Northern California Waldorf Teachers Conference 2025

Renewing Our Commitment to the Health and Well-Being of the Growing Child in the 2020s

With Keynote Speaker, Dr. Michaela Glöckler

Waldorf education must continue to renew and redefine its orientation and priorities in a rapidly changing social and technological setting. Contemporary culture increasingly has the potential to undermine the healthy unfolding of childhood with repercussions for the whole of life. In the forward to her recent book, Education for the Future: How to Nurture Health and Human Potential, Dr. Michaela Glöckler writes:

“[Our] goal is to release mature, self-confidant, creative and courageous people into life. What are the conditions for the development of such character traits? Even more: what are the conditions for healthy physical, soul/emotional and spiritual development in childhood and adolescence? How can day-care centers, kindergartens and schools become places for healthy development?”

In an educational environment where stress, burnout, postural damage, and mental health issues are becoming commonplace among students and teachers, can Waldorf schools be a bastion of health? Dr. Michaela Glöckler will bring her many years of experience as a pediatrician and Waldorf school doctor as well as her concerns for child health in contemporary society. She will offer guiding thoughts for Waldorf teachers as we navigate our way into the second half of the decade.

Dr. Michaela Glöckler attended the Waldorf School in Stuttgart, studied German language, literature, and history in Freiburg and Heidelberg, and qualified for teaching at the high school. She then decided to study and train as a pediatrician. She has been the Leader of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum, the School of Spiritual Science in Dornach, Switzerland from 1988 to 2016. She is cofounder of the Alliance for Childhood and the President of ELIANT, a foundation striving towards improving the quality of life and cultural diversity in Europe.

She is the author of many publications including:
A Healing Education: How Can Waldorf Education Meet the Needs of Children?
A Guide to Child Health
Growing Up Healthy in a World of Digital Media
Education for the Future: How to Nurture Health and Human Potential

Please note that this is an in-person event only. A discount is available for group signups.

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Sunday/Monday Conference Schedule
8:00am-9:00am: Registration
9:00am-10:30am: Lecture with Dr. Michaela Glöckler
10:30am-11am: Snack Break
11:00am-12:30pm: Workshops
12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch Break
1:30pm-3:00pm: Plenum Discussion
3:00pm: Closing of the Day

Tuesday Conference Schedule
9:00am-12:30pm: Same as Above
1:30pm-2:00pm: Workshop/Discussion Group Sharing
2:00-3:00pm: Closing Plenum
3:00pm: Closing of the Conference

Important Information
Parking at the San Francisco Waldorf School is extremely limited. Please use public transport or carpool. If coming by car, research parking options in advance. Do not expect to find street parking.
Coffee, tea, and snacks will be served, but please provide your own lunches. There are numerous cafes and restaurants nearby.

Please use this helpful guide for more information about our February Conference location at the San Francisco Waldorf School and resources in the surrounding area.

Eurythmy Performances
We are very fortunate that the Eurythmy Association of North America will be holding their conference at the same time at the San Francisco Waldorf High School (470 W Portal Ave, San Francisco, CA 94127). There will opportunities to experience eurythmy in the evenings.

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Workshops

“Rhythmic and Developmental Movement” with Takako Kamura: In this workshop, you will experience the activities and sequences that Takako practices with children—rhythmic movement and developmental movement, followed by some Extra Lesson exercises and time for reflection and discussion. Please bring clothes suitable for movement.

“Therapeutic Eurythmy as an Essential Support for Children and Teachers” with Tiffany Russey: Join this workshop for a practical experience of the ways that therapeutic eurythmy may support health to meet the challenges of contemporary life.

“Engage the Senses: Movement Exercises for Focus and Regulation” with Jo-Ann Climenhage: This hands-on workshop will provide teachers with practical movement activities and exercises, suitable for students in grades 1-8, to support healthy engagement in the classroom.

“Juggling: The Art of Coordination” with Evan Milburn: This workshop will teach you the fundamentals of juggling and give you a step-by-step process that can be applied from 1st grade and up. Juggling helps improve our hand-eye coordination and concentration. It develops patience and perseverance through practice and gives us an experience of joy and satisfaction once we have mastered a new skill. Participants will also explore various other circus skills, engage in fun games, and learn the importance of play and how it applies to teaching in Waldorf schools. All circus equipment will be provided. Please wear layers as we may be outside.

“Bringing the Healing Art of Nursing into the Classroom” with Teresa Ferrari: We will explore 12 Nursing Gestures & the Etheric Cross. Topics will include the sense of touch and how we can work with it in today’s school climate, the Healing Basket through the ages (first aid and external application for common childhood illness complaints), and a newly developed form of the Pentagram to the Head to stimulate thinking and concentration.

“Seeing the Child and Caring for Oneself Through Thinking, Feeling, and Willing” with Daciana Iancu: This hands-on workshop will provide teachers with practical movement activities and exercises, suitable for students in grades 1-8, to support healthy engagement in the classroom.

“Movement for Health and Integration—Spatial Dynamics®” with Kate Hammond: In this workshop, we will explore universal themes such as connecting with others, incarnating, and living in our bodies through Spacial Dynamics® exercises. Partner and group exercises and games can help us experience the space around our bodies, and slow movements can integrate and highlight movement patterns. Wear clothing you can move freely in and shoes suitable for running.

“Finding Breath in Artistic Work—Painting, Pastel and Charcoal Drawing” with David French: Artistic work can bring a calming, centering, and nourishing experience to the children. In order to foster these experiences, the teacher needs to guide them with breathing and balance in mind. In this workshop, we will practice approaches to a healthy artistic process and leading artistic classes with the needs of contemporary children in mind.

“Stimulating, Nourishing, Satisfying - Mathematical Learning Experiences” with Dr. Beth Weisburn: Engage in mathematical explorations for students of all ages. Practice attending to inner and outer movement in the discovery of mathematical relationships.

“Soul Food: Nourishing your Storytelling Practice" with Liz Turkel Vose: Storytelling is one of humanity's original therapeutic modalities and can provide a potent antidote to the social ailments of our tech-centric age. This workshop is aimed at breathing renewal and revitalization into your storytelling practice and supporting you in uncovering a more authentic and animated relationship with this therapeutic art. Come prepared to play and be nourished by the soul food that we dish up together!

For more information, please contact:

tiffany@bacwtt.org | (415) 479-4400 | www.bacwtt.org

Contact the host of Northern California Waldorf Teachers Conference 2025