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Parables
Paperback
July 2018
9781621482307
More details
- Publisher
SteinerBooks - Published
2nd July 2018 - ISBN 9781621482307
- Pages 68 pp.
- Size 5" x 8"
$10.00
“One could say that a parable contains a larger lesson in a bite-sized portion. Using other words, a parable is a simple short story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.... The word parable can be traced back to Middle English and Old French origins as parabole and to the ecclesiastical Latin sense of parabola, meaning “discourse, allegory, or comparison.”... Parables use comparison, allegory, imagery, analogy, or a short story to convey a larger meaning.” (from the book)
Torin Finser writes that parables involve “looking down” (or out) to find an often-overlooked object, and then “looking up” to the eternal truth that can be brought down to children. How can we do both? Can we teach our children to see not only what is on the desks before them, but also what surrounds them in nature and in circles above them in the starry heavens and beyond? Parables may help us!
“Today’s kids are aware of the global threats to the environment—but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading.... Yet, at the very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical and spiritual health directly to our associations with nature—in positive ways.”
Richard Louv, author, Last Child in the Woods
CONTENTS:
Preface
What is a Parable?
Why Parables?
Objective and Subjective
Parables and Nature
Some Examples
Forming a Parable
In Praise of Science
Another Way
The Unknown
Parables and Time
Parables through the Season
Parables and Self-development of the Teacher
Conclusion
Torin M. Finser
Torin M. Finser received his PhD in educational leadership from Union Graduate School, his MA in education from Adelphi University, and his BA from Bowdoin College. He taught at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, where he also served as faculty chairman. He has done extensive consulting with schools in organizational dynamics and leadership development and has been a keynote speaker at conferences around the world.
Dr. Finser is the author of numerous books, beginning with School as a Journey (1995), which has been translated into Mandarin, Farsi, Thai, Arabic, Korean, and Spanish. Torin has served as General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America and Chair of the Education Department at Antioch University New England, and is currently Director of Waldorf Programs.
A founder of the Center for Anthroposophy, he has recently pioneered their new Building Bridges Program for practicing teachers in independent and charter schools and Explorations for Waldorf parents. Educational History PhD, Union Graduate School, 1994 Educational Leadership with emphasis on Teacher Stress/Renewal MA, Adelphi University, 1978 Education BA, Bowdoin College, 1977 Double major in history and German Literature. Graduated in three years, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Waldorf, 1960–1974 Student at three Waldorf Schools: Rudolf Steiner School in NYC Green Meadow Waldorf School, NY, Freie Waldorf Schule in Krefeld, Germany.
Torin is married to Karine, has six children, and is also now a very happy grandfather!