Spring Course 2023
Social Artistry
Weekly ZOOM Meetings: February 6 - April 24, 2023
Mondays 6:00 - 8:00 PM Central Time
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Virtual Weekend Retreat: March 4 - March 5, 2023 (Schedule TBD)​
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Course Description
This course will delve into the question of human relationships, how we work together in community, and best practices for setting up systems of mutual support. Topics will include Goethean conversation, conflict resolution, consensus building, collaborative and servant leadership models, and Rudolf Steiner's threefold social order. Participants will explore how to implement these practices in their own lives and schools and how this can inform relationships with students, colleagues, self, and the community.
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COST: $1,800*
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Registration closed.
*Cost of courses excludes administrative fees and supplies. Listed costs refer to Certificate Program only; there are added costs for Master's Degree students. We recognize that education can be expensive, and want to do everything we can to support our students. Financial aid and scholarships are available. Updated program tuition charts can be found here.
In order to register, you must already have applied and been accepted into the GLWI program. If you have not already done so, please go to our admissions page to learn how to apply. If you wish to take a course from our program a la carte, see here. Further questions regarding admission and registration can be sent to our Admissions Coordinator, Kira Chard, at admissions@greatlakeswaldorf.org.
If you would like to learn more about Waldorf teaching, teacher education at Great Lakes Waldorf Institute, or our application process, we invite you to fill out our Inquiry Form; sign up for a meeting with our Director of Teacher Education, Monika Sutherland; or email or call Kira Chard, our admissions coordinator, at admissions@greatlakeswaldorf.org or
Course Faculty
Guest Presenters
Siân Owen-Cruise works as School Administrator at the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor, with over 25 years of experience in Waldorf Education as a class teacher and administrator at the Minnesota Waldorf School; Director of the Waldorf Institute of Southeastern Michigan, a teacher education institute; and High School Coordinator at RSSAA. Prior to her work in Waldorf Education, Siân was a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, and she also has experience in the public side of education, working for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District as an Early Childhood Program Administrator for five years.
She is currently a member of the AWSNA Accreditation Review Committee, a Regional Coordinator for the Administration Network of AWSNA, and works with Leading with Spirit on administration training and support. She has a BS in Technical Communication, and an MA and Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Argumentation. She is also the parent of a Waldorf alumnae who graduated from the Rudolf Steiner High School in 2009. Outside of work, Siân is a long distance hiker and runner and enjoys travel with her husband, David.
Melanie Reiser, PhD, is the Executive Director of membership for the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). In this role she oversees membership processes for schools and institutes, with special attention to ensuring that the foundational philosophy of Waldorf Education, anthroposophy, informs each institution’s whole environment. Melanie received a B.A. from the University of Virginia, an M.Ed. in Waldorf Education from Antioch New England Graduate School, an M.Ed. in Value Creating Education for Global Citizenship, and a Ph.D. from the University of Denver in Curriculum and Instruction.
Chinyelu Kunz was born and mostly raised in Enugu, Nigeria, West Africa. After graduating from high school, she left Nigeria to attend university in the United States and subsequently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture, followed by a Master’s in Architecture. It was in California that she first experienced Waldorf Education when she joined a parent and child class with her son, who was just a little under 2 years old. Waldorf Education resonated with her instantly as an educational approach that she wanted for her children, and she wanted to learn more. Chinyelu went on to earn her Waldorf Early Childhood teaching certificate at Sunbridge Institute after receiving her LifeWays North America training certificate in Child Development.
A year before leaving classroom teaching in 2020, Chinyelu created We Nurture Collective, her online platform. Her website includes her podcast episodes, Instagram posts, blog, parenting coaching support, and mentoring for early childhood educators. Chinyelu's mission is to make advice and guidance about parenting and caregiving in the early years through the lens of Waldorf education easily accessible to all.
Faiza Hashim is an educator. Trained as a physician, she has devoted her life to homeschooling her children in the Waldorf tradition. She has obtained traditional religious training with leading Islamic scholars like Sheikh Nuh Keller, Muhammad Yaqoubi and Sheikh Faraz Rabbani. She also studied under Sheikh Hamza Yusuf at Zaytuna College, the first Muslim liberal arts college in North America, and served as a TA with Qibla for Islamic sciences.
Faiza is an active member of Ma'ruf, a non-profit organization where she built a community garden that mobilized youth from various ethnic communities. Prior to moving to Wisconsin, she was part of Islamic Resource Group, an interfaith and bridge-builing organization in Minnesota, where she gave presentations on Islam and was active in interfaith groups for ten years.
Non-Discrimination Statement: Great Lakes Waldorf Institute, Inc., encourages broad public support and participation in its management and activities, and shall not discriminate in any manner whatsoever against any person on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or mental or physical handicap or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and any other programs. We are committed to reflecting the diversity of our society and creating space for historically excluded and underrepresented groups to participate in all aspects of the corporation's management and activities.