Most educational spaces don’t know how to hold those questions. They either rush to answers or reduce learning to content consumption. As a result, insight remains unintegrated, and understanding stays abstract.
In the Teaching Assistance Program, learning unfolds as a rhythm rather than a sprint; not by teaching at you, but by learning with you and is designed to be completely interactive. We will meet once for two hours every other week. Between sessions, you will be expected to watch two lectures from the accompanying course prior to the session. During each session, for the first hour or so, we will engage in a Q&A about the course material. After that, we will collectively participate in a Socratic Salon.
The Socratic Salon is not a lecture, debate, or Q&A in the usual sense. It’s a facilitated space where questions are explored together. Participants bring what genuinely matters to them, and through guided questioning, those concerns are clarified, deepened, and sometimes transformed.
Often, the most important question isn’t the one you arrive with—but the one you discover you’ve been living.
Who This Program Is For
The Teaching Assistance Program is for learners who want more than information.
It’s for:
People who have taken (or plan to take) Lectern courses and want deeper integration
Those drawn to Socratic dialogue, but lacking spaces where it’s practiced well
Thinkers, practitioners, and seekers who value shared inquiry over authority
Anyone who senses that their questions are not merely intellectual—but personal, existential, and alive
If you’re ready to move from watching lectures to participating in understanding, the Teaching Assistance Program offers a way to learn in dialogue, cultivate insight together, and discover why your questions matter as much as the answers.
Fees
Tuition Fee: 450USD + Seeing God Again for the First Time Self-Study
Program runs: 16th Sept-17th Feb
Online Sessions: Every other Wednesday, 10am EST
Important note:
The necessary course material is not included in the TAP Tuition Fee.
You will need to purchase the course material separately through the above link.
FAQ
Are these courses like other online philosophy or spirituality courses?
Not exactly. These courses are not designed as content dumps or self-help programs. They are structured learning journeys that integrate philosophy, cognitive science, history, and spirituality to cultivate deeper understanding, clearer sense-making, and existential relevance, not hacks or techniques.
Do I need prior background in philosophy, cognitive science, or religion?
No formal background is required. The courses are carefully scaffolded and assume curiosity rather than expertise. If you’re willing to read attentively, reflect seriously, and sit with difficult questions, you’ll be able to engage the material meaningfully.
Are these courses practical, or purely theoretical?
They are intellectually rigorous, but never merely abstract. Each course is oriented toward how ideas shape perception, meaning, identity, and lived experience. While these are not “how-to” programs, they are a conceptual foundation for practice, transformation, and orientation in life.
Is this therapy or spiritual direction?
No. These courses are educational and philosophical in nature. They may be personally challenging and transformative, but they are not therapy, pastoral counseling, or clinical intervention. Growth here comes through understanding, dialogue, and reflection.
How much time should I expect to commit?
Most courses are designed to be manageable alongside work or study. Expect time for watching lectures, doing assigned readings (where applicable), and reflective integration. The depth you get out of the course will largely reflect the care you bring to it.
Are these courses connected to one another, or can I take them independently?
Each course stands on its own, but they are also part of a larger, coherent intellectual and pedagogical arc across The Lectern. Many learners find that taking multiple courses deepens understanding as ideas recur, evolve, and interconnect across contexts.
Will this challenge my beliefs?
Possibly. These courses do not aim to persuade you toward a particular ideology or worldview, but they do invite you to examine assumptions, inherited frameworks, and habitual ways of making meaning. Challenge here is a feature, not a flaw.