Teacher/Apprentice Guidelines

When we decide to accept a person to learn more about Numenism, we may call that person many things. We used to exclusively call them “student”, but lately, we are moving away from this and have taken to calling them “apprentices”, because what they are apprenticing to is becoming clergy.

It’s easy to be a Numenist. There’s not a lot to learn to be a Celebrant. Practically anyone who wants to can be a Celebrant with just a little bit of information and guidance.

To fulfill the functions of clergy, though, takes more effort.

We have two pathways to achieving clergydom: the Priesthood and the Ministership.

The Priesthood is for those who are intersted in the scholarly approach, in learning and exploring and delving into things, debating philosophy and setting up experiments, conducting surveys, writing about Numenism, teaching, and researching.

The Ministership is more people-oriented, designing rituals and celebrations, officiating at celebrations, offering spiritual counseling and rites-of-passage counseling, keeping people in communication with one another, community-building, volunteer work, charity, chaplaincy, teaching.

Elders are those who’ve learned both the Priest and Minister ways – devoting the full time each requires. Elders may prefer to stay known as a Priest or a Minister, but they can step into any role needed.

A lot of this is best taught in person by example and through discussion as events occur.

Teacher/student is not the proper relationship. Teacher/apprentice is more descriptive of the process.

To that end, we’ve altered our guidelines for the relationship between a teacher and their apprentice. These are the rights each can expect during the apprenticeship.

The Teacher has the Right to REFUSE anyone as a apprentice.
No teacher is obligated to take on anyone as a apprentice, with no explanation.
This is particularly true if the apprentice desires to learn a religion that is different from the teacher’s and in which the teacher is not qualified to teach.

The Apprentice has the Right to review the Teacher’s credentials.
The apprentice may contact people who can verify the teacher’s statements of qualifications if the teacher claims affiliation with an established religion. In the event of a new religion forming, the apprentice has the right to know the circumstances in which that new religion was created.

The Teacher has the Right to teach in the manner they feel is best.
If the apprentice has checked the teacher’s credentials, and accepted the person as their teacher, they are obligated to respect the fact that the teacher knows what they are doing and how they are doing it. If the methods vary from apprentice to apprentice, it is because the teacher is paying attention to the needs and progress of each apprentice, not because the teacher is inconsistent.

The Apprentice has a Right to expect the teacher to be prepared.
When lessons are scheduled, the apprentice has the right to expect the teacher to be present and prepared, or to communicate a cancellation in a timely fashion. The apprentice has the right to expect that what the teacher presents is consistent with the values and practices of the group and of local, state, and Federal laws.

The Teacher has a Right to financial security.
The teacher shall not be required or coerced to take on financial burdens on behalf of a apprentice, be it loan requests, teaching materials, transportation requests, meals and lodging, covering a apprentice’s debts, babysitting costs for the apprentice’s child(ren), field trip expenses for the apprentice, or providing bail money. The teacher also has the right to pursue gainful employment without interruption or disruption from the apprentice.

The Apprentice has a Right to financial security.
The apprentice shall not be required or coerced to take on financial burdens on behalf of the teacher or group, be it loan requests, transportation, meals, lodging, covering a teacher’s debts, or providing bail money. The apprentice is required to cover the cost of teaching materials and assume any burden of debt the teacher incurs to provide the apprentice with the lesson (babysitting for the teacher’s and apprentice’s children, classroom rental, their own field trip expenses – all of which should have been spelled out before the apprentice became a apprentice). The apprentice has the right to pursue gainful employment without interruption or disruption from the teacher or group.

The Teacher has the Right to compensation for goods and services.
Teachers spend hours of preparation for lessons and usually don’t seek compensation for this, however, there are other expenses involved: teaching materials such as flip charts, photocopies, books, paper, writing implements, candles, videos, music, etc. for which the apprentice should feel obligated to compensate the teacher. Nor should the apprentice expect a discount or “freebies” in the teacher’s goods and services, or in the teacher’s place of business, or from any other skilled labor or creative work for which the teacher normally receives income. If the teacher freely offers a discount or “freebies” from their shop or skills, this is a gift, not a license to demand more.

The Apprentice has a Right to compensation for goods and services.
Apprentices have a right to payment for goods and services for which they normally receive income. They should not be expected to provide “freebies” or discounts to their teacher or group members. If the apprentice freely offers a discount or “freebies” from their place of employment or their skills, this is a gift, not a license to demand more.

The Teacher has a Right to release a apprentice without prejudice.
The teacher has the right to discontinue lessons with a apprentice at any time without fear of reprisals, harassment, or the spreading of rumors. The teacher does not need to offer a detailed explanation of why, but frequently chooses to do so to help the apprentice continue to learn.

The Apprentice has a Right to stop the lessons without prejudice.
The apprentice has the right to discontinue taking the lessons of a teacher at any time without fear of reprisals, harassment, or the spreading of rumors. The apprentice owes the teacher a brief explanation of why they choose to stop the lessons, but not a detailed one.

The Teacher has a Right to not promote a apprentice if they feel it’s appropriate.
Pagan teachers don’t give certificates of attendance or completion. The teacher expects the apprentice to demonstrate competency. If the apprentice fails the coursework, neglects assignments, skips lessons, and/or shows no progress, the teacher is obligated to withhold the rewards of advancement.

The Apprentice has a Right to be fairly evaluated.
If a apprentice completes all the coursework and assignments correctly, attends all the lessons (with a timely cancellation for the very few they had to miss), and demonstrates progress in understanding, they have to right to be fairly evaluated or to have an explanation of why they aren’t being promoted. Promotion remains at the discretion of the teacher.

The Teacher has a Right to restrict attendance, and to define lesson times.
The teacher determines the load they bear, not the apprentice. The teacher alone knows how many apprentices they can properly teach. The apprentice may ask the teacher if they may bring a friend so long as they accept “No” as an answer and give the teacher sufficient notification – say, a month. The teacher also determines when the student may contact the teacher. The teacher has other obligations beyond teaching the apprentice and the apprentice must respect this.

The Apprentice has a Right to the teacher’s attention, but only during lessons.
The apprentice has a right to expect a small class with individual attention, something not possible if the teacher allows just anyone to pop in whenever. The apprentice is obligated to help the teacher maintain small class sizes by not randomly bringing guests. The apprentice does not have a right to the teacher’s time outside of lessons.

The Teacher has a Right to physical and mental well-being.
The teacher should be treated with respect, not threatened verbally or physically by the apprentice. The teacher has a right to expect apprentices to behave in class and out. If the law interprets the apprentice’s behavior as abuse, then the teacher has a right to expect the apprentice to stop or to seek legal options against the apprentice. The teacher has a right to be just the teacher, not a babysitter, hand-holder, spiritual counselor, sex object, best buddy, or perfect avatar of divinity set upon a marble pedestal.

The Apprentice has a Right to physical and mental well-being.
The apprentice should be treated with respect, not threatened verbally or physically by the teacher. The teacher is allowed to exert discipline and to make demands regarding the lessons and these reasonable actions should not be interpreted as harassment or physical abuse. If the law interprets the teacher’s actions as abuse, then the apprentice has a right to expect the teacher to stop or to seek legal action against the teacher. The apprentice has a right to be just a apprentice, not a sex object, best buddy, free laborer,

The Teacher has a Right to abide by the laws of the land and their own ethics, morals, and conscience.
The teacher should not be required or coerced by the apprentice into breaking the law, from experimenting with hallucinogens and other drugs to consorting with a minor and anything else deemed illegal. The teacher does have a reasonable expectation of persuading the apprentice to participate in political acts in order to help change the laws of the land, which is not the same thing at all as breaking the law. There must be a clear purpose and solid goal in place for civil disobedience, if that is the political action sought by the teacher.

The Apprentice has a Right to abide by the laws of the land and their own ethics, morals, and conscience.
The apprentice should not be required or coerced by the teacher into breaking the law, from experimenting with hallucinogens and other drugs to consorting with a minor and anything else deemed illegal. The apprentice does have a reasonable expectation of persuading the teacher to participate in political acts in order to help change the law of the land, which is not the same as breaking the law. There must be a clear purpose and solid goal in place for civil disobedience, if that is the political action sought by the apprentice.