Who Teaches E.P.I.C.?
You will be trained by a certified school principal and teacher who left the system to found her own school, ran a youth program for three years in her own home, and has a Master’s Degree in Education - Zahra Lightway M.Ed.
E.P.I.C. is like teacher ed. for parents without the big, expensive price tag and years of commitment. The E.P.I.C.course is six months depending on your choices. Of course I'm not claiming I can teach you everything a teacher knows in just a few months. What I can do is get you to a place you can feel good about with the confidence and competency to facilitate your kids' learning.
Why I Created E.P.I.C.
My life teaching in a traditional school
Back in 2004 I felt highly frustrated as a teacher in a traditional public school in Houston, Texas. I had taught early childhood, middle and high school by then and it was pretty much the same story everywhere. We were being given training and tools to teach in child-centered ways that valued their individual gifts and talents, and yet being constrained by an overloaded system so packed with requirements it was near impossible to action much of it, if any.
Traditional school oppresses and fails our children
The result was that children were not nurtured and I watched as they failed to achieve their highest potential. Instead they lost touch with themselves, with their strengths and talents and left schooling with some vague idea of being "an A student" or "good at math". Few felt empowered to create an amazing life living their dreams. Most felt obligated to go to college and study something they thought they might be good at.
But there was more. So many youth were losing their confidence, becoming anxious, depressed and almost suicidal - a feeling of unease that I couldn't quite shake had come over me. Something just felt wrong here. Very wrong.
So I left the system and began a four year journey of self-discovery, unlearning and relearning. I decided I wanted to start a school answering the question: "What if there were no constraints and we could have a program using all the best educational practices?" What might that look like?"
DeToxing The Trained Teacher, Parent, and Child in Me
I attended the Alternative Education Resource Organization Conference in upstate New York, and the International Democratic Education Conference in Vancouver, BC. I met young people who had been unschooled, democratically schooled, free-schooled and variations on those themes and noticed there was something different about them. They interacted with adults as equals, giving and receiving total respect. They were super confident and empowered. They knew what they liked to do. They could learn anything alone or knew where to go to get help if needed. They seemed far in advance of their peers in traditional schooling with many of them enrolled in college courses as early as 15 or working in apprenticeships or starting their own businesses. I finally put my finger on the difference: these kids knew who they were and were living life deliberately. It was a revelation and I knew I wanted to provide that for other children with one difference. I wanted to infuse the Light Way program with an essence of spirituality I found lacking in many of the others.
To do that I had to work on myself to re-examine my beliefs, training and programs. I had to let go of everything that didn't match these new understandings of how children learn best. I read books. I attended and organized conferences. I ran a Saturday program for youth 7 - 17 and then a summer camp and finally opened Light Way School in The Woodlands, Texas on September 1st, 2009. What a feeling of joy and purpose for all.
However, the joy didn't last long. After the economic downturn starting in 2008, it was not the best time to start a private school. Parents were struggling just to pay the bills. In fact, I realized the private school model would never provide access for all families. We finished the year and I closed the school down wondering how I could contribute to making the dream of an educational process that empowers children come true.
Case Study: Patty's Story Part I
Patty came to me in 2015 because her 13 year old son was struggling with anxiety and depression. He hated school and learning and getting him out of bed on school mornings was a chore.
Hear how Patty fared when all was against her. Even her husband didn't want her to homeschool never mind her friends and she certainly was no teacher! She had huge fears, but she walked right through them and the results have been spectacular!
Patty desperately wanted to homeschool her children but as I said before, even her husband was against it. She begged me to come to Chicago to help her get started and persuade her friends and family it would be a good move for her kids. So I drove to Chicago and did two workshops over one weekend. I explained how the traditional system is fatally flawed, then I shared what 150 years of research has taught us resulting in 21st century learning principles we can use. I taught her how to implement these principles like project-based learning, self-directed learning, fully balancing our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being for the greatest most expansive learning outcomes. I showed Patty how to run her program democratically, how to transition from parent to teacher with ease, how to manage a child lead learning environment, and much more.
When I met Patty’s son, Matthew, he was somewhat withdrawn and quite down on himself. He did not have a good rapport with his teachers and felt generally harassed and harangued at school. His grades were less than he was capable of and he struggled to get out of bed on school mornings. Patty's daughter, Arianna, was in better shape but still hated going to school. They had been begging her to homeschool for quite some time.
After the workshop, her husband agreed to a trial and proceeded to order in a set of curriculum manuals and courses with instructions that they were to be followed daily. Patty was a bit frustrated. You see she wanted to teach her kids differently to the way they had been learning in school. She wanted them to feel empowered to make good choices for themselves and to learn about topics they actually cared about. So the manuals sat to the side and the kids went on an amazing learning journey you can read about on Patty’s blog.
Arianna and Matthew transformed. They had experiences that children in traditional schools could only dream of. They performed in local adult theatre productions, took part in civil war re-enactments, learned circus sports at The New York Flying Trapeze School in Chicago, attended the Chicago Botanical Gardens Fiber and Fabric Art show, and yes, did reading, writing and arithmetic, but these were integrated seamlessly into all these pursuits.
Your kids deserve this type of learning too. And for those of you worrying about your extended family and what they might say, Light Way offers a certificate through the E.P.I.C. course so that you can say to friends and family "Relax I'm a certified Light Way Home Educator.”
More about Patty. She began her journey with Arianna and Matthew in 2014. In 2017 when I talked to her she was talking about them going back to school because their needs had changed. Here is her latest update:“I never sent the kids to school, just found classes that peaked their interests. Currently, Matthew (technically a 10th grader) took his first college class at the community college and loved it! He was also in a play at the college. He thinks he wants to pursue a degree in Psychology so he is taking 2 more college classes in the spring.
Arianna is working on a goat rescue farm and loving every minute. She wants to go into sustainable farming. She’s hoping to take a horticulture course at the college (if they let her in early) next year. She also puts a lot of time into her harp lessons. She’s getting quite good.
Both joined a group called Teen Learning Lab, which is a homeschool group for high schoolers with courses in social justice and communication with human understanding and inclusiveness. It’s been an amazing find this year. Their favorite is a pre-law/mock trial class.
They are both still working on the tree farm, and have a great relationship with their 65 year boss.
I’m good. Still running my business, teaching art classes for homeschooled high schoolers, and I’m busy filling in gaps of education for the kids and driving them everywhere! Paul is good, too.
The kids still talk about you, and how you changed our life!”
I have to admit I was in tears when I read this! What an incredible success story. Those kids are 15 and 14, employed, taking college courses, working in their passions and learning skills that will serve them for life. In traditional school over the last four years they would have spent 200 hours taking standardized tests, another 300 hours preparing for them, and 3,600 hours sitting behind a desk being talked to about all the things Matthew and Arianna have actually been living.
I know which of those two scenarios I would want for my kids. (My son is 32 now.) The best part is that Arianna and Matthew created their own curriculum. When Patty trusted them to know what they needed to do and learn about they got back in touch with their true selves and their true passions blossomed. All Patty had to do was show up and facilitate. And just like I guided Patty in how to do that for her kids. E.P.I.C. will guide you to do the same for yours.