Article 2: Lighthouse Academy Education Plan

 

Section 2.1 Lighthouse Philosophy

 

At Lighthouse, we believe in a liber education. The word liber is derived from Latin and Greek roots meaning “book” and “free.” English words derived from these roots include “library,” “liberty,” and “liberate.” Liber signifies the importance of a free people who are literate and able to govern themselves. We acknowledge the correlation between education and freedom. We seek to build a liber community, working together to advance the cause of freedom.

 

We believe that education should be based on true principles. The purpose of education is to develop both character and competence. The study and application of true principles invites individual, moral excellence and public virtue. Classics in all disciplines best convey principles of truth, goodness, and beauty.

 

Recognizing that each individual is created by God with unlimited potential, we respect the individual’s autonomy and trust them to do the hard work of wrestling with principles and ideas. We offer each individual the transformative opportunity to practice, fail, try again, and succeed. We call this the Liber Cycle. This process develops self-directed learners, with clear vision, equipped with the capacity and passion to pursue the skills, abilities, and knowledge needed to fulfill their unique missions.

 

We honor the parent’s role as their child’s primary mentor with absolute stewardship over their child(ren).

 

We believe in honoring the natural phases of development. We aim to inspire natural curiosity while also teaching core fundamental principles and fostering a love of learning. We believe learning is richer and more substantive in a variety of learning environments. We believe failure is essential to learning and we work to create a brave place in which we can practice failure.

 

Section 2.2 Phases of Learning

 

The Foundational Phases

 

• Core Phase (birth to about age 8) is spent learning about right and wrong, good and bad, and truth and falsehood. The focus is on family relationships, play, work, routines, and responsibility.

 

• Love of Learning Phase (about 8-12 years of age) is steeped in classics, projects, curiosity, and ideas. A wide range of personal interests lead to growth in competence, diligence, character, and accountability.

 

• Transition-to-Scholar Phase (about 10-14 years of age) is the process of leaving Love of Learning Phase and entering Scholar Phase. In this phase, students are still considered and treated as being in Love of Learning Phase. During this time, the child will make a number of interesting, fascinating, and exciting discoveries and acquire many of the skills that will determine their learning effectiveness (or weakness) in the years ahead.

 

The Educational Phases

 

• Scholar Phase (about 12-18 years of age) dives more deeply and broadly into mentored subjects and personal studies with an emphasis on cultural literacy and refining academic skills and character.

 

• Depth Phase (about 18-24 years of age) is marked by the personalization of the scholar’s education and is characterized by submission to a mentor who will help the scholar begin to implement her/his personal mission. The learning environment is critical in Depth Phase and the lessons include initiative, ingenuity, integrity, allegiance to God, commitment to mission, passion, impact, breadth, depth, and nuance.

 

The Applicational Phases

 

• Mission Phase (adulthood) is evidence that a Leadership Education will naturally be followed by a life of service and leadership. In this phase, the drive to “prepare for greatness” shifts to a drive to deliver…a demand that an individual inspire greatness in others and move the cause of liberty.

 

• Impact Phase (adulthood) is a new era of life in which the valuable wisdom and experience you have gained must be shared and communicated to those who will follow. Some possible roles leaders take on later in life include, but are not limited to: mentor, scholar, citizen, entrepreneur, sentinel, philosopher, philanthropist, disciple, artist, statesman, healer, elder, and grandparent.

 

Taken from Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning by Oliver and Rachel DeMille.

 

Section 2.3 Methodology

 

The most effective teaching can take place when mentors approach planning with a clear vision of what they would most like individual students to know, feel, and do. Beginning with the end in mind enables mentors to prioritize content, experiences, and environments in order to maximize student engagement, meaningful connections, and real-life application. Mentors act as facilitators, using formal and informal learning environments and VMASK (see below) to facilitate, coach, and assess a student’s next right step.

 

Nine Keys of Great Teaching

Leadership Education utilizes nine keys to foster the scholar’s ownership of their education and to develop quality mentoring. Lighthouse mentors receive training not only in the subject matter they will teach, but in mentoring skills as well:

1. Classics, not Textbooks - In pursuit of a transformational education, great mentors and scholars study original sources–the intellectual and creative works of the world’s great thinkers, artists, scientists, etc., in the form they were produced.

2. Mentors, not Professors - Great mentors strive to discover their students’ goals, interests, talents, weaknesses, strengths, and purpose, and then help them develop and carry out a plan to prepare for their unique mission(s).

3. Inspire, not Require - Instead of asking, “what can I do to make these students perform?” the great mentor considers, “I haven’t yet become truly inspirational. What do I need to do so that these students will want to do the hard work to get a superb education?”

4. Structure Time, not Content - Great mentors help their students establish and follow a consistent schedule, but they don’t micromanage the content.

5. Quality, not Conformity - In early phases, emphasis is placed almost exclusively on positive feedback. In late Scholar Phase and on into Depth Phase, anything less than high quality is not accepted by the mentor as completed work. Great mentors inspire quality–demand quality–and they coach the student on how to achieve it.

6. Simplicity, not Complexity - Great mentors train great thinkers and great leaders by keeping it simple. Students study the greatest minds and characters in history, write about and discuss what is learned in numerous settings (see Learning Environments below), and apply what is learned in various ways under the tutelage of a mentor.

7. YOU, not Them - Great mentors don't have to be “experts” to inspire great education (the classics provide the expertise), but they do have to be setting the example of scholarship.

8. Secure, not Stressed - Secure mentors are focused on the trajectory, not the locus; they trust the process, know where to find answers, and use inspiration rather than information to transform the lives of their students.

9. Stand for Something - Great mentors are neither experts nor cynics, but rather know why they do what they do, aim for greatness, and share their genius with the world.

 

Taken from The Seven Keys of Great Teaching by Oliver and Rachel DeMille

 

Learning Environments

Formal learning environments include, but are not limited to:

1. Coaching - the process of guiding a student or group of students to find their “next right step” toward a desired goal.

2. Colloquium - a mentored group discussion of a shared experience (e.g. a book, film, or work of art)

3. Debrief - a discussion following any learning environment which allows students to process emotions, make connections, realize personal insights, and draw conclusions.

4. Document Study - the process of analyzing, understanding, and dissecting classic literature.

5. Lecture - an oral presentation by a mentor intended to convey information, preferably used sparingly and in an engaging and inspiring manner.

6. Simulation - a shared experience in a safe environment that mimics the learning involved in high-stakes circumstances; must be followed by a debrief.

7. Speaking - the process of oral persuasion, presentation, and communication.

8. Testing - a setting reserved for older scholars which allows students to demonstrate depth and breadth of abilities, skills, and knowledge acquired.

9. Tutorial - a small group of students receiving instruction from a mentor about a specific topic and discussing it. 

10. Writing - the process of thinking, refining, and communicating thoughts.

 

Informal learning environments come in many forms, including play, work, creative and athletic pursuits, family life, talking with friends, and learning from others’ examples.

 

Mentors should use a variety of learning environments each week, adapting these appropriately to applicable phases of learning.

 

 

VMASK

 

VMASK is an acronym for the five Scholarship Ladders created by LEMI: Vision, Mission, Abilities, Skills, and Knowledge. VMASK provides a visual representation of an individual’s progression and growth. It allows a mentor to acknowledge and consider each student’s varying experiences, perspectives, aptitude, challenges, preferences, talents, backgrounds, and personality. It should be used as a diagnostic tool to identify and overcome roadblocks to growth, and to help determine an individual’s next right step.

 

Ladder 1: Vision

Vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination and/or wisdom. Mentors cast vision by helping learners understand who they are, where they are going, why they are going there, what it feels like to be going there, what learners can do, how to move forward, and what the rewards will be for those actions. Mentors help relate and connect content to an individual learner’s life; the “why” makes the “what” relevant.

 

Ladder 2: Mission

Every individual has inherent worth and a unique contribution to make to the world; this is Mission. Mentors work to lovingly instill this principle into each learner’s heart, mind, and soul. By exposing individuals to greatness in all forms, mentors aim to inspire learners to seek after, realize, and achieve their own multiplicity of life purposes and missions.

 

Ladder 3: Abilities

The word Abilities, within the context of the Scholarship Ladders, is defined as character, or the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual’s nature. Mentors seek to help learners build and develop strong moral character in the patterns in which they interact with others and also how they treat themselves.

 

Ladder 4: Skills

The word Skills, within the context of the Scholarship Ladders, is defined as the expertise or talent needed to do something well. Almost any skill can be learned or improved with determination and practice. Mentors coach and instruct learners in the practice and process of gaining competence and excellence in their performance.

 

Ladder 5: Knowledge

Sometimes a learner’s next right step is simply to obtain the knowledge relevant to his or her vision and mission and the necessary abilities and skills needed to move forward. Language lays the foundation for obtaining knowledge. Knowledge is comprehension of and familiarity with truths, principles, or facts acquired through experience, investigation, perception, or study; it can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject or branch of learning. Mentors set an example of lifelong learning and encourage others in this pursuit.

Section 2.4 Curriculum

 

Learning Material

Learning material and content used at Lighthouse is classics-based. We define a classic as a creative work in any discipline that conveys principles of truth, goodness, and beauty. Classics are worthy of returning to and studying repeatedly throughout our lives. All creative work can be classified into four categories based on their content and merit:

 

Whole works show that good is good, evil is evil, and that for the moment good wins. These works should constitute the bulk of the material used in classes as they confirm true, fundamental principles and patterns. Whole works clearly and powerfully demonstrate that an allegiance to forms of truth, goodness, and beauty result in ultimate peace, freedom, and joy.

 

Broken works show that good is good, evil is evil, and that for the moment evil wins. Both whole and broken works show the results of good and evil forms.

 

Bent material is based on lies and deception and teaches that good is evil, evil is good, or that there is no good nor evil. A careful, mentored reading of bent books can teach a student to discern subtle, deceptive, and enticing falsehoods. These materials should be used with extreme care at an appropriate age or phase of learning.

 

Perverse material should never be presented to students. It is depraved, warped, twisted, corrupt, unnatural, addictive, distorted, and destructive.

 

Scholar Projects

LEMI Scholar Projects make up the core of the educational offerings at Lighthouse. These projects are thematic courses spanning various disciplines, including history, math, science, government, literature, and the arts. They are structured sequentially to develop a student’s Vision, sense of Mission, Abilities, Skills, and Knowledge. LEMI Scholar Projects follow a continuum, increasing in difficulty and complexity as a scholar progresses through them. Each Scholar Project comprises an arc of growth through personal challenges, failures, and victories. Mentors who have mentored at least two LEMI Scholar Projects may propose new Leadership Education phase- and age-appropriate classes relevant to students’ interests and development by providing the Executive Board (via the Mentor Representative) an outline or brief description of the class/Scholar Project and securing Executive Board approval prior to implementation. Mentors teaching these new classes must have received LEMI training and have mentored at least one year of a LEMI Scholar Project.

 

Section 2.5 Performance, Promotion, and Graduation Standards

 

Lighthouse values the process of learning over the measurement of end results. Excellence and outstanding performance should be encouraged, and may be awarded through artistic performances, awards, and recognition of student accomplishments. Each Junior Program class, Scholar Project or class, and Parent Project may confer its own awards. Family and friends of Lighthouse members are invited to attend performances, showcases, and gatherings to encourage and celebrate the growth of the students and parents.

 

Section 2.6 Programs

 

Scholar Program

The mission of the Scholar Program is to grow and develop the character and competence of each student through three distinct phases: 

 

1. Practice Phase - this is when students begin to gain scholar skills in reading, writing, thinking, computing, etc., to such a degree that they become independent thinkers. At first it takes a lot of practice and looks inconsistent, in time it becomes easier and easier and the student’s ability to focus increases. It becomes more consistent with practice. Students in this phase are practicing to become scholars.

2. Apprentice Phase - this is when study hours are doubled and scholars discover if they are willing to pay the price of a good education. This is the “bottleneck” of Scholar Phase where many, many scholar skills are learned so that the student's time can be used effectively.

3. Self-Directed Phase - this is "the bar" where a student has proven that they have the skills and abilities to read anything, speak persuasively, obtain the mentors they desire, work with mentors, and think.

 

Lighthouse uses LEMI Scholar Projects, and other board-approved projects, to inspire self-directed learning inside and outside the classroom. Mentors may give alternative assignments to meet student ability and skill level. Parents may also seek alternative assignments that are customized to the needs of their child(ren). VMASK is recommended as a diagnostic tool to recognize the next right step.

 

Junior Program

The mission of the Lighthouse Junior Program is to strengthen the whole child, focusing on inspiring character development, curiosity, and a love of learning. Classes are created to invite children to develop abilities, acquire skills, and gain knowledge through hands-on learning.

 

Parent Program

The mission of the Parent Program is to provide parents with vision, support, opportunities, mentoring, and relationships necessary for pursuing Leadership Education for themselves and their family. Parents participate in Parent Projects, parent enrichment activities, and yearly LEMI training, and have the opportunity to mentor in the Scholar Program and Junior Program. Ultimately, the commonwealth is the primary Parent Project.