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Why are you called Enki?
The name Enki comes from the myths of ancient Sumer, the oldest
known, written mythology. It was chosen for this approach because
the nature of the Sumerian god, Enki, is very much what our teachers
strive for. Enki is the god of wisdom and water who flows into
every corner and crevice, changing his shape to explore every detail
and provide whatever is needed. By his very nature he reflects
all he meets - lighting up its natural wisdom and vitality. Nothing
is too foreboding, small, dark, or dirty for Enki. It is said that
when Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, hung trapped and lifeless in
the underworld, all the gods and goddesses turned away. Only Enki
saw wisdom in her descent into the depths. From the dirt under
his fingernails, he fashioned creatures and gave them the power
of the waters. Sent into the underworld, they set Inanna free and
returned her to life.
Like Enki, in both classroom and
homeschool programs,
the teacher is challenged to continually perceive, nurture and
celebrate the brilliance and possibility in all her students and
in all subjects she teaches. Her challenge is to meet everything
fully, whatever it may be.
What is so special about an Enki Education?
Whether using the classroom or
homeschooling curriculum,
teachers work with a program which nurtures
the whole child - body, heart, and mind. As a result, children
love learning. They become confident about their ability to learn
and meet the world
joyfully. Our Experiential
education centers around a Developmental-Immersion
Mastery approach that we use truly makes a difference for
children. Why Enki? See
what parents have to say.
When and how did this approach begin?
In 1989 a group of parents and teachers requested that Beth Sutton,
M.Ed., develop teacher education programs, and begin working with
them to establish elementary
and homeschool curriculum and programs. In response Enki Education,
Inc. was born.
The first order of business was development of a Teacher
Training Program. In 1991 we began with workshops for parents
and teachers, which quickly grew into the Enki Teacher Training
Program. Now entering its fourteenth year, the program has served
many classroom teachers, homeschooling parents, and other interested
people. Students have come from across the United States and Canada,
and from Europe and Asia. Much of the program is done off site
through correspondence courses and independent study in order to
make it more accessible to adult learners with other family and
employment commitments.
In 1993 the first group of Enki-trained teachers worked with Enki
Education, Inc. to open both an elementary school in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, and several Homeschool
programs. In 1998 a group of parents and teachers began working
to open a school in New Hampshire. Over the years our program and
curriculum materials have been used in preschools, home schools,
homeschooling cooperatives, and independent elementary and junior
high schools.
Unfortunately, due to the current economic climate, both of our
independent elementary schools have had to close or substantially
restructure. However, we continue to work with individuals and
groups from across the US and Canada, and from Europe and Japan,
to use the Enki approach in homeschools
and to start independent schools. We continue to offer Homeschooling
Conferences, Workshops, and the Teacher
Training Program, and we hope that funding and charter opportunities
will become available and make it possible to open new schools in
the near future.
Enki Education, Inc. offers a wide variety of classroom
and homeschooling resources to assist parents and teachers in implementing this work
in homeschool and classroom programs. These include Homeschool
and Classroom Teaching Guides, Grade Level Resource Libraries,
CD’s, DVD’s, and articles.
Over the last fourteen years much hard work and dedication from
many has gone into birthing this program. Today we are beginning
to see results. On statewide tests 80% of 6th graders in an Enki
classroom scored in the highest levels in both Math and Language
Arts, as compared with a statewide average of 23% in these highest
levels. Both homeschool and classroom teachers report great enthusiasm
and growth in the children they teach.
What can I expect of the teachers in an Enki Program?
In the elementary classroom, whenever possible, each class has
two core teachers who stay with the class for five years. Sometimes
they teach together and sometimes separately, but both always carry
the class. The teachers meet frequently to share and discuss insights,
ideas, and feedback, providing stability and security for the child,
as well as modeling the adult working relationship.
For the homeschool, where the stable relationship between parent
and child is a given, we offer a discussion group, group
and individual phone consultations, and Homeschooling Conferences.
These are designed to share and discuss questions and insights,
ideas and feedback, providing much needed adult support and community.
All classroom teachers train in The
Enki Teacher Training Program. The Program, now entering
its fourteenth year, is an advanced study program that trains
teachers over a two-year period in the Enki process of bringing
about harmony in themselves, in the children and in the classroom.
The Training Program is open to all who work with children, including
homeschooling parents and others who wish to deepen their understanding
of their children and their own roles as teachers. Most teachers
also hold traditional teaching credentials and a master's degree.
How early do you begin teaching a foreign language?
Using the Developmental-Immersion
Mastery Approach, foreign language is taught beginning in
kindergarten. In this approach we work with a three-fold
system: Immersion, Total Physical Response, and Living
Pictures.This multi-faceted approach is proving very successful;
we find all children respond naturally to commands after a
few months, and many begin using the foreign language on their
own within a year. We will soon be offering both French and
Spanish curriculum materials for homeschool and classroom programs.
What is the tuition cost?
We believe Enki Education will be enriching for all children and
we are committed to having a diverse socio-economic student body.
Therefore, we strive to make our program accessible to everyone
to the best of our ability. To this end, Enki schools have had
extensive scholarship programs or worked with a broad-based sliding
scale that begins with a competitive tuition for their area and
is adjusted to meet each family's needs and abilities. As well,
we continue to work with state public school systems to bring our
program into charter and new initiative schools, thus making it
available to all.
How do the graduates of the Enki Program fare?
On statewide tests, 80% of 6th graders in an Enki classroom scored
in the highest levels in both Math and Language Arts, as compared
with a statewide average of only 23%.
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