Email: sstrauss@bendwaldorf.com
Position: Main Lesson Teacher / Eurythmy Teacher / Supplemental Teacher
Susan was born in New York City and grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. , but moved west in 1979 driven by a love for open landscapes and a teaching position with the High Country School, a traveling, academic outdoor school (located in Portland). She taught English and Environmental Issues with their high school programs. During this time, her career as a professional storyteller was born. She researched Native American Coyote Stories in early anthropological and linguistic texts and developed several friendships with Native elders. Today her performances included traditional stories from many cultures. Susan is recognized, internationally, as a storyteller and author of natural history themes. She has presented keynote addresses, performances and her signature Passionate Facts: Storytelling Science Workshops nationally and internationally in such venues as the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Port Arthur World Heritage Site (Tasmania), two international conferences on heritage preservation, Warick Castle (England), National Geographic Society, the Oregon Symphony and the National Park Service. She has authored original narratives for museum exhibits, National Forest Service restoration projects as well as three children’s books, The Passionate Fact: Storytelling in Natural History and Cultural Interpretation and six audio recordings. She teaches Storytelling in Environmental Interpretation at Oregon State University. Website: www.straussstoryteller.com
She holds a B.A. cum laude and a Masters of English Education from the University of Virginia. She holds a Eurythmy diploma from Rudolf Steiner College after also studying at Spring Valley. Susan didn’t learn to read until fifth grade and consequently has a rich love for the musical qualities of language. When she began to read Dr. Steiner’s ideas on storytelling, speech, eurythmy and the development of the ego, she was amazed how his ideas perfectly matched her own experience. She brings her love of foreign languages into her Eurythmy teaching, including bits of Hebrew, French, Spanish, German, Swedish, Japanese and Shahaptin (Native American- Plateau tribes.)
Susan first learned about Waldorf education when her sister’s friend, having seen one of her storytelling performances, suggested that she should contact Waldorf Schools in her upcoming European tour, because her “storytelling was so much like Eurythmy.” The original Waldorf School in Stuttgart invited her to perform for their high school students. Magda Meier (who started teacher training in Germany after WW II) invited her. When Magda gave her a tour of the school and explained Waldorf education, she fell in love. Although she had no children at that point, she was determined that her future children would be educated in this system. She became a founding parent of the Waldorf School of Bend. Some years later, in order to improve her Artist-in-Schools work with younger children, she studied in the foundation year program in Eugene, Oregon. It was there that she experienced eurythmy for the first time and began the long quest to become trained as a eurythmist.
Favorite Quote: “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are a thousand way to kneel and kiss the ground.” Rumi
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