Apprenticeship | Age 14 – 25 (with audio)

Apprenticeship is rooted in the word ‘to apprehend’ or ‘to understand something’. It has as much to do with learning “how to learn” as it does with “what to learn”.

In learning life-as-a-craft, Apprenticeship is “The specific period of time during which one learns to comprehend the nature of the raw materials of the craft and the skillful use of the tools of the craft.”

In many cultures, the apprenticeship phase takes place sometime during a 12 year period beginning at about age 12–14, and on to age 22–24 depending upon variety circumstances including the requirements for training in one’s chosen vocation as well as other life responsibilities which may have to be taken up.

The Apprenticeship Phase in the practice of life-as-a-craft is comprised of 3 clear goals to focus the attention of those in the apprentice stage on a defined, measurable outcome.

Goal 1: Transition of Responsibility: The Rite of Passage

Across the world and human history when young men and women reach their early teens, we act out ceremonial rituals or rites of passage signifying the end of childhood about age 12–14; the stage when an individual is considered to be fully in the care of his or her guardians who were fully and legally responsible for their well-being, and the passage or crossing the threshold entering the society of adults.

It is the beginning of apprenticeship phase where the individual; with the continued support of his or her guardians and mentors, formally receives from their guardians ‘a transfer of ownership and responsibility’ for making a masterpiece of one’s own life going forward.

Depending upon the culture, coming of age rites of passage marking the beginning of the apprenticeship phase, run from the purely ceremonial to the physically extreme.

In the practice-of-life-as-a-craft, the traditional Way of Craftsmanship marking the beginning of the apprenticeship phase is a cooperative agreement between guardians, apprentice and mentors together to achieve within a certain time-frame, the apprentices’ demonstrated proficiency in the knowledge and skills required to successfully cross over from one’s apprenticeship, and enter the Journeywork phase of life as a skilled craftsman or craftswoman, and make one’s own way in the world through the applied practice of craftsmanship.

For guardians, it is a rite of passage marking their recognition of release over their total decision-making responsibility for a child, and the beginning of a new adult conversation of self-determination, rights and responsibilities.

For the apprentice, the rite of passage marks the realization and acceptance of the responsibility for making a masterpiece of one’s own life has begun, and is now in your hands; the craftsperson of your own unique life.

Goal 2: Learning How To Learn: The Way of Craftsmanship

From the beginning of our history, human beings have interacted with the world around us to understand and make sense of what something is, and ‘how it all works’. We are inquisitive by nature. An inquiry is any process that has the aim of increasing knowledge, or solving a problem. It is a particular approach or method; a process for understanding something.

There are many forms or methods of inquiry for learning and understanding something that have been developed over thousands of years each with it’s own particular set of rules or ‘process’. For example, a traditional approach to learning in many crafts, occupations and professions is to observe and ‘mimic’ what the mentor is doing through continuous practice until the outcome is deemed correct by the mentor.

This method of “learning by doing” handed down from generation to generation with often very little change in technique, has many practical benefits by eliminating the painstaking process of trial and error having already been suffered by previous generations providing the apprentice a ‘fast track’ to proficiency in the craft. We call this standing on a foundation built on the shoulders of giants.

In the practice of life as a craft, very often we are going to be called upon perform by producing works of quality and durability for which there is no mentor to guide us through the process to a successful outcome. Whether it is someone throwing a mess across your desk at work, or managing a family situation at home, we have all been in that place flying blind by the seat of our pants and trying to figure it out as we go along.

In The Way of Craftsmanship, a critical goal of the Apprenticeship Phase, is learning appropriate methods for how to extract the knowledge of ‘how something was done’ that lies hidden within the finished work itself. It is a form of reverse engineering ‘inquiry’ with the ‘invisible craftsperson’ who created the original work.

Goal 3: The Curriculum — What Is to be Learned

In the practice of life-as-a-craft, there are Five Elements that act as containers for organizing the many different subject topics which make up the curriculum you will study over the Four Phases of your life.

In the Apprenticeship Phase, you will select subjects for learning in each of The Five Elements in partnership with your mentors who will help you approach each subject at the appropriate level of complexity. Like weight lifting, you begin light and gradually increase as you build your knowledge and skill at each level during the course of your Apprenticeship.

If you ‘fake it’ and give only the appearance of understanding and skills in a given subject, you will likely be discredited as incompetent when you enter your Journeywork phase and present yourself to the world as a skilled craftsperson. This can be harmful to both your reputation and your pride, and set you back in your plan to make a masterpiece of your life.