My Name is Damon Ruhländer, I am 27 years old and from Berlin. I am studying Inclusive Social Development in my first year at the Camphill Academy California.
Part of my master’s degree in teaching was a practice semester, in which I taught history and philosophy lessons at a high school in Berlin. It wasn’t until I stood in front of the class that I realized that I had three children with disabilities in my class. During my studies, I didn’t learn how to integrate children with disabilities. Seeking advice, I observed classes of experienced teachers. To my surprise, I discovered that many of them didn’t know how to deal with these students either: “If you don’t participate, at least be quiet and don’t disturb the other children,” they often said. There are special education teachers who are supposed to support, but we have such a big teacher shortage that these teachers often have to cover several schools in a district. I was very disappointed and looked for a way to learn more about disabilities before I started teaching. At the same time, I thought back to my school days and asked myself, which teachers had a big influence on me? In most cases, it wasn’t the teachers who took the direct route from school to university and back to school. I was influenced by teachers who dared to take detours. Who lived abroad and gained professional experience outside of school. Who brought with them what no university teaches: Life experience. During my research, I came across the Camphill communities and applied to the Triform Camphill Community in Upstate New York.
A week after I handed in my master’s thesis, I flew to New York in August of 2023, where I spent a year volunteering at Triform. Suddenly I was no longer a student, but a farmer caring for cows, pigs, horses, goats, chickens, and turkeys. I loved the work and not only learned about disabilities but also grew as a person and developed a new relationship with the nature around me. We grew and harvested most of the food ourselves, and the meat came from our animals. But what I missed was the opportunity to take a step back and reflect on my experiences on an academic level. One of my colleagues in my house studied at Camphill Academy in Copake. Whenever she returned from the Academy classes, I asked her about everything she had learned and supported her with her projects. Then I found out that Camphill California was looking for applicants for their Academy program. I am very grateful that I was accepted to study Inclusive Social Development with a concentration in Social Therapy at the Camphill Academy in Soquel, close to Santa Cruz. I receive a Community Fellowship, so the costs of study and accommodation are covered by Camphill. I support our residents in the house and garden through our community-based practica, and one day a week I attend classes. I have been attending the Academy for two months now and would like to give you an insight.
The classes are very small. In Berlin, I sat in seminars with 35 and lectures with 200 students – here we are only five students! This creates a nice learning atmosphere and the opportunity to discuss questions and challenges together. Everything we learn is directly connected to the work we do in the community. While I was often far away from everyday school life during my teaching studies and had professors who last taught a school class in the 90s, our lecturers work with us in the community and have many years of experience working with disabled people.
Gleice Paulino da Silva taught us the “Inclusive Social Development” course. Here we were introduced to the basics of curative education by Karl König. We researched anthroposophical institutions from all over the world and what they offer. From Brazil and India to Africa, volunteers are committed to helping people who need our help. Despite many differences, all communities are united by common values and principles, which also characterize our work here in California.
The course “History, Pillars and Ideals of Camphill” was led by Katherine Lyles. Here we studied Karl König and the founding of Camphill. It was very surprising to me to see the living conditions in which people with disabilities were previously kept and how revolutionary Karl König’s approaches were back then. We learned all about the Essentials, Pillars, and Stars (Jan Comenius, Count Zinzendorf, and Robert Owen) of Camphill. Now we know, for example, why Camphill relies on volunteers in addition to employees or why we don’t have television in our houses.
Seth Jordan taught the “Experiential Writing & Journaling” course. Here, we learned the basics of academic writing and reflected on our writing style to prepare for upcoming written assignments. As an experienced blogger, he showed us how powerful words are and how we can become more aware of our language.
The Waldorf teacher Szilvia Budai came all the way from Hungary to teach the courses “Eurythmy“, “Festivals” and “Observation.” I have never had any experience with eurythmy in my life and find it very interesting how we present texts and music in the form of a wide range of body movements and gestures. In the festival course, we deal with the numerous festivities that we celebrate in Camphill and plan the All Souls Day celebration for our community together as a course. In the observation course, everyone partnered with a resident, who we will observe during the next weeks. The observation takes place on four different levels: Physical (Mineral), Vitality (Etheric), Movement (Astral), and Speech (Ego). Here we observe the smallest details that we would otherwise never be aware of. This course is the highlight of my academic studies so far. The focus of my teaching studies was always on the performance of the individual student in relation to set standards. Our aim as teachers should be to perceive students as individuals and not just as part of a class. The job is not only to teach our subjects but also to support the children in achieving their personal goals. The concept of the fourfold person has helped me find a new perspective on students that gives me more insight into their inner being.
Philipp Jacob leads the “Music Exploration” course, where we prepare a concert with singing and instruments for the community. In this class, we are joined by the short-term volunteers. It’s a great team-building event where we grow closer as a group and learn to contribute our individual strengths to our overall work.
We have also planned our Professional Practica and the Social Therapy Project under the guidance of Willow Roberge and Gaya Mezhlumyan. During the year, I will support three residents in achieving their goals through a 1:1 collaboration. To do this, we must think about their needs and goals and how we can support the residents during our first year. The three residents have very different goals: one wants to improve his communication skills, situational awareness, and independence in the garden workshop, one wants to find new interests and activities for her free time, and the last one wants to express himself artistically and improve his writing skills with starting a running journal while pursuing his goal to join a 5k run in Monterey. Over the coming months, I will work intensively with the three residents. It is a challenging task that requires a lot of preparation and reflection, but in the end, it is a rewarding opportunity to support the residents individually on their journey.
Many interesting courses await us in the future, such as anthroposophical studies, speech, community finances, drama, communication, puppetry, arts, and human biography.
I find living in the Camphill Community California and studying at the Academy to be very rewarding, but also challenging. You are not just a full-time student, but an active member of the community. This means that you prepare breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and support the residents with morning hygiene. You gain practical experience side by side with the residents and short-term volunteers in the workshops, for example in the garden, the weaving workshop, or the herb crew. In the afternoon you will support one of the numerous courses, such as candle making, dancing, or excursions. In the house, you cook and clean with the residents and spend the evenings together. After I help people in the evening, I often read books for my Academy classes and do my homework. The advantage is that this combination of theory and practice helps you to develop questions for your studies and to implement the knowledge you have learned directly in your work. On the other hand, the concept of life-sharing also makes it very difficult to pursue hobbies and maintain relationships and friendships with people outside the community. The challenge is to find a healthy balance between personal and community needs. Luckily, everyone gets a mentor who helps with personal challenges.
I’m learning a lot here that will help me become a better teacher when I return to Germany. At the academy, in addition to learning about disabilities, I am also learning new practical skills, different perspectives on education, and creative methods that I can use in class. Working in the garden, I learn to lead a team, motivate the residents, and identify the strengths and potential of each individual. I am very grateful for the opportunity to study here and support the residents on the way to their goals. If I complete the first year, I will fulfill the foundation studies requirements for the Waldorf Teacher Training. I’m not yet sure whether I want to stay in the USA after my first year at the academy, start teaching training at a Waldorf school, or go back to work again at a public high school in Berlin. At the moment I’m enjoying my studies and will see how my interests develop.
We have been encouraged to write a journal about the Academy. This will allow us to consolidate what we have learned and, at the same time, give other people outside Camphill an insight into working with disabled people and the theory of social therapy. If you want to join me on my journey, you can visit my blog. There I publish a weekly report about life at Camphill California and my studies at the Camphill Academy: damonruhlaender.de
Damon Ruhländer
