How I came to be a Waldorf teacher, part 3

About halfway through my second year of teaching Russian, which was the first year I wasn't also assisting in the kindergarten, the third grade teacher resigned. As we sat together in the faculty meeting, trying to figure out what was to be done, I heard myself say, "I could teach them until someone else is found." I didn't think then that I wanted to be a class teacher. I was excited about my work with Russian and was thinking about moving back out to New York so I could take the teacher training course at Sunbridge College .

However, as time went on, I fell more and more in love with teaching this class of children. When no one was found to finish out the year, I agreed to stay on. At the end of the school year, I interviewed to take the class through the rest of the grades and was hired. I worked with this class through their fifth grade year, when a number of children left the class due to special needs, family changes, or moving away, and it was decided to close the class.

While I was teaching my first class, I started the part-time training at Sunbridge. As time went on, my desires for my training changed from desperately wanting to be told what to do in the classroom, to why I would want to do a particular thing over another.

My current class entered first grade in the fall of 2004. They are a close-knit, caring, lively group of individuals, and I am honored to teach them, and to learn from them.

So, there you have it. There's more to the story, but time is short, and I would much rather get down to business and tell you what we've done so far, and how we are working now, and where we hope to go in the future...