By Carol Tebbs, MA, CAR-ISAR
Undoubtedly, there are competent and eager astrology enthusiasts who build their astrological knowledge in bits and pieces from book to book, conference to conference, or learning from the many Internet astrology websites or YouTube astrology videos. But does that learning have the “backbone” required for our Professional Astrologers?
Astrology Hub, a popular website for people interested in learning astrology, points out a truth we all can accept, “Your goals may evolve as you go along. Learning astrology is a journey, and your perspective will change the more you learn.” In our worldwide astrological community, every continent, every country, or Zoom link, there is a next step – a variety of trained teachers in astrological traditions and schools with learning standards from beginner to advanced, where students interact with teachers, get feedback on their weekly work and demonstrate learning with a test or project. Learning results are documented and transferable as proof of competency in the course content of every class, every certificate, or diploma.
Isn’t that the standard we want for our Professional Astrologers?
Any certification or grade for a specific competency should be assessed and documented by the teacher, and in a school with several classes and levels, again the teachers. Even organizations that test specific competencies, such as Ethics, should assess and document student results so they are transferable to teachers or schools where building the rest of the student’s goals can be completed.
International Coalition of Astrological Educators was established in April 2024 as a destination for teachers and schools to archive their course content information, learning standards, student interaction, and evaluation process so other astrology teachers or schools can log into the ICAE website to determine if a student’s course is equivalent in time, work and rigor to be accepted as transfer credit to their teacher or school. In 2024, teachers and schools only know the standards of a few teachers and schools, and most have not allowed transfers into their programs. For instance, a school that teaches only Hellenistic astrology might want information about the program and standards of the teacher or program of the student’s prior learning before accepting him. ICAE has created an international repository for teachers and schools to share that information to build a reliable path for students to reach their astrological journey.
Another benefit of sharing the content of courses, learning time in hours or weeks, and standards is that the quality of our educational output will make a solid baseline for our upcoming Professional Astrologers.
