The role of the Waldorf teacher is to discover the way each child relates to the world. The word "educate" originates from the word "educere" which means "to draw out" rather than to put in. Knowledge already exists within each human being, and with patient, conscious teaching methods, the child's inherent capacities ignite. The goal of Waldorf teaching is to awaken and encourage the unique gifts that every student brings to the world as well as to create a joyful learning environment. Waldorf education ultimately enables children to become adults who realize their highest individual path through life.

The faculty

Kelly Hogan is Mother Earth School's Head of School. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and spent over ten years providing therapeutic care for adults with severe mental and physical disabilities. She began studying Anthroposophy when her son entered preschool in 2004 and became deeply inspired by the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. She received her Waldorf teaching certificate from the Micha-el Institute in Portland, OR and has been teaching since 2005. She moved to the intentional community at Tryon Life Community Farm in 2007 where she began to work as the assistant kindergarten teacher for Mother Earth Kindergarten - the first all-outdoor kindergarten in the United States. It was at the farm where she also became exposed to Permaculture. After receiving her Permaculture Design Certificate in 2009, she realized that integrating Waldorf teaching methods with permaculture and wilderness skills would create an educational movement that serves the needs of today's world. She began to run Mother Earth School in partnership with April Blair as a project of TLC Farm. She lived in the intentional community at TLC Farm for almost 5 years with her two children, Talon (born Feb. 2000) and Yarrow (born April 2002), and her partner Matt. Her focuses at the farm included animal husbandry, beekeeping, social ecology, rites of passage, event coordination, and lead teaching the Faery Garden preschool. She is currently training in wilderness survival and primitive skills.

Trent Price has had a passion for the outdoors for as long as he can remember. His strong passion for teaching has continued to grow all throughout his adult life. It was this passion that led him to earn a bachelor's degree in Youth Ministry from Multnomah University in Portland. He has worked with a wide range of youth, from children aged three to teenagers, in various forms and environments. He has directed camps for the YMCA, served as counselor and teacher for Portland Parks and Recreation, and mentored young high school leaders at various camps and youth groups around the country. Trent found his life's calling when he came to Mother Earth School in 2008, where he has been assisting and teaching in the Kindergarten. Being out in the forest with the children creates the perfect context for vital developmental, emotional and social growth take place. Trent is so blessed and privileged to be a part of this essential work.

Matthew Bibeauis a permaculture educator, youth mentor and community organizer. He graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of New England in 2003 and in 2005 began an M.S. degree program in Leadership for Sustainability Education at Portland State University, where he studied under renowned permaculture author and teacher, Toby Hemenway. He would spend the next few years focusing his graduate research on the development and design of urban school gardens and garden education programs, working on many levels including program coordination, event organizing and consulting. Following a three month internship at Pun Pun, a community farm, seed-saving and learning center in northern Thailand, Matt took residence at Tryon Life Community Farm in Portland. Here, where his life and his work are most aligned, Matt currently teaches permaculture design courses, leads educational programs for youth and adults and is the director of development for Mother Earth School. Matt is also a mentor with the Peace Warriors program for boys, and serves on the Board of Directors for two Portland-based non-profits (Learning Gardens Institute and Wisdom of the Elders).

Traci Jo Partin is co-teaching the 2011-12 kindergarten class with Trent Price. Her background in permaculture and Waldorf education has made the outdoor program at Mother Earth School an ideal match for her teaching practice. She has worked in both traditional Waldorf kindergartens as well as inspired outdoor programs. As a teacher, she wants to give children a place for awakening their senses. Through fostering an environment where children can play freely in the outdoors, there are opportunities for children to develop a healthy social dynamic that will shape their work later in life. Traci brings her enthusiasm for gardening and other tasks to set a positive example for the children by teaching through doing. Naturally the children are drawn to imitate their teachers, and Traci’s background as a horticulturist brings a deep connection to the plant world which she can pass on to the children. Prior to her training in Waldorf education, Traci attended the University of Florida where she completed her study of public gardens management and later served as a director of horticulture for a sixty two acre botanical garden in Florida. She has also enjoyed working the harvest season for a biodynamic farm in Oregon. Her background has given her a rich imagination for the storytelling and song circle elements of the day so that the children may dream, dance, and sing their way through the seasons.

Orchid Jones is the kindergarten assistant teacher. She enjoys the spirit and magic of mentoring young children. She has gained knowledge and insight into the development of the growing Human Being through many jobs, interships and training programs. She is especially interested in Peace Education and Outdoor Immersion Programs. In 2005 Orchid volunteered with PeaceGames in Boston, teaching children in inner city public schools the tools and skills they need to verbally and socially deescalate conflict and violence. She has a Bachelors of Arts from UCSC in Community Studies with a focus on Alternative Education. She is currently enrolled at the Micha-el Institute in Portland, OR to obtain a certification in Early Childhood, Grades and High School Waldorf Education. Her interests are varied and include studying Holistic Medicine, Watercolor Painting, Acting, Celtic and World Music, & Gardening. Orchid is always striving to live a life in a balance with nature. Her current enthusiasm is studying the relationship of Flower Essences and the Human Body. She is an ordained Minister with the FireHeart Sanctuary in Portland, OR.

April Blair has been interested in Waldorf education since her first experience in 1999 when her son Dakota (born May 1996) was in preschool. She began volunteering in the classroom after her daughter Sierra was born (September 2001). Since then she has led summer camps and after-school programs for the Corvallis and Portland Waldorf Schools, trained with the Micha-el Institute in Portland, OR, taught a year each of preschool, kindergarten and parent child classes in Michigan, and taught supplemental homeschooling classes to Waldorf grades children. Having always had a passion and reverence for the outdoors, she was able to integrate her interests and skills as she co-created Mother Earth School after transitioning from being a program of Shining Star School. She was lead teacher of Mother Earth Kindergarten from Fall '08 through spring '11. She is currently running Mother Earth School's Rainskirt cottage industry as well as hosting outdoor programs at Jean's Farm in SE Portland.

TLC Farm

Tryon Life Community Farm (TLC Farm) is a not-for-profit education center demonstrating techniques for urban sustainability. It is owned by a land trust and is a forum for the surrounding community to share skills, ideas and inspirations toward creating a stable counter-culture in which caring for the Earth and for each other is priority. One of the many projects of TLC Farm is Mother Earth School (MES). MES is run autonomously by Waldorf teachers, but shares the non-profit status of TLC Farm.

TLC Farm has working groups that meet bi-weekly or monthly. Every 4th Wednesday at 7pm, TLC Farm volunteers gather in the upstairs barn office for a Council meeting. All decisions involving the land and the non-profit are made by consensus. All TLC Farm meetings are open to the public. For more detailed information, please visit the TLC Farm website at www.tryonfarm.org.

TLC Farm is closed on Mondays as a courtesy to those who live in the intentional community that is on the land. Visitors are welcome on weekends for self-guided tours from 9am to 6pm. There are often land and garden work parties happening on weekends. All work for the non-profit is done on a volunteer basis and everyone is welcome and encouraged to be a part of the TLC Farm community.

Information about visiting Mother Earth School can be found in ‘How to enroll’.