It dawned on me a few years ago that I was getting older and the way I had been teaching was going to have to change. A point would come when I couldn’t fly all over the world any longer. Meanwhile, online teaching technology was improving. Jeff, Catie and I began exploring possibilities for more of a hybrid between what I had always been doing and some new possibilities for the future.
Along came Covid-19, almost as a confirmation that we were on the right track. People – myself included – began to get familiar with the notion of being part of an online learning community. Even more importantly, we have all been discovering that our fears that it might be a cold experience were greatly exaggerated. Along with my existing teaching materials, I’ve recorded over a hundred teaching videos for the FCEA, with more to come. Watching them plays a central role in the experience. Even after I am gone, I hope to “continue the transmission” in that video form. As long as I retain my mental marbles, I also plan to conduct monthly “live” online question-and-answer meetings. The FCEA is not something I want to create, and then walk away from. I’ll be an ongoing presence, for sure. Perhaps even more centrally, we are hiring a small team of skilled tutors. That way, each student will have personal contact with a caring academic guide. We anticipate the FCEA creating a real sense of warm, ongoing online community. Additionally, once Covid is defeated, I do intend to continue my in-person teaching in some form. Likely those events would only be open to FCEA students, and certainly they would be mostly “master level” work.
As a bonus, the FCEA allows me to address the greatest weaknesses of my books, videos, recordings, and even my Apprenticeship Programs, which has always been their lack of structure. Beginners would stumble into advanced material and find themselves confused, while more advanced students would be “learning” that there were twelve signs in the zodiac. The FCEA, in essence, is a step-by-step, soup-to-nuts, guided tour of evolutionary astrology as I have envisioned it over the years. Students can enter the program believing that there are ten signs in the zodiac, and come out the other end as helpful, skilled professionals.
Finally, let me own that we are making all of this up as we go along. We are proud of what we have created, and it has been a huge undertaking. But it is an ongoing creation. Your feedback and suggestions will be welcome. We will grow together. We will reach out to a diverse community, and to a global one. With Jupiter and Saturn conjuncting in Aquarius, a new paradigm is emerging.
The FCEA is riding that wave. Come ride it with us.
The Path Forward
We’re excited at the FCEA to be opening the doors in a more public way later in December when enrollment opens. Many of you found your way here through our Announcement page. If you haven’t seen it please check it out as there are several informative videos. Our new website is now live with a lot more.
As we’ve previously shared, the school will be offering courses at the Apprentice (new students), Craftsperson (previous students) and Master (graduate students) levels. You can imagine that there is a lot of curriculum. Steve has been madly creating content, Catie has be speedily putting it into a curriculum, adding exercises and discussions to enhance the learning experience. We’ve chosen to launch our programs in such a way that we can manage our resources and offer quality courses. We still have a lot to learn about how to use our online technology and engage you as students. One aspect of this, limiting enrollment initially so we can manage those resources and ensure a quality experience. We will be asking for feedback along the way, so please be patient with us as we all learn together. Our programs will be rolling out in phases over the next year. The Apprentice Program launches in January 2021, the Craftsperson Program in summer 2021 and the Masters Program in early 2022. For you who’ve already studied with Steven, we’ll be working on how to get you inserted in the program commensurate with your studies. The final aspect of the school we’ll be offering is membership, which is our way of creating community. As you often hear, “membership has its privileges,” ours will include things like access to astrology tools (forums and resources), priority course enrollment, book discounts and most importantly, attendance to Steven’s monthly Q&A calls.
Inside Look
The new Apprentice Program is ready to launch. It covers the material in Steven’s books The Inner Sky and Yesterday’s Sky. The now published element book series are also referenced and are great references for aspiring astrologers.
You can navigate the material in one of three paths, a 14-week fully guided program (new students), a self-paced program (existing students) and competency program (graduate students). Whichever path you choose, there is a 5-week practicum where you will do chart interpretation with your fellow students, guided by a teacher and tutor.
The Path Forward
Inside Look