Honoring our Retiring Teachers

faces we will dearly miss seeing on campus in the fall

The San Francisco Waldorf School community has been blessed with many talented and dedicated teachers who have served the school for years. Two of these treasured educators have retired this year: John Burket, high school sciences teacher, and Maria Helland-Hansen, therapeutic eurythmist and eurythmy teacher. We’d like to share these reflections and realize this is just a tiny snapshot of their impact on all of us.

School Teaching Program through Rudolf Steiner College in 2000.

Dr. Burket received his Ph.D. in soil science from Oregon State University, his MS in biology from the University of Oregon and his BA in geology from the University of Vermont. After graduating from college, John Burket took over the ownership of his family’s farm in Pennsylvania, converting it to an organic grain and livestock operation. During this time he also earned his teaching certificate in biology and general science and taught science for two years in a public high school. We learned that Dr. Burket found Waldorf education while he was looking for a preschool for his daughter Emma. As a farmer, he had read about biodynamic farming and anthroposophy but had not made the connection to Waldorf education until his visit to the preschool, where he loved what he saw. He completed his Foundation Year at the Eugene Waldorf Teacher Training Program and taught math and science blocks in the eighth grade at the Eugene Waldorf School. Dr. Burket completed the High

During the spring of San Francisco Waldorf High School’s inaugural year, 1997-98, John Burket came to us from Eugene, Oregon as a visiting biology block teacher. Humanities teacher David Weber remembers that John’s presence was warm and thoughtful, and all of the students and teachers liked him and admired his teaching. When the question arose in the College: should we keep asking John down as a guest, or seek a full-time biology teacher, this struck some of us as the wrong question. We asked, what if we simply offer John a full-time position? Colleagues said, oh no, he has a life in Eugene, and won’t accept. We said well, he can’t accept if we don’t ask him. So we offered John a full-time position, and he accepted! We felt like we had won the lottery with this kind, knowledgeable, well-trained and skilled teacher and colleague, who put his heart and soul into the teaching, the colleagueship, and the work of the school every day for two and a half decades. Always honest, truthful, and considerate, John’s thoughts were tuned toward the good of the whole, and he helped set a standard for decency and respect.

A memory from another long-time colleague, Joan Caldarera: An easygoing person, dubbed “the nicest man in the world” by members of the pioneer class, John amazed us all when he lost his temper and stood up for our students in the parking lot at Fort Mason after they were angrily confronted by a car owner who said they’d thrown a ball at his car. He was a fierce Papa Bear! And we loved him for it.

Dr. Paolo Carini remembers one day, after the high school moved from Fort Mason to Valencia Street. Dr. Burket was teaching biology in the “Apollo Annex,” a former liquor store that the school rented for science classes, a block from Annunciation Cathedral (headquarters for the high school from 2000-2007.) Suddenly water started to pour out of the ceiling! Someone, in a hotel room above had left a faucet open and water was leaking into our “science lab.” What a mess!

Another day, Dr. Burket took small baby fishes and wrapped their heads gently with a wet cotton ball and put their bodies under a microscope. Suddenly the students could see blood circulating in their arteries and their hearts beating. It was magnificent!

Another time, Dr. Carini accompanied Dr. Burket as he took the students out to search for a plant that was growing around the campus. That plant would become their “friend” for the next 4 weeks. Everyone would go outside each day and sketch “their” plant during main lesson and observe its many transformations. productions of The Shepherds’ Play and was known to join in conversations with students about “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” or anything else that was of interest to the students! Member of the College of Teachers, High School Steering Committee, and Board of Trustees, he was thoroughly immersed in the life of the school. We will miss John Burket and we look forward to hearing about his life up in Oregon tending his land and being a grandfather. Campus favorite Gus the dog will also be retiring to the countryside with Dr. Burket. We wish them both the best! ~

Maria was born and raised in Bergen, Norway, the third child of six. Her American mother was an accomplished artist and her Norwegian father an architect. Her father had survived torture in a WWII concentration camp where hewas imprisoned for his work with the underground resistence movement.

Alumna Brittany Salazar, Class of 2012, writes “I will always be grateful to Dr Burket for inspiring me to pursue an advanced degree in biology. When the zebrafish would not mate during my 10th grade embryology main lesson block, Dr Burket set them up again and allowed me to conduct my own observation of zebrafish embryo development during the next semester. I spent every break in the biology lab checking in on my “babies.” At the end of the school year he let me take the fish home where they lived long lives in my home aquarium. Dr Burket also let me take fruit flies home that summer for my own genetics studies. These experiences led me to study biology in undergrad, get a job in a zebrafish lab out of college (where I learned that zebrafish can be quite picky about mating!) and now I am nearing the completion of a PhD in cancer biology. I would not be where I am today without Dr. Burket taking the time to foster my scientific curiosity during and outside of his main lessons and honors course.”

Additionally, we all remember that John often acted in high school plays, was a shepherd in countless

Maria HellandHansen

After high school Maria worked at the Vidaråsen Camphill community. The Camphill movement, one of many initiatives for social change derived from Rudolf Steiner’s teachings, is dedicated to valuing the humanity of all individuals, those with and without intellectual disabilities who live and work together. During her time at Vidaråsen, a doctor gave a presentation on the life cycle of a plant, highlighting the metamorphosis inits growth. Maria grasped the lawfulness of nature, ralizing that there is an invisible world informing the visible, physical world. During this time, also, a therapeutic eurythmist recognized that Maria had a talent for eurythmy. So at 19, Maria met both anthroposophy and eurythmy and knew this was her path.

Perhaps you have met Maria Helland- Hansen’s gaze. If so, you have not forgotten the brightness of those big sparkling eyes nor the warm feeling experienced from Maria’s interest in you. It is this pure interest in the essence of the other that characterizes her. Even if she is not introduced to you as a therapeutic eurythmist, you sense that she is a healer.

During many in-between moments Maria can be seen watching the children playing in the yard and if you are lucky to be nearby, Maria will share with you what she sees in the individual children’s movements. We and the children are so lucky she found her way to our school.

Maria also worked on the oldest biodynamic farm in Norway, Slettner gård. Here she deepened her knowledge of Anthroposophy while learning many aspects of biodynamic principles and farming.

Maria traveled extensively, and worked at another Camphill, Jøssåsen farther north in Norway. At 25 years old she moved to Järna, Sweden and began her eurythmy training, which takes 4 years. The training took place near an anthroposophical hospital where Maria worked as a nurse assistant for two years after she finished the eurythmy training. She had a deep need to understand the human being and the healing properties of eurythmy and other aspects of the anthroposophic approach to healing. Later Maria moved to Oslo and taught pedagogical eurythmy at a Waldorf School before her next