The Trostli Archive
Roberto Trostli, pictured here with his wife Donna Marie, has been active in Waldorf education since 1981 as a class teacher, high school teacher, adult educator, author, and lecturer. Roberto received his BA from Columbia University and his MA from the University of Cambridge, England.
Roberto taught for 10 years at the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City, which he had attended as a child. Then he moved to Hadley, Massachusetts, where he worked for 18 years, first as a class teacher and then as the founder and director of the Hartsbrook High School. In 2009, Roberto moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he resumed class teaching at Richmond Waldorf School until his retirement in 2022. Since then he has devoted himself to his family, served as an educational consultant, taken up tap dancing, and continued to pursue his interest in gardening and cooking.
Roberto co-directed the part-time teacher training in Sunbridge College, New York, served as the Director of the Research Institute for Waldorf Education, and was a member of the Pedagogical Section Council of North America.
His written works include:
Rhythms of Learning
Physics the Waldorf Way
Chemistry the Waldorf Way
Home Surroundings the Waldorf Way - eBook
For the Love of Language - Recitation the Waldorf Way
Thy Will Be Done - the Task of the College of Teachers in the Waldorf School -eBook
and numerous plays, stories, and verses for children which can be found in this archive.
Personal Note from Roberto: I am honored that OWL has created a home for much of what I created during my teaching career, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share it with you. One of the greatest rewards from my years of teaching is the degree to which I was able to develop my artistic skills in realms that I had never before explored. Prior to becoming a teacher, I had never crafted a poem, written a story, produced a play, composed a song, or created a blackboard drawing. Because teaching gives us opportunities to become 'master learners,' I am sharing my work in the hope that it will support you in your striving to work ever more artistically on behalf of your students.
Plays
Original plays for use in the classroom and on the stage, listed by grade level and with introductory comments.
A class play is one of the peak experience of a student's year because it requires all the students to work toward a common goal while allowing each student to play a special role.
Most of the plays included in this Archive are written in rhymed verse. Although rhyming and scanning are challenging, I adopted this style because it makes the lines easier to learn and to memorize.
Although the scripts in this collection look finished, they can be viewed as 'works in progress' which can be edited and customized for your class. To make revisions, use the link to download the script in MS Word.
Stories from Home Surroundings
Home Surroundings Stories Index and Links to Home Surroundings Stories
Birthday Verses
Working with Birthday Verses
Birthday Verses Index with Links to Verses.
Birthday verses are verses that each student receives on their birthday which is then recited once a week for a year. Through vivid imagery, birthday verses reflect an image of who the child is and is becoming.
Composing birthday verses requires that you meditate on your students to find the right message and image. While an original birthday verse speaks most directly to the child for whom it was composed, other teachers' verses can be just as effective because of the power they gain through repetition.
I encourage you to try composing birthday verses, and describe how this can be done in the article above. I hope that my collection of birthday verses will inspire you to compose your own or to revise or adapt verses for your students.
Blackboard Drawings
First Grade Blackboard Drawings
Second Grade Blackboard Drawings
Third Grade Blackboard Drawings
Fourth Grade Blackboard Drawings
Fifth Grade Blackboard Drawings
Sixth Grade Blackboard Drawings
Seventh Grade Blackboard Drawings
Eighth Grade Blackboard Drawings
Blackboard drawings serve many pedagogical purposes, but I believe their main purpose is to help teachers become more artistic and creative. Drawing on the blackboard allows you to model for your students how to be a courageous and enthusiastic learner, and, if you want a special challenge, do your drawings iduring the lesson while your students are doing their work.
Many of the drawings below are based on other teachers' work because I do not have the artistic skill to create my own original works. But you need not apologize for being an interpreter rather than a composer of art; after all, musicians do not need to compose all the works they play and perform.
I hope that my blackboard drawings will inspire you to develop your artistic skills. However modest your drawings, your students will appreciate anything that you create for them.