “education towards freedom” because it too fosters independent and essentially moral thinking for its students and encourages them not only to think out of the box but also to have the inner resouces to be able do what they set out to do. In this I am referring to the balanced development of thinking, feeling and willing, the head, heart and hands of Waldorf education.

While the methods these two educational pioneers vary, their aims clearly run in parallel streams and I have found it inspiring to read again their work. Here is a link to an excellent article about Paulo Freire entitled: Rethinking Education as the Practice of Freedom: Paulo Freire and the Promise of C. To find out more about Waldorf education please look at Why Waldorf Works

Advent, Channukah, Divali, Christmas and Kwanza

In the spirit of this wonderful stream of festivals of light , I have been setting my intentions for the coming year, which I hope will be filled with fruitful meetings, growth, play and a deepening sense of love filled work. My work educating Waldorf teachers at the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto is proving dynamic and deeply engaging. I am fortunate to have also  been invited to offer a number of shorter workshops and presentations in Canada and Brazil. These help me to create a nice balance of work and play and allow me to cultivate my many disperate interests such as Waldorf Education, baking bread, building bread ovens, inner development and sculpture. Come join the fun.

I received a link from a Bread artist in Bulgaria who is taking her love of bread and her desire to build community around the world by creating BREAD HOUSES, in home workshops in which the art of baking bread gives time and space for conversation and rekindling traditional crafts. I love the idea of cultural revival centred around the practical/spiritual activity of baking bread. This theme will inspire two Art of Bread workshops planned for this winter and spring in Toronto. Look here for details in the new year.

I am fortunate to recieve a steady stream of interesting visitors at the Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto. Many individuals and as well groups of teachers  from the local colleges, from Japan and most recently from China. Invariably the visitors have been intrigued by the beauty and integrity of Waldorf Education and have been eager to learn more. Below is an article by my colleague Anna Gruda who teaches both at RSCT and at the Toronto Waldorf School.

Chinese art teachers visit TWS.

So Obama was in China recently and Harper is there now.

We thought we would do our part and invite the Chinese to see us! It was actually, Kathleen Schmalz who  approached me  She is a former parent and founding Board member of Trillium Waldorf School in Guelph. She was contracted by York University to organize activities for 23 art teachers visiting from China. The teachers are part of a collective called Sun On Art Teachers and most of them teach high school art.

Having them land at our school was quite an experience for me: I knew Kathleen would accompany them along with an interpreter yet what a challenge to introduce Waldorf education to 23 people through an interpreter!

The teachers arrived a little earlier than expected: I ran into them in the lobby, where there were 23 cameras clicking away! The first thing I had to say was “Sorry, no taking pictures!”

I had organized a tour route that startedin the forum.Clearly the guests had not heard me as the cameras came out again. I like to think that the beauty of the space overwhelmed them! While exiting down the high school staircase they encountered one of our Chinese students and had a bit of a conversation. Next we made a quick stop into the chemistry lab to see how art and the sciences co-exist. Then we looked at the curriculum frames in the stairwell and headed past the EcoWerks area on our way to the handwork room.

Once we settled in I gave a presentation about Waldorf education and showed examples of art from Grade 1 to Grade 12. Some teachers looked a little sleepy but I was assured by Kathleen that it was night time in China and it had nothing to do with my highly expert and entertaining lecture!

After looking at student work and making transparent paper stars, we headed to the Rudolf Steiner Centre. By this time our visitors started asking serious questions about Waldorf teaching. The brochures about the teacher training program flew off the shelves as Warren Cohen invited them to meet this year’s students. A visit to the bookstore overwhelmed the staff and suddenly block crayons were all the rage.  Wendy, the interpreter had glazed eyes seeing herself return to Chengdu, her hometown, as a Waldorf teacher.

A little background: there are three Waldorf schools in China, one each in Beijing, Hong Kong and Chengdu. A very dear friend of mine, Peter Von Zezschwitz, has been there to encourage and educate the teachers at the budding schools. Peter is a former TWS parent and long time supporter of Waldorf education. It is incredible how synchronistic life can be as last Saturday I shared a meal with Peter in a Chinese restaurant near Durham, listening to stories about his time in China and sharing his knowledge of Steiner’s work.

At the end of the tour I was presented with a beautiful banner written in Chinese characters: it said ‘friendship’. As I shook each hand and looked in the eyes of these people I just met a few hours ago, I had an over whelming feeling that indeed friendship can happen despite language and cultural barriers. Sharing a Waldorf experience was a solid bridge of human connection. The amazing thing is that less than half way through the visit; I think they forgot about their cameras.

That is what I call the Waldorf ‘effect’.

Anna Gruda, Art & After School Program teacher

Monday I was warmly welcomed at work with a gift of a 2  1/2 kg  cotton sack of freshly milled, organic Red Fife wheat, a local variety that has been grown in Ontario since the 1840’s. This grain, originally brought over from the Ukraine, was successfully grown across the wheat belt of Canada until the early 1900’s when it was supplanted by other varietals. Renowned for heartiness, flavour and nutrition, Red Fife is experiencing a revival and is now sought after by artisan bakers. My first sponge is rising as I type this post. I look forward to feeling how this dough is to knead by hand and ultimately to savor its crust and crumb. Anson Mills has some helpful information about working with this high gluten wheat. Thanks Lucas!

More good feedback from my first sourdough bread baking workshop in Canada. Many kindergartens at the Toronto Waldorf School are now using natural leavening processes to make more nutritious and digestible breads for the young children. This is such an exciting outcome from a one day workshop.

My dear friend Hal Walker has the ability to make music with just about anything. He is a highly skilled pianist and harm0nica player and is always exploring new instruments and ways of making music. He leads a church choir and teaches music of all varieties as an artist in residence and wandering minstrel. It is great to see him in action on his new website playing BANAKULA. Check it out.

Hal Walker plays Banakula