Istanbul, Turkey. The Friends of Waldorf Education in Istanbul (ESDD) celebrate the completion of the second part-time Waldorf teacher training course.
Perseverance, enthusiasm, dedication, and a desire to delve deeper into the subject matter are the hallmarks of this course, which began in January 2023. Almost all of the initial 26 participants completed the course after three years, with a presentation of their study portfolios in December 2026. Course leaders Alfred Rahmen (Langenthal, Switzerland) and Jürgen Lohmann (Seminar for Waldorf Education, Hamburg, Germany) designed a revised training program: in addition to the 15 one-week training modules and many intensive weekends, free working groups were set up to deal with specific questions from the teaching material between modules. The results of these groups were discussed and explored in depth with the participants in online workshops. In addition to the content aspects, the workshops ensured the internal cohesion of the training group. Another new feature is the introduction of an education portfolio, which is gradually compiled during the training period and presented at the end of the course. This new format has replaced the final thesis. The teacher training program in Turkey was financially supported from the outset by the Friends of Waldorf Education Germany, represented at the closing ceremony by Nana Göbel.
A special feature of this particular training group is that the majority of the participants work in state schools. Although the young Waldorf school in Istanbul also sent its teachers to the course, the majority of the trainees work in state schools or privately run educational institutions. Through lectures and numerous discussions during the weekend, it became clear that the participants had transformed the fundamentals of Waldorf education in such a way that the new insights would benefit the children and young people in their respective institutions. Some non-Waldorf colleagues also noticed the different approaches of the course participants in their everyday teaching and wanted to know more. The hope is that this will gently sow the seeds of Waldorf education in the Turkish school landscape. At the end of the weekend, Birgül Tastan, president of the ESDD, expressed her gratitude to the participants and lecturers and also her hope that this group might give rise to an initiative for another school in addition to those schools in Istanbul and Alanya. The association will now join forces for 2026, and new ideas will be put forward so that the next training course for teachers can start in January 2027.
Contact lohmann@waldorfseminar.de
More Eğitim Sanatı Dostları Derneği – Waldorf Girişimi İstanbul
Translation Paula Boslau
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