One of the most frequent questions we’ve gotten since creating the Parzival Academy is, “What’s the overall year like?”
That question comes particularly in relation to the weekly rhythm, calendar, curriculum and specific skill building.
We’d like to paint a picture for you so you can get a sense of what our students do through the year, and whether the Parzival program feels right for you.
A Typical Week for Parzival Students
Each week that school’s in session, students are involved in group training sessions and conversations, personal one-to-one mentoring sessions, group discussions and Q&A, course work (with live or pre-recorded video content), project implementation, and community forum interactions.
While the rhythm and timing may be subject to change, and each person’s schedule may be slightly different with things like mentoring sessions or implementation days, here’s a sample weekly schedule (timing is estimated):
Monday: 3hrs
- Intention Setting in Group Forum – set your intentions for the week and cheer on your classmates for their intentions (30 min)
- Check-ins in Group Forum – share what you’re working on, questions you have, and look for ways to support what others are working on (30 min)
- Mentoring Session – Meet with your Mentor (30 min)
- Project work – Working to complete current assignment (1.5 hours)
Tuesday: 2hrs
- Live Teaching Session – A blend of live training, breakout groups, and exercises (1.5 hours)
- Project Assignment – note the assignment given, the due date, and plan your process to work on it (30 min)
Wednesday: 2.5hrs
- Live Teaching Session – A blend of live training, breakout groups, and exercises (1.5 hours)
- Mentoring Session – Meet with your Mentor (30 min)
- Project Submittals (if due) – For the most part, there will be a consistent due date for projects each week from prior weeks’ assignments which may require uploads, posts or other forms of submittal (30 min)
Thursday: 4.5hrs
- Live Q&A Session (1.5 hours)
- Project work – Working on current assignment (2.5 hours)
Friday: 2.5hrs
- Progress Assessments in Group Forum – Check in with the group to share how your week went, what you achieved, what you need support with, etc., and cheer on your fellow students for their accomplishments (30 min)
- Check-ins in Group Forum – Review posts from instructors, mentors, and fellow students (30 min)
- Work on any Pre-Recorded Course Material (1.5 hours)
This is just a sample schedule, but it helps you to see that you’d be working around 2 to 5 hours each weekday, for a total of around 15 hours weekly to achieve the best outcomes. The time you put in determines what you get out of it. There are plenty of opportunities throughout the week to get support from instructors, mentors and peers.
Parzival Academy School Year Calendar
Parzival’s school year calendar goes from September through May, and includes 30 weeks of contact learning, with breaks in between.
Our project-based learning is offered in blocks, segmented through the school year to best address the topic we’re studying at the time. You’ll see in the schedule below that we have 11 weeks of learning maximum before we have a break. That 11 weeks might be divided into two 4-week blocks and a 3-week block, or perhaps a 6-week block and a 5-week block, depending on the projects we’re working on and the time needed to best address them.
Schedule for 2021
- Orientation Week – September 6-10
- School Begins – September 13
- September 13 – November 19 (10 weeks)
- Thanksgiving Break (1 week) – November 22-26
- November 29 – December 17 (3 weeks)
- Winter Break (2 weeks) – December 18 – January 2
- January 3 – March 18 (11 weeks)
- Spring Break (2 weeks) – March 21 – April 3
- April 4 – May 13 (6 weeks)
- Graduation – May 13
We understand that there are holidays in various countries that may fall on days that we are in class. All classes are recorded and placed in the learning area if you happen to be away for that holiday. Most classes should be able to be attended live though.
Courses You’ll Take
We’ll be focusing much of the learning and course work on project-based learning that will fit into the various topics that we’ll be covering.
Some coursework will be more formal, such as pre-recorded courses that are already structured. Some coursework will flow with the projects and weave throughout the school year.
Here’s a sample of the topics that we’ll be offering, along with structured courses we currently plan to include with them:
Foundations of Socio-Entrepreneurialism
In this topic, we’ll be diving into what the socio-entrepreneurial spirit is all about. We’ll look at new paths to putting yourself into the world that are most relevant to today’s world, and authentic to your gifts. We’ll explore the Parzival Academy guiding principles of Authenticity, Values, Purpose, Nature, and Inner Wisdom, which will continue to weave throughout the school year and serve as a foundation for socio-entrepreneurialism. You’ll learn about effective time management, entrepreneurial mindset and what doing authentic work in the world is all about.
Structured courses in this topic:
Intro to Socio-Entrepreneurialism
Becoming Effective
Knowing Yourself and Your Vision
This is a topic that will be taught both with specific lessons, and by weaving the concepts and principles throughout the school year. You’ll learn about self-awareness, connecting with your unique strengths, talents, values, and vision, as well as a sense of mission or purpose. You’ll learn to become comfortable with failure, understanding how it’s one of the greatest gifts for our learning. You’ll discover how to trust yourself and others with wisdom, and find clarity and decisiveness with that trust. We’ll take a look at the rules we follow and the shadows we hide in, getting to know your inner saboteurs and learning to move beyond them. You’ll also learn the valuable concepts of self-care and a healthy work ethic.
Structured courses in this topic:
Developing Calm Confidence
Power of Self-Awareness
Manifest Your Vision
Qualities of Leadership/Entrepreneurship
This is also a topic that will be woven throughout the year with lessons, exercises and practices. You’ll learn about the importance of virtue (defined as “the middle way”) in leadership. You’ll build confidence and clarity. Language is generative, and all that we create depends on our capacity to communicate clearly. We’ll be looking at effective communication and managing conflict and disappointment. You’ll connect with what you care about and learn to inspire others to care. We’ll experience the power of gratitude and celebration in staying true to our path.
Structured courses in this topic:
The Path of Mastery
Generative Communication and Holistic Leadership
Your Point of View
Your point of view is something that sets you apart from others, making your work/business and its offers uniquely attractive to those who resonate. You’ll learn how our point of view shows up in how you make yourself visible in the world. You’ll also learn what is and is not needed in becoming visible (it might surprise you). We’ll also look at establishing your credibility, and creating effective messaging that builds trust for those who want to work with you.
Structured courses in this topic:
Power of Communication
Establishing Your Point of View
Authentic Collaboration & Connection
Authentic collaboration and connection involves authentic net-caring (as opposed to networking) with those you’d like to serve and learn from. We teach you how to gain visibility and be consistent in your connections in ways that feel true to you, staying connected to your vision, values, and motivation. With greater self-awareness, and a solid point of view, you’ll be able to generate mutually beneficial, collaborative relationships that allow you to move into the world feeling confident and connected. Most importantly, you’ll learn to stay connected with your authentic self, which is a skill greatly needed in a world that often tempts us to stray from who we really are.
Structured courses in this topic:
Community and Hubs for Connection
Connection to Core Values
Financial Management
We heard again and again in our market research, “No one teaches you how to manage money effectively in high school.” This topic is all about helping you to manage your money effectively and responsibly. You’ll learn how to set up business accounts, budget your income and expenses, forecast your earnings, keep track of your accounting, and invest your resources wisely.
Structured courses in this topic:
Key Elements of Effective Money Management
Financial Awareness
Putting it All Together
Having learned more of who you are and how you want to show up in the world, it’s important to be sure you stay on top of what supports you to stay effective. We’ll teach you to look at what’s working and what’s not, and how to pivot as needed. You’ll be encouraged to consider your support system and who cheers you on as you keep moving forward on your journey. This topic is about continuing to become masterful in your relationships with yourself, others and the world. We will also celebrate your accomplishments, with SO much to celebrate!
Structured courses in this topic:
Weaving the Fundamentals
Skills You’ll Learn
Parzival’s education is a unique blend of vocational, personal and community skill building.
Vocational Skills
In the realm of career/business, you’ll be learning practical and technical skills that help you to effectively navigate your vocation, including things like fundamentals in financial management, and effective ways to align with and stay connected to your community.
You’ll learn authentic marketing skills that help you become visible to those you can best serve, and build relationships with those you can collaborate with. You’ll learn to confidently put yourself out into the world, aligned with your values and vision.
We focus on giving you the important foundational skills to align with those who need your support and match your talents and passions. Parzival Academy does not specialize in establishing a business, though we can mentor you toward this if this is your interest.
A key skill in socio-entrepreneurialism is leadership. Here are just a few of the important leadership skills you’ll learn through Parzival Academy:
- Effective Communication – clarity, connection and decisiveness
- Failing Forward – comfort in making and learning from mistakes
- Inspiration – staying inspired and inspiring others
- Creativity – bringing your unique gifts in creative ways
- Responsibility – ownership of and accountability for your actions
- Commitment – Perseverance, devotion, passion, prioritization, and follow through
- Flexibility and Resilience – ability to adapt, see unique opportunities
- Inner Wisdom – knowing how to trust yourself and your experience
- Trustworthiness – cultivating credibility, conscientiousness, reliability, integrity, respect, empathy and safety
Personal Skills
In the realm of personal skills, you’ll get to know yourself really well. You’ll learn to deal constructively with feelings and emotions, something that is too often overlooked and yet so important as we navigate the emotional ups and downs that can come with running a business and navigating life. We offer many tools for managing time effectively and staying joyfully productive, avoiding procrastination, and staying focused. You’ll also learn how to plan and balance your life and work in realistic, healthy ways that nourish you rather than generate burnout or overwhelm.
Community Skills
As for community skills, you’ll be interacting with your peers, learning to encourage and support one another. You’ll learn to provide gentle feedback that benefits others, and receive feedback openly. With the help of your mentor, you’ll receive guidance on dealing with differences and conflicts you have with others, in or out of the Parzival program. We want you to feel confident and compassionate in relating with others, while staying true to who you are.
Parzival Academy is more than just a gap year program. It’s education and guidance for life. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions. We’d love to work with you!