Paul White

Having moved from a Christian Brothers’ school in Birkenhead, to a large comprehensive in Norfolk and then on to a Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree at Oxford, Paul emerged into adulthood with a very confused picture of what education was about. Despite his best efforts at avoiding addressing this confusion, taking up jobs in everything from building, international aid, working as a chef, a farmer, even a film director’s assistant, this question of what a good education might be stubbornly refused to go away. Gradually there was a shift, so where before teaching was a means of experiencing life in very different cultures - Chile, Brazil, Japan, Ireland, Mauritius, Ecuador - mostly through working with the British Council, more and more the teaching/learning became his primary interest. Inevitably (?) Paul found his way to Waldorf and anthroposophy, beginning his first Class Teacher journey at the turn of the millennium in New Zealand. After completing his ‘round’ Paul became Senior Lecturer for the Steiner programme of the B.Ed at AUT university, Auckland and then Director of the Education programme at Taruna, the anthroposophical adult education centre. He returned to England to be part of the wave of Steiner Free schools, becoming the first class one teacher at Frome Steiner Academy, and, save a two year period helping set up the Lotus Garden Waldorf-inspired school in Myanmar, has been involved teaching in Steiner schools here since. Outside the classroom Paul’s main passion is the performing arts and he continues to write, direct, produce and occasionally even act in plays and short films from his current home in Brighton.