FREEPORT

At 7 p.m. tonight, author and educator Jack Petrash will give a public talk entitled “The Challenges of Being a Good Dad: What does it take and how is it different from being a good mom?” at Merriconeag Waldorf School’s Community Hall, 57 Desert Road, Freeport. The talk is geared toward all parents — not just dads — and will focus on the challenging assignment of parenting and what is needed to do it well. Donations will be taken at the door.

From 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 28, also at Merriconeag Waldorf School’s Community Hall, Petrash will offer a Fathering Workshop for $15 per person. In the workshop, participants will reflect on their own childhood experiences, which in many ways influence parenting. Through conversation and reflections, dads will get to the heart of what it takes to create meaningful and memorable relationships with their children.

Petrash is an educator with more than 30 years of classroom experience and a teacher of teachers. He is also the founder and director of the Nova Institute, an organization that works to build a bridge between mainstream education and Waldorf Education. Petrash has written extensively on issues pertaining to innovative classroom instruction, has served on the editorial board of the journal Encounter, and is the author of “Understanding Waldorf Education: Teaching from the Inside Out.” His TEDx talk, “Educating Children for the Journey,” has been seen by many parents and teachers throughout the world.

Petrash has traveled extensively to work with parents — particularly with fathers. His parenting pieces have appeared in The Washington Post and on NPR. He is the author of “Covering Home: Lessons on Fathering from the Game of Baseball” which received the National Parenting Publication’s gold award. Petrash is also the author or “Navigating the Terrain of Childhood: A Guide to Meaningful Parenting and Heartfelt Discipline.”

For more information on this and other Merriconeag Waldorf School events, call 865-3900.

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