Ecosystems of Education
Ecosystems of Education
a live, online video class
Autumn Session 2023, September 10th through December 14th
My experience in the Ecosystems course, has been quite literally, life changing. I thought I was taking a course to learn how to teach and understand children better. I did do that, however, what I learned about myself, has made an undeniable difference in my life.
Beth has a gift when it comes to being compassionate, and teaching others the importance of being that to others, and most importantly, to ourselves.
To describe what and how I learned what I did, I don’t think is possible. This is something one has to experience for themselves. I would recommend anyone taking this course, and frankly wish it were a mandatory course for anyone working with children. What I am taking away from this experience, will stay with me for life.
Theresa, Halifax, Nova Scotia
At this time in history we are badly in need of a focus on the ecosystems of our lives. The educational ecosystem is one of the most neglected of these and is, in all likelihood, a core reason that so many of the ecosystems of our lives are now in jeopardy. In this course, we explore the ecosystems of learning and growing, and in so doing develop understandings applicable to us all – whatever our work.
We will be offering the Ecosystems of Education course beginning September 10th, 2023. This is one of the two course in the Enki Teacher Training program that can be taken as a stand-alone course. This is a 15 session program, is designed for the adult learner – undoubtedly a juggler of many balls! – and, therefore, it is spread over 13 weeks to account for holidays.
Watch a Video Overview:
So what is an Educational Ecosystem? Any Ecosystem has principles that cannot be ignored or violated without paying a high price. When worked with harmoniously, these create a self-sustaining and vital system the serves health and wellbeing for all.
For plants, one could say that it is the interaction of sun, water, soil (type and life), and nutrients that make up the Ecosystem. All plants work with these elements – not all in the same way, but all must work with them.
We believe the same is true in an Educational Ecosystem, i.e., that there are certain principles that impact the children and the schooling, that cannot be ignored without straining the health of that system. No matter what system or educational methodology you use – including unschooling to the most structured – these principles are at play – the only question is how much we align ourselves to them.
In this course, we will explore the underlying principles shown at above, through the lens of the Enki Approach. This, in turn, allows us to look at how each participant’s UNIQUE educational vision can be best supported, or manifested, when these core principles are consciously worked with.
This program consists of 15 sessions and will run primarily on Sunday afternoon’s, beginning September 10th, 2022; there will be two weekday classes held in the evening, and one Saturday Thanksgiving replacement class – dates and times are found at the end of this letter. Classes are recorded and can be made up during the week if you have to miss something – but there is nothing like interacting with others on the same journey and we encourage participants not to miss more than two or three classes. Each class runs about 3 hours. Attendance at or timely review of the video (if you miss a class) is required for all classes. High speed internet connection and a camera that is on or connected to the computer, is a must.
Tuition is $750. Scholarships are available in situations of significant need. This course is a stand-alone part of the Enki Education Teacher Training Program and is a prerequisite for that program.
Space is limited. For more details or to sign up, please contact us, and watch for the registration announcement. Space is limited.
Hear from Students:
I wonder if I will find the words here to truly express the gratitude & the wonder I feel that I happened upon this course, this gift; a paradigm shift. My eyes well up and my heart warms as I steep in all the growth that this course offered me. And I happily acknowledge that this new found wisdom ripples through how I show up for my family, friends, and community.
The Enki Ecosystem is not only an educational framework for deeply connected learning, it also provides students (in my case, a homeschooling parent and teacher) with the direct experience of what it is to align ourselves with the pulse of life, with our inherent vitality – to literally feel it in our body so that we can truly recognize and support experiences in our children to feel their own – wow!
The material is so interesting, mind blowing for me, actually. The zoom classes are a breath of fresh air and I look forward to meeting up with the cozy little virtual community each week. And the “homework” brings it all into direct experience, often revealing layers of cultural conditioning that are so ready to melt away.
This course is the healing balm to our wary human experience – I have found in Enki, a true heart resonance, and I am inspired as to where it will take my family and I as we journey along together on this soulful path.
Faye 2021
mother, homeschooler, transition program leader
Even after 3 years of exposure to Enki, the ecosystems course has challenged me to grow in ways I hadn’t even thought about. I have been able to incorporate my own learning into my classroom right away, practicing changing my inner landscape to better meet the children.
As I prepare for parenthood, I am grateful that I am establishing these deeply nourishing ways of thinking, acting, and being.
Enki is not a script, it is a way of walking in the world that asks you to live your fullest, deepest, and most alive life.
. Leah 2021
Preschool and Kindergarten Teacher
Nature Educator, Knowlesville Art and Nature School (an Enki Program)
When I signed up for Ecosystems in Education, I had no idea the impact it would have on me personally and the way I approach teaching youth. It is true when they say “you don’t know until you know,” and you know what? In this course you learn that you can stand true in that and still be a good teacher. This course has been a paradigm shift for me. I think everyone, yes, everyone, should take this course. It is as much working on yourself as it is working with youth; and that is finding your own vitality so you can help others find theirs.
Rhonda 2021
Nature Education Teacher New Brunswick, Canada
Ever since I was in grade school, and even more so in high-school, I felt that I needed to recreate or revamp the education system before I had a child of my own.
Now I do have a child of my own who will be 4 this month. So over the past few years I have been looking for others who have been making changes to the education system.
I first learned of Enki through my homeschooling neighbours who were working with it. I could see, in the health and vitality, and in the kindness of their children, that something was working. So I began to explore Enki even further, and learned of the Ecosystems of Education Course.
I am very grateful for the course, and for my cohort. The content of the course has helped me understand my child better, help me see how I can better support her, and see through her eyes. I have learned how to improve our daily rhythm, enhance our home environment, and ease the transition periods of our days. I have learned of the importance of healing movements that can help integration and aid in learning.
I have a Master’s degree that deals with environmental ecosystems, and Bachelors’ degrees that focus on the social and political ecosystems and how the intertwined systems impact everything else involved. I was drawn to the course through the title, hopeful that this approach to education would give a more integrated approach to learning and the impacts its has on the child and community. I am happy to report that I found just that and look forward to using the curriculum with my daughter.
Gillian 2021 Canada Homeschooler
This has been an immensely enlightening course for me and what I’ve learned is valuable. Firstly, I’d like to note the recursion that I’ve experienced in the way in which this course was ‘taught’; the content of the course was shared with us using the paradigm that was laid out in the course content. In this way, I feel I have experienced the process, first hand, of how the Enki Web enables me to engage in the process of meaningful learning and teaching. I don’t think I have ever learned something at such a slow and deliberate pace, making and taking time for intake and digestion of the material. The result has been astounding. I feel like I have a real grasp of the course content, more so than in other courses I’ve taken. This confirms for me, the value of engaging in teaching and learning from an ecosystemic perspective.
Julie 2013
25 year alternative educator
Even though I have studied Enki over the last 5 years while bringing this philosophy to life in my classroom, the ecosystem course revealed even more of the core of Enki. My understanding of the elements of the ecosystem that makes Enki what it is, broadened and deepened through discussion, through experiential exercises, and through rereading the guides. Engaging with a group brought inspiration and encouragement to fully experience the exercises and share openly even in an online format. Beth has a unique way of bringing participants together, connecting with personal challenges and triumphs, and sharing the insight so valuable to parents and teachers.
Perekin 2017
15 years Alternative Educator
6 years Enki Teacher
. . . I can finally dive into rereading the guides. I reread the first two sections yesterday and it is really amazing, after the class, and of course my cumulative time spent with Enki, how much more I understand what the guides are saying!
Jessica 2015
Enki Homeschooler 6 years
The experience of the Ecosystems class felt more like the beginning of a journey than a class that you would take to simply learn material. It was a journey both back to myself and beyond myself into a new way to think about teaching and working with children. One of the things that I truly appreciated was the camaraderie of walking this path with others. It was helpful to hear others’ stories because they shone light on the subjects we were discussing and helped my understanding. Enki and other holistic educational models are not mainstream (yet!) and so it was very special to meet other parents and teachers cut from a similar cloth. They are a resource I still have even though the class is over. Another gift of the class was that it left me with a deeper understanding of Enki and the Enki web than I had when I read the manuals. We got to examine most of the strands, and to experience them in our own lives.
Emily 2015
Public School Teacher 10 years
SCHEDULES and FEES
We are excited to announce that the 2023 offering of this course will be taught by Enki Core Faculty members (and graduates of our four year Teacher Training Program, Perekin Hubner and Tegan Wong-Daugherty.
TUITION for the full class, including all required reading materials is $750.00 U.S.
Scholarships are available in situations of significant need. Running the course depends on enrollment so once students register for the course, all tuitions are non-refundable. If for some reason, after registering you cannot attend or complete the course, all tuitions can be applied to attendance at a future Ecosystems course. If the course does not run, all tuitions are cancelled.
This course is a stand-alone part of the Enki Education Teacher Training Program and is a prerequisite for that program.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
(11 – 2 pm PACIFIC time for Weekend classes, and 4 pm PACIFIC for the two weekday classes – marked).
It is important that everyone attend the first two and the last two classes in person; beyond that, we expect that each student may need to miss here and there; and recorded classes are available. However, this is a participatory class and we ask that you make up the missed class and accompanying work with that week, and that you not miss more than 3 classes.
Class 1: Sunday, 9/10/23
Class 2: Thursday, 9/14/23
Classes 3 to 5: every Sunday 1/17; 9/24; 10/1
Vacation week no class October 8th (Canadian Thanksgiving).
Classes 6 to 11: every Sunday 10/15 – 11/ 19
Vacation week 11/26 (U.S.Thanksgiving).
Classes 12 and 13: Sundays 12/3 and Thursday 12/7
Classes 14 and 15 (Final): Sunday 12/10 and Thursday 12/14