Steiner Voices XYZ

Charity Muli’s life as a Steiner or Waldorf teacher has taken her from Nairobi, Kenya, to Guatemala City, and now to Perth, WA where she is the Class 1 teacher at Helena River Waldorf School. After discovering Steiner education in Nairobi, she has taught three cycles of the early years of the class teacher period, taught Swahili as a second language, run an Inclusive extra lesson department and also been one of the founding teachers of a new school. Her experiences of Steiner education across three continents have affirmed her confidence in the curriculum and pedagogy where she feels safe and supported. Each school has felt like “another home”. A guiding light through this journey has been the foundational picture of the human being that underlies Steiner education, and the collaborative work by teachers to apply this vision in the classroom. Charity values the renewal that comes from this work, which gives her a sense of always evolving into a different human being.

For more information about Steiner education: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/⁠⁠

For more information about locations and contact details of Steiner schools: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/schools/⁠⁠

Teacher education and professional learning: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/events/⁠⁠

Working in a Steiner school: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/jobs/#vacancies⁠⁠

Our facebook page is ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/steinereducationaustralia⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/steinereducationaustralia/⁠⁠

The beautifully performed theme music ‘Libertango’ is played by Esther Abrami and Alexandra Whittingham.

Esther’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.estherabrami.com/⁠⁠

Alexandra’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.alexandrawhittingham.com/⁠⁠

Podcast produced by: ⁠⁠https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/

Yasushi Hayashi began life on the outskirts of Tokyo and now lives on the outskirts of Geelong, near Melbourne as the Japanese teacher at Freshwater Creek Steiner school. His life journey in between has taken him around the world. After his first fascination with the English language at school as a teenager, and then hearing about Steiner education on Japanese radio, he has followed both these themes for the rest of his life. The journey has taken him to training at Emerson College in the UK, and teaching in Scotland and then three schools in Australia. Moving between cultures and countries has brought to him the very contemporary question of “Who am I?”: am I Japanese, am I Australian, am I a world citizen? The question goes to the heart of why languages are so important in Steinerschools. We can be all of these: the gift of another language and culture helps us experience a larger version of ourselves.

For more information about Steiner education: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/⁠⁠

For more information about locations and contact details of Steiner schools: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/schools/⁠⁠

Teacher education and professional learning: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/events/⁠⁠

Working in a Steiner school: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/jobs/#vacancies⁠⁠

Our facebook page is ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/steinereducationaustralia⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/steinereducationaustralia/⁠⁠

The beautifully performed theme music ‘Libertango’ is played by Esther Abrami and Alexandra Whittingham.

Esther’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.estherabrami.com/⁠⁠

Alexandra’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.alexandrawhittingham.com/⁠⁠

Podcast produced by: ⁠⁠https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/

Five Steiner schools on three continents! Nishka Varghese is a multiple Steiner X, having attended five different Steiner schools across three continents in the course of her school journey. She is now studying Criminology, with plans to complete a degree in Law, at Melbourne University, and is enjoying a busy life style in theatre and music as well. Nishka has been a long term member of the Waldorf Wayfarers, the choral and performing troupe led by Judith Clingan AM which travels Australia and the world bringing original music to Steiner schools and communities. In this podcast Nishka reflects on the common, unifying threads that underlie all the Steiner schools she has attended, including the main lessons and outdoor education camps which particularly inspired her. Most of all, she remembers the beautiful place of story-telling in the early childhood years, a place of joy and wonder that continually inspires her even now, and has given her a foundation for life.

For more information about Steiner education: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/⁠⁠

For more information about locations and contact details of Steiner schools: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/schools/⁠⁠

Teacher education and professional learning: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/events/⁠⁠

Working in a Steiner school: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/jobs/#vacancies⁠⁠

Our facebook page is ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/steinereducationaustralia⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/steinereducationaustralia/⁠⁠

The beautifully performed theme music ‘Libertango’ is played by Esther Abrami and Alexandra Whittingham.

Esther’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.estherabrami.com/⁠⁠

Alexandra’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.alexandrawhittingham.com/⁠⁠

Podcast produced by: ⁠⁠https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/

Lisa Devine wears many hats: psychologist, priest, eurythmist and youth worker. She is neither a teacher nor a parent yet she has been active in many Steiner schools as what she calls a “relational wellbeing counsellor”, working with relationships and community. In her wider community work, Lisa has spent 30 years working with young people and adults in trauma situations, some at the lowest points in their lives. Her journey has taken her through many painful moments where she has sat with those “on the threshold”. Yet she is still in awe of human beings: their resilience, their capacity to recover meaning in life, and to be there for each other. She is now working with Emergency Pedagogy, and she describes the profound impact its has had locally in the aftermath of both the Bondi terrorist attack and the Victorian bushfires. Her message is simple: relationship before outcome, and ultimately, everybody matters.

For more information on Emergency Pedagogy training, see

For more information about Steiner education: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/⁠⁠

For more information about locations and contact details of Steiner schools: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/schools/⁠⁠

Teacher education and professional learning: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/events/⁠⁠

Working in a Steiner school: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/jobs/#vacancies⁠⁠

Our facebook page is ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/steinereducationaustralia⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/steinereducationaustralia/⁠⁠

The beautifully performed theme music ‘Libertango’ is played by Esther Abrami and Alexandra Whittingham.

Esther’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.estherabrami.com/⁠⁠

Alexandra’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.alexandrawhittingham.com/⁠⁠

Podcast produced by: ⁠⁠https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/

Is this a record? Jim and Barb Henderson put their all their
five children through the Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School in Warranwood,
Victoria, and now all of their 12 grandchildren attend or have attended the
school as well. What a commitment! Jim and Barb later became teachers at the school, now retired, and in this episode they reflect on their long journey
with Steiner education. One of their many reflections is that none of their
children ever hated school. What an achievement in this age of disaffection
among young people and school refusal! They still live a creative life,
nourished by nature, art and of course their growing extended family. As
teachers they both reflect on the importance of being well prepared for the
classroom, and building relationships of trust with students. Jim’s inspiration
was always to make his lesson material as dramatic as possible and his advice to teachers is “You’ve got to put your heart into it. You’ve got to make it come alive!”

For more information about Steiner education: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/⁠⁠

For more information about locations and contact details of Steiner schools: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/schools/⁠⁠

Teacher education and professional learning: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/events/⁠⁠

Working in a Steiner school: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/jobs/#vacancies⁠⁠

Our facebook page is ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/steinereducationaustralia⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/steinereducationaustralia/⁠⁠

The beautifully performed theme music ‘Libertango’ is played by Esther Abrami and Alexandra Whittingham.

Esther’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.estherabrami.com/⁠⁠

Alexandra’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.alexandrawhittingham.com/⁠⁠

Podcast produced by: ⁠⁠https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/