×
Paperback
October 2017
9780932776624
More details
- Publisher
Adonis Press - Published
6th October 2017 - ISBN 9780932776624
- Pages 436 pp.
- Size 6" x 9"
- Images b/w
$20.00
Eric Müller has accompanied his long career as a Waldorf teacher with his vocation as a writer. His published books include Rites of Rock(Adonis 2005); Meet me at the Met (2010); Drops on the Water (2014); and The Invisible Boat (2013), a children’s book, and four books of poetry. He currently teaches English and drama at the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School and is a director of the Alkion Teacher Training Program in Ghent, NY. He is a recipient of the Kapteyn Prize for high school teachers who exemplify excellence in “whole child teaching.”
In Do You Love Your Teachers? Eric Müller recounts his experience with education beginning with his upbringing and schooling in South Africa, his youthful searching in Switzerland and Germany and finally Emerson College in England, where he finds what he has been looking for. In short sections he leads the reader on from episode to episode from his tender childhood and youthful rebelliousness in South Africa through his stint as a rock musician and the trial of his first teaching experience, his young family’s move from Germany to Eugene, Oregon, the growth and crisis of the Eugene Waldorf School to his work as a high school music, drama, and English teacher at the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School. What emerges through this wide-ranging, well-crafted narrative is the true meaning of being a teacher and how the Waldorf approach and curriculum allow the teaching profession to blossom.
Much has been written about Waldorf education, but this is the first memoir that describes the individual path and life experience of a Waldorf teacher. This book is a pleasure to read and will be of interest to other teachers, Waldorf parents, and anyone who wants to know more about education and Waldorf education in particular.
“From childhood innocence, through the highs and lows of adolescence, to the sentient, vagabond adventures of early manhood, Eric G. Müller’s destiny path weaves its way toward his true calling as an educator. He casts an objective, yet tender eye over poignant events in his life and, in seeking their meaning, garners fruits that are transformed into deeds of education.
Patrick Stolfo, artist and faculty member, Hawthorne Valley Alkion Center
“When the narrative turns to Müller’s teaching career, beginning in the early grades, into adolescence, and eventually with adults, the wisdom, breadth, and scope of Waldorf education is portrayed through the lens of real life experiences. And he does not spare us the accompanying exhilaration, drama, disappointments, and humor. A most engaging story for anyone, but a must read for anyone considering a progressive teaching profession.”
Eric G. Müller
Eric G. Müller was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1956 and studied literature and history at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. After a few years working at a variety of jobs ans playing in bands traveling across Europe, he attended Emerson College in Sussex, England, and the Waldorf Institute in Witten-Annen, Germany. Together with his family, he moved to Eugene, Oregon, where he taught for eight years. He lives in upstate New York, where Eric teaches music, drama, and English. He has written short stories, plays, poetry, and articles on music and music education.