Curriculum Vitae

Joan Almon

7303 Dartmouth Avenue
College Park, MD 20740

USA

Tel. 301-699-9058

Email: [email protected]

Current: Coordinator of U.S. branch of Alliance for Childhood

Educational Background:

1962-1966 University of Michigan, B.A. Sociology

1975-1989 Graduate courses in Waldorf education through Towson State University, Towson, MD; additional courses through Acorn Hill Children’s Center, Silver Spring, MD, the Waldorf Institute in   Detroit, MI, and Rudolf Steiner (Summer) Institute, Waterville,   ME.

Work Background:

1958-1966 Part time work in retail sales, social science research aide, social work aide in mental hospital

1966-1968 New York: Administrative work in civil rights organization (A.Philip Randolph Institute with Bayard Rustin, Director), and   anti-poverty organization (National Sharecroppers Fund with Fay Bennett, Director)

1968-1971 San Francisco: Administrative work with audio-visual firm in Hilton Hotel;

  Baltimore: Administrative work in city’s forestry department

1971-1977 Kindergarten teacher, co-founder and administrator, Waldorf   School of Baltimore

1978-1979 Assistant, Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten, Vienna, Austria

1979-1989 Waldorf kindergarten teacher at Acorn Hill Children’s Center, Silver Spring, MD

1983-2003 Chair or Co-chair of Waldorf Early Childhood Association of   North America

1984-2000 Editor, Gateways, a twice yearly newsletter for Waldorf early childhood educators

1989-2003 Lecturer, adult educator and consultant in Waldorf kindergartens and trainings in North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

1999-Present Coordinator, U.S. Alliance for Childhood

Other Activities:

1976-Present Puppeteer and member of marionette troupes presenting fairy tales to children and adults

1986-Present Member of the Board of the International Waldorf Kindergarten Association

1993-Present Member of the Council of the U.S. Anthroposophical Society

2002-Present General Secretary of the U.S. Anthroposophical Society

1989-Present Participant in symposia and round tables on the young child at a   variety of conferences and university settings.

Publications:

“The Vital Role of Play in Early Childhood” in All Work and No Play, Sharna   Olfman, editor, Praeger (2003).

“Commentary on Waldorf Education” in P�dagogisches Ans�tze im Kindergarten, Wassilios E. Fthenakis and Martin R. Textor, Editors, Beltz Verlag (2000)

“From Cognitive Learning to Creative Thinking” in Education, Information, Transformation: Essays on Learning and Thinking, Jeffrey Kane, editor, Prentice- Hall (1999).

Foreword to Children at Play by Heidi Britz Crecelius, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT (1996).

“Waldorf Education and the Social Demands of the 1990’s”, Holistic Education Review, Vol. 6, No. 4 (1993)

“Educating for Creative Thinking: The Waldorf Approach”, ReVision, a Journal of Consciousness and Transformation, Vol. 15, No.2 (1992)

First Steps in Natural Dyeing, Waldorf Early Childhood Association (1995).

Editor, Multiculturalism in Waldorf Education, Issue 3 of the Multi-Cultural Journal of Waldorf Education (1993)

“The Child: Play and Development of the Young Child”, Renewal, a Journal for Waldorf Education Vol. 2, No. 1

Articles in the Waldorf Kindergarten Newsletter:

“Understanding First Grade Readiness” (1993)

“Violence and Electronic Media: Their Impact on Children” (1993)

Articles in the Waldorf Research Bulletin

“Helping Children: Where Research and Social Action Meet”, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1999)

“Endangered Childhood”, Vol. 3, No. 2 (1998)

“The Alliance for Childhood and the State of the World Forum on Childhood”, Vol. 5, No.1 (2000)