Bøger af Torin M. Finser

"Leaders are needed to articulate a vision and help an organization galvanize the resources to create a preferred future, one that both inspires and motivates. Leaders bring the right people together to generate new resources, human and financial. New opportunities can then open up" (from the book). A leader is like an orchestra conductor, setting the tempo but knowing that real music will arise only when each member is playing the appropriate instrument and the right part. This book is for leaders and administrators in Waldorf schools, Camphill communities, farms, clinics, and other not-for-profit initiatives. The themes are broad--personal, interpersonal, and organizational--and intended to stimulate discussion and awareness in a way that promotes self-reflection that leads to both inner and professional growth.In the end, we are servant-leaders, doing what needs to be done for the sake of real human beings in our care. We need the tools and insights vital to accomplishing our highest ideals. Leadership is not just a job but also a calling.

This book guides the reader through foundational works of Rudolf Steiner, while asking questions along the way that provoke thought and insight. In part 1, Torin Finser focuses on three essential works: How to Know Higher Worlds: A Modern Path of Initiation (CW 10) Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path: A Philosophy of Freedom (CW 4); and Theosophy: An Introduction to the Spiritual Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos (CW 9).

This book features a comprehensive examination of the parentteacher relationship in all its dimensions, from parent evenings and conferences to communication, conflict, and the life-cycle of parent involvement in their school. In between the chapters on practical advice are sections that consider the issues from a deeper, spiritual dimension. This book is intended to stimulate conversation, self-reflection, and relational practices that awaken community life in and around our schools.

Society debates, legislates, and regulates education more than it does any other profession. It has become popular to think that democracy gives everyone an equal say in educational matters, while those in other professions are relatively free to work according to standards set by their professional organizations. It would be unthinkable to mandate that a dentist give patients a certain number of fillings per week, with anything less being labeled a "failure." Yet we allow politicians to set specific standards and test scores for our children, forcing teachers to endure countless commission reports and endless political debates about what should happen in our schools. What if the voices of our teachers were heard equally in today's public discourse? Teachers work with children everyday and have always understood intuitively the materials and curriculum needed. Teacher research, however, allows teachers to go beyond intuitive understanding to a level of documented inquiry that can stand the light public scrutiny in publications, news media, workshops, and town meetings. In Silence Is Complicity, Dr. Finser offers teachers the tools needed to speak out and be heard, empowering their advocacy for educational change. With first-hand experience and earned knowledge, teachers have the real authority to mandate the needs of their students. It's time to give teachers the necessary tools for a greater voice in educational matters. Teacher research, as outlined in this book, can support a dynamic counter-movement that empowers teachers, parents, and communities to say, "Politicians, back off!"

Torin Finser takes on some of our contemporary challenges and proposes new solutions. Rather than simply "kicking the can down the road," as often happens with issues such as sovereign debts, Middle East conflicts, and environmental issues, Finser calls for individual initiative. Drawing on a variety of rich cultural and spiritual traditions, he makes the case for social change that begins within. To do so, one must first access resources that support initiative and innovation. Key questions discussed in this book include: How is it possible to live a spiritual life in our materialistic age? Can an individual person still make a difference? How can we use a whole-systems approach to innovation? How can planetary wisdom help us find appropriate leadership styles? What are the inner conditions needed to work with the transcendent Self? In the swirl of multi-tasking, how can we find moments of solitude and reflection?

In recent years a chasm has opened between many of our leaders and those who work for them.We have witnessed the sacrifices of airline workers and the unconscionable compensation of top executives, the ideals of Olympic Games and the conduct of certain committee members, the sacrament of religion and the priests who abused the sanctity of the human body, the needed services of United Way and their extravagant executive "perks," and the hopes of fairness through democracy versus the presidential election of 2000.The values of hard work, inalienable rights, fairness and public service held by most Americans is often lacking in our leaders. An ethical chasm has opened up in our midst, and unless we do something, our future will fall victim to our inadequacies. Our standing in the world in years to come will depend less on our military might, and more on our moral strength.We need to begin a united search for ethical leadership. Taking Torin's journey of discovery with him, we examine the roots of this loss of ethical leadership, and we begin to see a way out of this situation by applying the spiritual principles of Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy. The Search for Ethical Leadership is grounded in practical tools that offer us real hope for the future of ethical leadership.