Teacher: Juan Pablo Barillas
(Read more about his biography here)
This course will be offered in the 2026-2027 school year.
Times for Live Sessions: Monday through Thursday. Each session lasts 60 minutes. Please note that all times are given in Mountain Time (MT), which is two hours behind ET, and one hour ahead of PT. To start with, we will have one section beginning at 9:30am MT. If enrollment is sufficient, we will add another option.
Additionally, students will meet in small groups on Fridays (at a time that fits their schedule) in order to work on an assignment created by the instructor.
Course Description
“The Revolutions” is an iconic Waldorf main lesson for 8th and 9th grade students. Physical changes and desires for emancipation are part of a teenager’s experience from ages 13 to 15. During this course, the students will be able to identify themselves and what they are experiencing in their lives with historical figures and their ideals. The creation and pursuit of ideals is an effective way to combat cynicism during the teenage years. Students will also study what happens when change occurs in an abrupt way and the resulting historical consequences.
This is not a block about dates and names of battles. Instead, we will contemplate contemporary historical ideas and how they have changed humanity. Students will grapple with questions that encourage critical analysis and thinking. The goal is for the students to complete the course with an understanding of how democracies were born, and how societies are often organized, governed, and transformed.
Topics Covered
- Week 1 – The Enlightenment
- Week 2 – The American Revolution
- Week 3 – The French Revolution
- Week 4 – Independence Movements in Latin America
