At Spring River, we hold a core belief that creating community where relationships matter deeply is an essential piece to a holistic education. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of “beloved community” as a society based on justice, equal opportunity and love of one’s fellow human beings. We feel the urgent need to build up beloved community, where our children are contributors within their classrooms and where we connect through a strong festival life, creating ritual together. There is a warmth and joy that is continually cultivated as we grow, learn and face challenges together.
Spring River teachers have autonomy to create dynamic, hands-on lessons that often incorporate movement. This is balanced within a framework based on a shared vision, which is a full educational experience that embodies a reverence and respect for the whole child. Teachers are able to make subjects come alive because they are immersed in the creative process themselves. And they know their children well, which means they can teach them well. This all happens because the community has been intentionally created and tended to.
Dr. Torin M. Finser, author of Education for Nonviolence and Professor at Antioch University, recently visited our community and spoke about ways in which Waldorf education meets the greatest challenges of our times through the boundless love and unconditional hospitality that is engendered in the daily practices of a Waldorf school. At Spring River, we are devoted to these practices that develop whole human beings who can think, feel and have the will to help create a peaceful and sustainable world.
Carrie Ferguson teaches Movement and Creative Writing at Spring River School, a homeschool enrichment program located in Jacksonville Beach, FL
