4-week main lesson for grades 11-12
Teacher: David Sloan
(Read more about his biography here)
Dates for 4-week course:
Offered again in the 2025-26 school year.
Times for Live Sessions: Monday through Thursday, Starting at 9:30am MT (which is 11:30am ET and 8:30am PT). Each live session lasts between 35 and 60 minutes.
Note: Tenth graders may join this course as long as they are 16-years-old.
Course Description
For decades the story of Parzival has been a signature course of Waldorf eleventh grades around the world. At first glance, Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival is a Medieval tale of knightly valor, composed in the early thirteenth century. However, if we plunge beneath the surface, we may discover mysteries and revelations much more relevant to modern life — to our own life — than we might imagine. The substance and direction of this course will arise almost completely out of students’ daily questions and the discussions they stimulate. Key themes may help shed light on a number of contemporary questions:
- With all the uncertainty in today’s world, how do we find our true selves?
- What factors contribute most centrally to an individual’s identity? Family background? Gender? Race? Environment? Strivings?
- What do young people need from the world today, and what does the world need from them?
- How can we learn to foster healthy relationships: between parents and children, between friends and romantic partners?
- How do we develop empathy for others?
- What can we learn about the nature of conflict and conflict resolution?
Students will keep daily journals for their reflections about the book and the questions it generates. They may also write a final essay and create an artistic project related to one aspect or another of the story.
