Sunday 23 June

Anthroposophy in Hawkes Bay

Newsletter 25-24                     


Calendar of Coming Events-- Diary Dates

In the Rudolf Steiner Centre, 401 Whitehead Road, Hastings
unless stated otherwise.

(** see below for more details.)

  • Friday 28 June. 7 pm.  Matariki and Leading Thoughts 94 to 96
  • Saturday 29 June 7 pm. MidWinter Festival. David Urieli will speak.**
  • Friday 5 July. 7 pm.  "The Essence of Steiner Education -
       an introduction to the Anthroposophy of Dr. Rudolf Steiner." led by Robin Bacchus    
       #3: "Life forces and Learning".  All those who are curious are welcome.
  • Wednesdays 3, 10, 17, 24 July.  7pm. Conversations on the Foundation Stone Meditation 
  • Saturday 6 July 9:30 to noon, School of Spiritual Science, mantra 16
  • Friday 19 July. 7 pm.  "The Essence of Steiner Education -
       an introduction to the Anthroposophy of Dr. Rudolf Steiner." led by Robin Bacchus    
       #4: "Human and Cosmic rhythms".  All those who are curious are welcome.
  • Saturday 10 August.  ASNZ Society Day and AGM in the Rudolf Steiner Centre, Hastings.

Dear Hawke's Bay, 

I hope this email finds you well. Below is an email which I wonder if you would be able to share with people you think would find this interesting and/or helpful. 

I am reaching out to share with you an introduction to a coaching program that I have been developing over the past year. This is a coaching program specifically created for workshop managers/coordinators working in Anthroposophical settings, which can be tailored to the needs of the individuals and their work settings.  

Since leaving the Newton Dee Camphill Community in Scotland, after 21 years, and moving back to Denmark with my family last summer, I have thought a lot about the kind of training I would have found helpful in my day-to-day practice over the years. Developed in response to this reflection on my years of experience as a coworker, workshop leader, welfare officer and general manager in Newton Dee Camphill Community, this “bespoke” program of training sessions has been specifically designed to enhance the understanding of anthroposophical social therapeutic and social pedagogical learning tools, methods and approaches. 

I have developed the material with a twofold aim: 1. that the coaching sessions are beneficial for an individual's professional growth and development, and 2., that it would subsequently become possible for the coachee to teach these skills to the staff and coworkers working within the setting for which they are responsible.  

Both my personal experience as a workshop manager/coordinator and my many years as a supervisor and teacher, confirm a desire – and in many cases also a need – to have some more specific/individualized coaching which would empower Social Therapeutic/Social Pedagogical skills in a way that is tailored to specific workshops and levels of experience.  

The kind of training I and others would have ideally received was often hampered by the practical challenges of having to go away on training courses for several days a year. It became clear to me that if the out-of-house training days could be combined with a mentoring program with a different sort of time commitment this could be very beneficial. This is why I want to offer bespoke, one-on-one training sessions that can be carried out remotely and fit into each coachee’s weekly schedule.   

 The coaching sessions: 

I have been a teacher and supervisor within Camphill for over 20 years. As well as teaching the coworker foundation course, doing guest lecturing at the University of Aberdeen and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, I have provided peer training sessions on Adult Support & Protection (Safeguarding), Communication Strategies, Reflective Practice, Personal/Professional Boundaries etc. As a result, it has always been clear to me that the core aim of the coaching sessions I would like to offer going forward should be the integration of social therapeutic and social pedagogical attitudes – and being able to apply them to our day-to-day practice.  

My paramount aim would be to explore various applicable approaches, methods and modules of Social Therapy/Social Pedagogy. The coaching sessions would facilitate (in particular through personal and professional reflection) ongoing professional development while furthering the overall competence of all staff within the work setting for which the coachee is responsible.  

Practically, these sessions can be conducted bi-weekly or monthly online, with each session lasting for approximately 60 minutes. During these sessions, the coachee will explore a specific subject, engage in discussions, and reflect on its application in day-to-day practice. Subsequently, in the following session, we will revisit the previous topic and introduce a new one – fostering continuous learning and growth.  

I believe this set up would complement already established supervision/mentoring and alleviate the challenges associated with traditional staff training methods, where individuals often need to be away from the workshop to attend courses or training days. 

Topics handled in the coaching sessions will obviously be identified on a personal basis, but could include: 

  • The role, responsibilities, and accountabilities of the Social Therapeutic7Social Pedagogical Practitioner. 
  • Strength-Based Practice and Intuitive Practice. 
  • Professional Reflective Practice. 
  • Communication Strategies – verbal and non-verbal. 
  • Sense of Vocation: Emphasizing the educational significance of developing creative programs aligned with meaningful work, lifelong learning, and community contribution. 
  • Lifelong Learning: Understanding the benefits of continuous learning across different life phases. 
  • Personal and Professional Boundaries: Recognizing the advantages of comprehending and adapting to evolving boundaries and their impact on navigating challenging situations. 
  • Therapeutic Approaches to Working with our Senses, including insights into Steiner’s 12 senses. 
  • The significance of Rhythm: Exploring the therapeutic value of routines, predictability, and rhythmic patterns in various activities and practices. 
  • The 3-fold approach (Heart/Head/Hand or Feeling/Thinking/Willing). 
  • Working in an Inclusive Therapeutic Environment. 
  • Managing Social and Emotional "Challenging" Behavior. 
  • Differentiating between Pedagogy and Andragogy: Educating children versus adults. 
  • The Learning Zone Model: Understanding the Comfort Zone, Learning Zone, and Panic Zone. 
  • Exploring concepts such as the Common Third and the Diamond Model. 
  • Group Dynamics: Understanding how groups function and interact. 
  • Crisis Support: Exploring roles, responsibilities, and attitudes/approaches utilized in crisis situations, such as unexpected challenging behavior, increased support needs, bereavement, and inappropriate conduct. 

I firmly believe exploring the practical implementation of these topics can provide a comprehensive framework for enhancing professional development and competence within any social therapeutic/social pedagogical work setting. 

A little about me: Born and raised in Denmark, I first encountered Camphill in 1997 when I arrived as a young coworker in Newton Dee. This was a life-enhancing event for me, and I returned to replace and cover in different houses and workshops for a few years until settling down in Newton Dee longer term to complete the BA in Curative Education & Social Therapy at the University of Aberdeen. After graduating, I set up and subsequently ran the Craft Studio as a work setting with the emphasis of enabling people with additional support needs and neuro divergent conditions to express themselves through a variety of arts and crafts while identifying their own therapeutic needs. After 7 years, I handed over the workshop and moved into a managerial position, taking on the role of welfare officer. As part of my time in the management role I also undertook the SCQF 10 (BA Hons/Post-graduate Diploma equivalent) in Leadership & Management in Social Care through the Scottish Qualification Authority. In my managerial role I began teaching a range of courses, as mentioned above. I also enjoyed inclusive music workshops with the residents and was heavily involved in the cultural life of the community.  

After 21 years in Newton Dee, my family and I needed a new adventure, and we decided to move back to Denmark, settling in Odense on the island of Funen.  Since the big move, I have set up AliusArt as a platform from which to offer freelance coaching and training to individual clients, inclusive art studios, not-for-profit organisations, social care providers, social prescribing services, community initiatives and outreach projects. 

 If you, or any of your colleagues, are interested in discussing this initiative further please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

 Kind Regards, 

Jonas Hellbrandt 

 Falen 63 H, Odense  Denmark  +4550338223 

jonas@aliusart.com   www.aliusart.com 


QUOTE

The Intellect

"Mankind unfolded its intellectual life in the course of many centuries. This intellectual life gradually led it away from spirituality. The intellect itself is spirit, but its content is no longer a spiritual content. Indeed, the intellect is spiritual, but it seeks as its content external Nature, the external life of Nature. Hence the intellect is spirit, but it fills itself with something which cannot appear to it as spiritual. The great tragedy, the modern tragedy of the world, is that man may look into himself and that he must say to himself: When I am intellectually active, I am spiritually active, but at the same time my intellect, which is pure spirit, cannot absorb in a direct way the spiritual. I fill the spirit in me only with things pertaining to Nature.

This is what devastates and rends the human soul to-day. Even though we do not wish to admit this torn and devastated condition, it nevertheless exists in the spiritual regions of the human soul and constitutes the fundamental evil and the fundamental tragedy of our age."

Source: Rudolf Steiner – GA 211 – Lecture 12 – THE END OF THE DARK AGE – Vienna – 11 June 1922

https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/DrkAge_index.html

Posted: Sun 23 Jun 2024

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