Northwest TJEd Communities

Feel Like Thowing in the Towel?

2011-03-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

Having a desire to do what we do "right" or "best" or with a feeling of being "accepted" or "approved" we all suffer from those quitting moments. One homeschooling Mom in Idaho addressed her ideas on how to deal with the 'quitting' moment which all home schooling parents go through from time to time.

Mid-year, by February we're feeling "cabin fever" in the middle of winter too. Remember, we ALL have those moments! Enjoy her fresh perspective:

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I have been homeschooling for over ten years now. I have had four children since then, and that brings the total to nine. At various times I have felt like throwing in the towel, here are the conclusions I have come to over the years and the reason why I don't throw in the towel, or at least not for very long.

1. Any part of homeschool, no matter what it looks like, is better than anything at public school. Aristotle said that education under force won't stick, and that is why people can't remember what they learned and what was on the test the day before. The whole system is a system of force. Homeschool develops the whole child, he learns service to his fellow men, he learns parenting skills, work skills and how to get along with others. Just to name a very few of the many things homeschoolers are learning when it doesn't look like they are learning anything.

2. I use the phrase hot house flowers to remind me what I don't want. Hot house flowers look just the same, but don't have the deep root system. We want something different. We assume that because the American school system is set up for early learning, that must be the best way, and I would submit that it definitely is not. That is why we have a nation of non readers and non writers, other than texting. They have all been pushed to young. There are other methods out there that don't start formal education for a child until around seven or eight. This is more appropriate and goes along with the development of the child. Yes, they CAN do it, but it is pushing them pretty hard to do, and if we wait, true love of learning can occur. If you notice every year the age for reading gets a little bit younger in the public school system. We now read in pre-school. Is this really best for the child?

3. Field trips are learning. This year we just spent the first part of the year doing field trips once a week, and that is learning. We also read out loud every day, for about an hour and we cleaned A LOT every day, and that was school. I really needed a break, and I found that when we did start school, my kids were really excited for school, and practically begging to do school. That attitude has carried through in their work this year. The older they are, the harder the work has been, and they have loved it. I would not have believed it if I hadn't done it myself. I also loved school more after the break.

So in conclusion, you are doing great just by homeschooling them, the true meaning of education is not job training, it is "what are you becoming?" that is what education is about. Right now you are strengthening the heart and the will to do good, and these are the most important lessons for core phase to learn. Don't worry about the "school work" you can catch up with lessons in a couple of weeks.

That is what getting off the conveyor belt is all about, IMO, learning to ask the really important questions of:

"why am I doing this" (spelling test, worksheet, anything you can think of)
"Why am I doing it this way?"
"Can of should it be done different, and if so, why?"

This is a life long process and I feel it should change as you learn and grow, and develop your idea of how to educate, when to educate, and why to educate.

Hope I didn't bore you to death with my long answer. Homeschooling makes people great, if the opportunities are there for learning greatness.

Tanya in Idaho

Looking at the Positive of the TJEd Principles

2010-08-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

By Julia Hathaway

As I've been browsing what others are doing in their homes with A Thomas Jefferson Education and reading various posts and blogs concerning this philosophy, I have been amazed at how many of us are lamenting over the education of our children. I know the discussion groups are great for seeking answers when we hit road blocks; however, it seems all too common to see questions like, "How do I do this?" and "Struggling mom needs help!" and "Why can't I seem to get this right?" Believe me, I've asked the very same questions this past year. I think asking these types of questions are necessary in understanding TJEd for ourselves.

I've had an epiphany. Too many of us are focusing on our weaknesses, on our failings based on what we think is "right." When we focus on these negatives we leave very little room for the energy needed to fully implement these amazing principles. And I believe that the reason we focus on our shortcomings or try too hard to "do it right" is because of the "nots" in the principles. I suggest that we spend more time working on the DO's rather than the NOT's of the 8 Keys of Great Teaching.

#1 - Classics: Seek out the benefits of reading great classics. Discover the classics for yourself and with your family! Establish a core classic on which to base your family values and beliefs, a standard to follow. My favorite quote from Rachel DeMille goes something like this, "Once you've read 5 classics in math, 5 classics in science, 5 classics in literature, 5 classics in history . . . you won't be asking how to do this. You'll be asking different questions, better questions." Texbooks? Textbooks still have a place in the TJEd home. They can still be used and considered classics if used wisely and timely OR if there just seems to be a perfect textbook for your family (or even ONE of your children).

#2 - Structure Time: Observe your family's use of time. What is the natural ebb and flow in your home? Follow those signs to create and environment for learning. Does your family learn best in the morning or the evening? Where do family chores fit in in the structure? How much time do you allow for learning, or is the time all filled up with activities and multiple cirriculums that there is no time for self-educating? These are improtant questions to ask when exploring this key. As for content, there are times when you do need to plan the conent. Little Suzy is really interested in bugs. Don't just expect her to learn about them all on her own. As the parent/mentor, we need to be handing them the tools. This is also what Kidschool is for, a time to teach them something you feel is important or exciting. Yes, planning content is important, but it's the TIME that really matters when inspiring children to learn.

#3 - Mentors: What do professors do best? They lecture. I recently learned that a lecture in the "old days" meant that the professor was the only one with a book (because of scarcity of books) and the students listened and learned from him. If we apply that definition to lecturing now, then it is appropriate to do so now. Our view of professors now are simply teachers who stand in front of a classroom while the some 100+ students vigorously take notes. Mentoring is a much more personal experience. Great teachers and mentors guide their students & followers naturally. There isn't underlying pressure to perform ata certain level. Be a mentor, someone your child can come to with questions and problems. Mentoring is knowing the needs of your students and leading them there.

#4 - Inspire: Let's face it - - there are things that need to be required in life. But again, the focus really should be on inspiring, not "not requiring." I have felt guilty at times when requiring anything academic from my children. I don't think that is the essence of this great key. My husband has coined his own term for this, 'Inspire IN the Require." And that is what we do in our home. We require daily reading, writing and math. We follow math cirriculums for the most part, but every once in awhile we "take a break" and read some inspiring math books or play some cool math board games with the intent to light the spark. Inspiring children to learn is harder than simply requiring the next lesson in the book, but I can testify that our relationships are stronger when I'm focusing on the inspiration rather than the require . . . without feeling guilty about the things I do require of my children.

#5 - Simplicity: This one speaks for itself . . . and it's one I'm still working on. :-) Keep it simple, but if you do have one complex and exciting lesson or outing planned, enjoy the moment. Don't let the projects or the field trips or the discussions become a vice in your experience. Cutting out unnecessary things in your home and in the lives of your family help with this tremendously.

#6 - Quality: Expect great things! That's all this is saying. Don't settle for less than your very best. This principle starts with chores when the kids are young and then expands into their studies as they get older. To me this also suggests looking at the greatness of your children rather than their faults. Expect them to be great and they will naturally and happily rise to that standard!

#7 - YOU: Ahh . . . The illustrious "You, Not Them." This is a biggy for me. I've heard a couple of people say, "Am I really supposed to just ignore the children?" or "I've done my schooling, it's time for me to now focus on my kids." This is true. Most of us have "been there, done that." But that does not mean our learning has come to an end. Actually, for me, after college is when it really began! Some people are okay with leaving their children to their own exploring (probably more the unschooling approach), but we each need to explore this one in a very personal way. Without a selfish attitude about it, we need to ask ourselves, "Who am I?" and lead by example as we mothers pursue our talents, strengths, and studies.

How I look at this is not with the perspective of "ignore the children," but rather, "don't forget yourself in the process." If you want to read great books, read great books. This doesn't mean you need to be reading Euclid if Euclid doesn't interest you. If you want to learn how to eat healthier, by all means do it! If you want to be outdoors, head on out (just be sure to take your family). Focusing on your talents, strengths and studies is following this principle. Just be sure to discuss and involve your family in the process (again, another purpose of Kidschool).

I also see this principle in the light of focusing on YOUr family rather than the THEMs out there in the world telling you what you must do to educate your children. Listening to yourself and creating a learning environment for your family is a huge part of the "You" principle.

#8 - Secure: Here I could just repeat my last paragraph as well as the paragraph on simplicity. We need to focus on what is right for our individual situations. Many people write/say that they "feel these principles are right" and yet are still very hesitant and stressed about "doing it right" or "messing it up." This is why we need to focus on the positives.

As I've looked back over the years, I've realized just how much I have been following these principles almost without even knowing it. Maybe not the same way as others, maybe not perfectly, and definitely with a lot of mess-ups. But, it's only when I start comparing myself to others that I become confused and doubtful about these principles. There were a couple of hard years there when it was all about the requiring. But that's okay. I needed it then. There have been months where I've been more stressed than secure. There are days when chaos seems to "rule the nest." These days, months, years do not mean I'm failing and that I will never raise great children. They're just pauses. And when I focus on the positives - - Secure, You, Quality, Simplicity, Inspire, Mentors, Time and Classics - - I am more secure, I am more inspirational and I am more able to mentor my children in the directions they need to go.

Julia Hathaway is a homeschooling mother of 5 and has a bachelor degree in Marriage, Family and Human Development. See her stuff at www.directionliving.blogspot.com

Georgics Tradition Alive & Well in PDX!

2010-07-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce to you William and Vernie DeMille! (brother of Oliver DeMille). William and his wife Vernie have recently settled in the Willamette Valley (Oregon City/Molalla area) and have invited us to come and visit their farm, "C'est Naturelle Farms" on July 23 where they are having a screening of the documentary film FRESH!

They had done this last month, but somehow I didn't get word of it until too late to notify anyone in time -- this time we have ample time to help spread the word and I'm thrilled to be able to attend -- and I hope you can too! See the movie poster below for more information. And if you're not familiar with Georgics, see my post on it here.

OH and before I forget, you can also see their blog about the farm and what they've been doing by going to the Sidebar at left and under the Related Links section see: Georgics Tradition the three links there are all their different websites.

Why Leadership Education? Event Renton WA

2010-07-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

A free lecture for parents, teachers, and scholar phasers.  Are you engaged in Leadership Education, also known as TJEd?  Have you ever wondered what it's really all about?  Come listen to Dr. Schulthies share some answers to the questions

Why do we need leaders?
Why choose Leadership Education?

Who: Shane S. Schulthies received his PhD in Exercise Science from Brigham Young University where he subsequently taught for 13 years. He also has degrees in Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine. He is widely published and has lectured extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia. He has a broad background in academics, consulting, business, and government. He is currently serving as the President and a mentor at George Wythe University. He is married to the former Kimberly Hanson. They have 10 children.

When: Thursday, 7/15 at 7pm

Where: Renton Highlands Library meeting room, 2902 Northeast 12th Street
Renton, WA 98056-3126
(425) 430-6790

This event is hosted by the Leadership Education Association of the Puget Sound (LEAPS).  It is free and open to the public.  Please contact Moira Caswell 253-661-0401 or Jennifer Jarrett 425-367-4660 with questions.  Please RSVP.  The library room only holds 20 and may fill up fast.

Introduction to TJEd

2010-07-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is a presentation by Dr Shanon Brooks introducing what A Thomas Jefferson Education is all about. TJEd is actually just another way to say Leadership Education. This video is broken up into 7 parts.

Introduction to Leadership Education - Part 1

Introduction to Leadership Education - Part 2

Introduction to Leadership Education - Part 3

Introduction to Leadership Education - Part 4

Introduction to Leadership Education - Part 5

Introduction to Leadership Education - Part 6

Introduction to Leadership Education - Part 7

Georgics -- New or Old Tradition?

2010-06-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

To those who may not be familiar with the term Georgics my "readers digest condensed" answer is Sustainable or Provident Living. That's my short answer, but it really goes much, much deeper than that!!

Georgics is a term and a principle of living that has been lost to the American Tradition -- but it was a vital part of what our Founding Fathers and society as a whole practiced at the roots of our nation's founding. I first learned about it from Oliver DeMille's lecture The Four Lost American Ideals -- which I highly recommend you listen to. His introduction to Georgics and the principles that are so intertwined with freedom has helped me see what has been missing in the heartbeat of America for over 100 years!

There is also an essay called, "Founders as Farmers: The Greek Georgic Tradition and the Founders" by Bruce Thorton which is found the book Vital Remnants: America's Founding and the Western Tradition compiled by Gary L Gregg II.

Thorton refers to the poet Virgil and his Georgics poem in conjunction with how the American Founders worked and lived. He compares and contrasts these two periods and societies. The principles from both periods are connected to the ability for the people to be free and how the founders created a nation which allowed individuals and families to prosper in freedom.

Today, most of our society is tied (held prisoner to) the food manufacturers and distributors. But, the ironic thing is we do not have to be stuck with them! There are so many many issues connected with this over industrialized and limited distribution channels of food production today -- which I won't go into here. If you're reading this post I'm likely preaching to the choir.

However think about it, if we had an earthquake of the magnitude they say we're way long overdue for, how many people will survive in the weeks and months following? Do we individually have enough knowledge on how to live without refrigeration? Do we know how to collect water and ensure its drinkable? Do we know how to dress a bird, grow grain, let alone bake bread? You know where I'm going here!

Lets make sure we know how to do these things -- its time for a restoration of time honored principles of sustainable and provident living which will allow us to preserve the freedom to live our lives fully and purposefully.

We have plans to offer a Georgics workshop series with William and Vernie DeMille soon. Watch the site for upcoming details.

TJEd & Public School Children?

2010-05-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

One of the most common questions asked was recently addressed:

I was wondering how TJEd works with public schooling children? How can you keep true to the principles? How do you structure their time? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

We've collected some answers from different viewpoints and experiences:

Quite frankly...this is really hard to do. I have one who is graduating from public high school this month and my other two children are home schooled. The problem for us was that she spends so much more time at public school than she does at home, needing extra vigilance on the Core lessons of True and False, Good and Bad, Right and Wrong.

That said, we have spent time teaching her the principles of the 4 phases of learning, with emphasis on the lessons of Core Phase and learning to LOVE learning. I do believe that at age 18 she is a Practice Scholar, so the progress seems to be there, but at a much slower pace. (My 15 yo is Project Scholar and my 13 yo is also Practice Scholar. To me she is "behind" her younger siblings.)

For structuring time, our entire family has less electronics. Her time after school is spent with the family or individually studying, not on the phone or in front of the TV and computer. We limited participation in school clubs. Friends are only allowed on certain days. You can still structure the evenings and weekends to be geared towards Leadership Education. During school breaks, she participated in the regular routine of devotional, read aloud books, and kidschool that I had with everyone else. She was asked to share her personal studies with me and I still mentored her in her school classes as well as her personal studies.

It is possible, just know that it takes MORE work! The process is slower because they get bogged down trying to complete the conveyor-belt stuff instead of getting a liberal arts education. Outside influences get in the way and make the child backslide. It has been a real trial for me...it breaks my heart that my ex-husband legally kept me from homeschooling her. 

Good luck!
Celeste Batchelor
http://batchelorfam.blogspot.com

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That completely depends upon your public school.  TJEd does not mean homeschooling.  And homeschooling does not mean TJEd.  It's about the keys of great education:  You (not them), Inspire (not require), Structure Time (not content), Simplicity (not complexity), Quality (not conformity), Mentors (not professors), classics (not textbooks).

If you are asking how can you work these principles into your child's education, although they attend a conveyor-belt school for most of their time, then I agree that this is quite difficult.  It's difficult, although not impossible, to counter 30 hours or more per week of a child's time.

So, the first thing I would do is make sure you really understand what each of the keys means.  Read all the books, essays, listen to the audio of the forums, and talk to other TJEd families.  Get a well-rounded and deep understanding of each of the keys.

Next, go talk to the school, or specifically to your children's teachers.  Explain your educational philosophy to them.  Ask them to work with you.  Volunteer to work with them.  Become a team.  Most teachers love these principles, but often can't apply them for administrative reasons.  If they know you want to be integral in your child getting a great education, you may be surprised how much they will work with you.

Teach your children about the principles of Leadership Education.  Have them read TJEd for Teens.  Help them to understand that some things they have to do simply to go along with the system, but other things they will do in order to get their own, great education.

Lastly, I have to say, ask yourself why, if you believe in these principles, your children are spending the majority of their time in a conveyor belt school.  

There are public schools, private schools, and charter schools who utilitize at least some of these keys.  You can find them in many places (more in smaller towns, but they are out there everywhere).  These are not new principles.  People may not call it TJEd, but they may still be utilizing the keys.  That's why you must gain a deep understanding of this model of education, so you can recognize it regardless of what they call it.

If it helps...I attended public (very conveyor belt) schools for K-12 and then for my bachelor's degree.  And yet, I got a great education over the years.  I had a few wonderful teachers who used many of the keys of great teaching.  My parents understood the keys to great teaching, and they stood up to teachers when necessary, gave me supplemental materials when appropriate, helped me love learning, and encouraged me to push myself beyond the low expectations of conveyor belt teachers.

Amy Edwards
San Diego

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EDITORS NOTE: 
We'd like to emphasize that Leadership Education is not about the place or the curriculum used to educate, but rather the principles, breadth and depth of education -- the broad liberal arts education which in the old world was limited only to the wealthy aristocrats 2 centuries ago.

The Founding Fathers wanted to ensure that this type of education was not exclusive but rather available to everyone in order to prevent the elites from limiting who could be broadly educated and who could not.....things have certainly changed in the last 100 years! Today it survives because now families support and integrate these same principles to ensure their children CAN get a Leadership Education in spite of the drift public education has made away from the founders original intent.  Some families continue with their children in the public school and supplement at home, while others prefer to not use the public school at all. This post is designed to help give some perspective about how families do use the public school and leadership education in the home.

For a glimpse into a Public School where Leadership Education is happening we recommend the book "There Are No Shortcuts" and "Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire" by Rafe Esquith a teacher in the LA Unified School District -- where he uses the principles of Leadership Education. His story is one of obstacle and opposition, when many good teachers who try to make this happen in their classroom get so frustrated they give up -- Fortunately for Mr Esquith, persevered and eventually the District saw the results and supports what he does. The sad tale is, this is a rare opportunity since most teachers cannot operate their classroom in this manner.

FREE Shakespeare Play - May 25-26, 2010

2010-05-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

We invite you for an outing in the woods to experience

Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.
This event will be performed by the
Oregon Youth Leadership Institute

Tuesday, May 25, and Wednesday, May 26,

Please note the NEW LOCATION and TIME:
7:00 PM
at the Couches' Residence
16940 S. Shelby Lane, Oregon City

Admission is FREE

Concessions are on sale to help finance the students' trip to Ashland.

Take I-205 to OR-213 South, Exit 10 toward Oregon City/Molalla. Keep right at the fork turn right onto Redland Road. Go 4 miles. Turn left onto S. Potter Road for 1 mile. Go straight onto S. Shelby Lane to 16940 and turn right.

Merchant of Venice April 23rd - 24th Performances

2010-04-12T10:31:00.001-07:00

The public is respectfully informed, that the

Hero Generation Commonwealth
Being engaged for a Few Nights only, will make their
EXCLUSIVE TWO NIGHT APPEARANCE,

FRIDAY evening, April 23^rd 7pm
AND
SATURDAY afternoon and evening,
April 24^th 1 pm & 7 pm

The Merchant of Venice

At the Reedville Presbyterian Church
2785 SW 209^th Ave, Aloha, OR 97006

Admission is FREE!!

*Concessions will be available to help finance the play & class.

The Hero Generation Commonwealth helps
to provide a Leadership Education for
home schooled children ages 12 to 18.

A Call to Leadership Education

2010-04-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

By Rebecca Smith

It all began last summer, when I attended a masterful seminar on leadership education. The speaker had just finished a masterful discourse on the need for a renaissance of classical literacy, and leadership education. When public compulsory schooling became the American way, we put ourselves on a conveyor belt of sorts. While education for the masses has been integral to the goal of widespread literacy, it has edged out leadership education, which is badly needed in our time. We rarely see this latter type of education administered in today's America. So I pondered over my own experience on the conveyor belt, as the seminar drew to a close. The desire came over me to make the sacrifices necessary to gain the education I lacked.

I knew that the vast majority of my homeschooling peers were also products of the conveyor belt approach. Surely I wasn't alone in my need for scholarship. I sensed that a population of homeschoolers existed that would also want to participate in the creation of a leadership society. Certainly I wouldn't have to re-invent the wheel, I thought. Fortunately for me, the Texas homeschooling community, to which I am a recent transplant, already enjoys an abundance of great leadership. Even better, there is an infrastructure of resources in place that has been built over the course of at least twenty or thirty years, beginning with the pioneers of the 1980's who wanted more for their children, just like I do.

Now fast forward to October of last year, and you find me sitting by a beautiful lake, adjacent to the Lake View Conference Center in Waxahachie, Texas. I had by now contacted other leadership education families I knew, who were dispersed all over the D/FW metroplex. Beginning with about ten families, we met in July, and formed the North Texas Statesmanship Society. I'd heard about the opportunity to attend the THSC annual Leadership Conference for home school support leaders. Anxious for training, I jumped at the chance to attend, though not without some trepidation. After all, my support group leadership experience amounted to a grand total of three months. I wondered if I really had what it takes to create the kind of community I'd envisioned. I was almost overcome with a sense of inadequacy at the prospect of my present path.

Then something amazing happened, in that half-hour by the lake, on that beautiful autumn afternoon. In a moment of prayerful meditation, an indelible sense of calling washed over me. It replaced the suffocating fear that had me captivated just a moment earlier. Conviction of the rightness of my course came into my mind with a cascade of ideas, adding vibrant details to my earlier vision of what to do. In that moment, God made it abundantly clear that He had work for me to do, and I'd better get to it. I walked back into the conference, carried by this greater vision. It was a watershed weekend for me. I didn't know any of the leaders there, and didn't converse with nearly enough of them. But those who I did get to know and observe were inspiring leaders and statesmen, all with missions of their own, going about the work they were called to. They inspired me to be a better person, lifting me up by their examples of courage.

I am ever drawn back to this idea that it's not just a select few of us who are meant to be statesmen. In order to meet the challenges of 21st Century America, we will need a generation of statesmen and stateswomen. Indeed, I'm inclined to believe that each of us has a calling we are meant to fill --- a mission if you will --- that only we can accomplish. As to what that is, no one but the individual can determine. Of all societies in history, I think ours is among the neediest of statesmanship.

Russell Kirk, in his ageless classic "Roots of American Order" quotes Simone Weil, a French philosopher and born again Jew: "Our 20th Century. . . is a time of disorder very like the disorder of Greece in the Fifth century before Christ. In her words, `it is as though we had returned to the age of Protagoras and the Sophists, the age when the art of persuasion --- whose modern equivalent is advertising slogans, publicity, propaganda meetings, the press, the cinema, and radio --- took place of thought and controlled the fate of cities and accomplished coups d'état. So the ninth book of Plato's Republic reads like a description of contemporary events.'"

Considering this, I have to ask myself, "How long has this been true in America? When was the time that we were still thinking for ourselves? When did we stop?" While I claim to be no expert on this subject, I suspect that this shift from independent thinking to dependence on persuasion occurred gradually, but accelerated with the advent of mass media. Weil's astute assessment of modern times, even half a century ago, reflects our American reality today. Our sources of propaganda and persuasion have only broadened with the inventions of the television, cable networks, and internet. Think of the Y2K phenomenon. Remember the propaganda surrounding that non-event? The amount of money funneled into the Y2K campaign was staggering.

With the angry masses always clamoring for our attention, it's no wonder we feel like there is little we can do to make a difference. But this is wrong thinking. There is much we can do. Homeschoolers and educators are uniquely equipped to influence future generations for good. But do we realize how much power we hold in our hands? We are molding the next generation. In this context, does it make any sense to replicate the conveyor belt model of learning in our homes? And yet many of us, not knowing anything but this unnatural approach, unwittingly beat ourselves up in the pursuit of mediocrity.

One of my favorite leadership education principles is the power of inspiring your students. Was your natural love of learning as a child smothered in the education process? Think about your upbringing in the public school system. If all of our teachers had set out to inspire great learning in each of us, exposing us to the greatest classics down through history, allowing us to explore our greatest talents in depth, what would have happened? Our founding fathers were mentored this way. They thirsted after great knowledge. Their mentors filled the need. Because of this, they were prepared for the miraculous work of building a new nation where all men are created equal.

How does a child choose to get a great education? One of the elements of conveyor belt schooling is that children's initiative is marginalized, even discouraged. We don't believe anymore that if left to himself, a child might make wise educational choices. If done well, education can be a mix of child-initiated learning and wise parent-mentoring. The most powerful way to insure your child's acquisition of a world-class liberal arts education is simply to get one yourself. The sooner we realize that homeschooling is more about our own education than our children's,the better. The best mentors are first and foremost excellent students, pursuing life-long learning and growth.

Who are the mentors who can help us rise above our limitations? God is naturally our first and most important Mentor. If we are careful observers, we can identify other mentors who are most willing to help us. Plato mentored Aristotle. George Washington had his brother Lawrence. Esther had Mordecai. Who were your mentors?

Statesmen and stateswomen are visionary leaders, walking an independent path. They look for the need that they can fill, and then go about doing it. When that need is filled, they find and fill another one. They do it again and again. They heed an inner-voice that guides them undeviatingly to serve the common good. Anchored to true principles, guided by God and the greater good, they live publicly and privately virtuous lives. America needs them desperately.

We are meant to be more than we've allowed ourselves to be. In ten years, your education will be the same as your children's. Will it be poor, mediocre, or great? One inspiring stateswoman put it this way:

If not you, then who? If not now, when?

Author:
Rebecca Smith is a homeschooling mother of four children aged 8 to 1. She is currently president of the North Texas Statesmanship Society (www.ntstatesmen.org). When not promoting leadership education or homeschooling, she devotes much time to church service. She also enjoys reading, writing, gardening, singing, playing the piano, and going on rides in the country. She resides in Arlington, Texas with her husband Michael and children.

The Five "E's"

2010-03-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

I've come up with The Five E's" and it has become my learning "mission statement."

I create an Environment where
my kids are Exposed to great things
in an Engaging way so that they
can Explore and Experiment.

What I really like about this is it clearly delineates what my responsibility is and what they're responsibility is and where we meet in the middle.

My job is the environment and to expose.
We engage together.
Their job is to explore and experiment.

I'd love to hear what other people think or how we could expand this idea.
ToriAnn, UT

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We think this concept she has put into a phrase to easily remember, helps one to focus on the tone and goal of the parents in raising their children in an educationally rich home.

Note, her mission incorporates these TJEd Principles:
Inspire, Not Require; Structure Time, Not Content; Simplicity, Not Complexity; You, Not Them

ReValue America Tour

2010-03-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

WE REGRET THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED

This tour was designed at no cost to participants. However, the people leading the tour were doing this at their own personal expense and now do not have the funds to travel as they had anticipated. We will keep you posted on this site with any meetings and opportunities as they become available to meet with others who follow TJEd principles and values.

If you have any questions or need more information you may click the comments section below and we'll answer you here.

WE HIGHLY Recommend the Seminar coming April 16-17, which is two FULL days, both from 9 am to 5 pm packed with depth on the topics listed below. However, there is material participants will need to study prior to the content rich workshops, so that you will get the most out of it. Hearing information is one thing, studying and understanding it is our goal.

For more information see our post regarding the Face to Face Seminar. If you are wanting to participate, call the host Lynne Nielsen 503-447-1103 and mention Ann Agent referred you to obtain a discount!

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The Message

“Only a few lifetimes ago things were very different in the United States. Originality and variety were common currency; our freedom from regimentation made us the miracle of the world; social-class boundaries were relatively easy to cross; We were something special, we Americans, all by ourselves, without government sticking its nose into our lives, without institutions and social agencies telling us how to think and feel.

Were the colonists a breed apart from us? No; the truth is that they were the beneficiaries of a system of education that facilitated their natural genius. Today, we can apply the same principles and, like our forebears, meet the challenges of our time with character, competence and courage to triumph over the circumstances that imperil our freedom and prosperity. ReValue America is that message.

ReValue America TOUR: May 14-15

Vancouver, WA * Beaverton/Aloha, OR * Salem, OR * Oregon City, OR

The voice of Project: TJEd 1 Million

Who are we?

Oliver DeMille and Shanon Brooks are founders of George Wythe University and members of the founding team of The Center of Social Leadership. National figures in teaching Leadership Education, they have spent the past 20 years researching, teaching, writing and speaking on the educational legacy of early America; the only solution to this nation’s current ills.

What are we going to talk about?

Major Themes Covered in the ReValue America Lecture Tour:

The Five Founding American Ideals and How to Be An American
Summary of the State of American Education
Solutions for a Nation in Crisis
The Moral Center of Families
3 Steps to Reviving American Confidence
An Introduction to The Cycle of Freedom and How America Measures Up
Defining Education
An Introduction to A Thomas Jefferson Education: The Science of Building Americans
The 4 Phases of Learning
The Real Story of the American Founding
The Proper Role of Government
The 7 Keys of Great Teaching
The Rise of Social Leadership
The Secret Roles of Mothers and Fathers

Why should you attend?

America is a land in crisis. From a collapsing economy, over-the-top divorce rates and abysmal academic performance; to the disintegration of the family and near zero accountability in state and national government—America is facing a crisis like never before.

After decades of attempting to impact society from the top down, we are convinced that the historical American way of life can, and will only be safeguarded by the people themselves—by the very families that are at risk. We believe that 1,000,000 families internalizing and applying TJEd can have a real, measurable positive impact on American culture.

Why should you care?

The Messengers

Oliver DeMille is the founder and former president of George Wythe College, a co-founder of the Center for Social Leadership and the author of A Thomas Jefferson Education, Leadership Education, The Coming Aristocracy and co-author of A Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens. He holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies and a B.A. in International Relations, an M.A. in Christian Political Science and a Ph.D. in Religious Education. He has written and spoken extensively about the U.S. education system versus the historical mentored-classical education of earlier America.

Shanon Brooks is the president of Face to Face with Greatness Seminars, which teaches the popular principles of A Thomas Jefferson Education. He is also the owner of Plutarch Publishing which distributes the printed materials that outline the philosophy of Leadership Education. He is a former president of George Wythe University and a founder of the Center for Social Leadership Co-author of A Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens, he holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in education, and a PhD in constitutional law.

The TJEd Family Library

A Thomas Jefferson Education – Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd) is, in essence, the educational system and societal perspective developed and adhered to in America for 300 years (from the mid 1600’s to the mid 1900’s). It is responsible for the corps of American leaders, inventors, businessmen, statesmen, judges, legislators, presidents and clergy that made America what she was during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. It was the predominant cultural philosophy of America from the opening of Harvard through World War I. This book easily describes the 7 keys and 5 environments of Great Teaching –the core of TJEd and the science of how and why people learn. You will never look at education the same again.

Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens – How to discover your genius, identify your mission and get a great education that makes you come alive. Filled with valuable books lists, motivational discovery processes and keen insight into the future, this is a must read for all young and not-so-young adults.

Leadership Education – The Four Phases of Learning have long been understood in academia, but seldom taught in American teacher colleges. Rather than focusing the primary effort into the right curriculum, behavior management styles and classroom furniture, Leadership Education delves into how a child ticks, their interests, their tendencies and then builds a program around where they are. This book will revolutionize the very way you view your children.

The Coming Aristocracy – “The Coming Aristocracy is compelling, timely and vital. With piercing clarity, Oliver DeMille explains our current economic ad political systems and resurrects the principles that made America great. Most importantly, he clearly describes what we can do as individuals, families, and communities to right our floundering ship. This my be one of the most important book you’ll read this year.”

Steve D’Annunzio-Soul Purpose Institute

The 5,000 Year Leap – The 28 Great Ideas that made America the bastion of freedom for the whole world. “The most impressive element in this outstanding book on political philosophy is the fact that these precepts are precisely what America needs today. It is alarming to think of the billions of dollars which are expended each year trying to solve problems by methods which the Founders knew were fallacious. They attempted to warn us, to share their wisdom with us. Too often their counsel has been ignored. Now we must return to them.” Orrin Hatch-U.S. Senate

Groups and Key Individuals to Whom We have Spoken

Kawanis
Quikstar
Members of the Idaho State Legislature
Members of the Utah State Legislature
U.S. Congressional Breakfast Club
Rotary International
Glenn Beck
Various Community Groups

Testimonials

Thanks so much for having Dr. Brooks out here to speak. We enjoyed the encouragement and reminders we heard. My husband teaches 6th grade Ancient History and 8th grade Bible at Oaks Christian. It is a great school BUT it doesn't follow TJed. He naturally incorporates some things into his classroom but it is always a challenge. Tonight he had to leave in order to grade papers so we couldn't stay to talk to you. Please pass on to Dr. Brooks that our 11 year old enjoyed hearing him speak. He fully agreed that encouragement from Dad means something different than encouragement from Mom :)

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Thank you for coordinating this lecture. It was very generous of Dr. Brooks to offer his time, enthusiasm, and ideas. Somehow there is a difference between reading a philosophical model and trying to apply it, and listening to someone who is passionate about that model and feeling inspired. I only wish that Will could have been at the lecture! I thought that the male-to-male message was very strong and affirming - something so rarely conveyed today. I think that men, more than women, are measured by the "skill sets" of their children, especially their boys.

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I just wanted to thank you again for last night. I feel so inspired. I got home and read until 11:30, and can't wait to start building a foundational library of classics, and begin reading them with the girls!

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Thank you SO much for all the hard work you put into having Dr. Brooks speak last night! It was absolutely wonderful -- he was just so inspiring! For me personally it was fantastic to have Gabe there hearing Dr. Brooks for himself. It is so much more powerful than hearing me go on and on about all the TJed stuff. In fact, I think there's a good chance that Gabe is going to want to go to the third Face to Face seminar with me now!

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I really really loved that lecture. It was so inspiring - he's possibly the best speaker I've seen to date. My only regret was that I couldn't stay long enough to talk to him personally about his suggestions for teachers in the classroom. I wondered if you might have an email contact that I could use to connect with him on that topic?

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I thought last night was fantastic. I have read most of DeMille's books and have attended the first face-to-face seminar, but I've never really heard TJEd explained quite like Dr. Brooks explained it last night. It really hit home for me because he focused on love, family, and values. He helped me really see and feel the importance of his message and made me believe that, 1) it wasn't a message that I could ignore and 2) it was a message that I needed to share far and wide. I came home and had a long talk with my husband about some of Dr. Brooks' suggestions to make our family stronger. I spent some time talking with each of my children. I now know and believe that if my children feel my love and support for them they will be more successful than if they spend hundreds of hours bent over books or in classes. Not that he didn't advocate great books, but for my situation personally there needs to be some improvements in our relationships before education can thrive.

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I'd love for him to come back. I would definitely make the drive again to hear him speak. I would love for him to expand on what we can do in our own communities to spread this message. How we can help others get on the bandwagon to preserve freedom, solidify families, and get back to our foundation roots? I don't have any negative feedback at all. I found the entire evening fascinating. I found Dr. Brooks to be engaging, funny, but most of all "real." I spoke to him afterwards about some personal issues in my home and it was like the crowd disappeared and I was sitting in front of a good friend. His passion for helping others made his presentation work, just like our passion and love for our families and children will make it work in our own homes. Thank you very much for a wonderful evening.

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What sang to me: loved the spousal relationship is #1 sense of security and development for kids (always good to be reminded how WE are examples), loved MATCH, LATCH, LEAD (I was seeking more of this type of example, etc), Dad's praise is key- Great insight, Loved "model inspiration" (golf was his ex). All that said I would go again is a second. He's a great speaker. I am now going to go back and read his stuff! !

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As an educator, I liked the approach to learning that he described. I believe that it is far more beneficial to teach virtues while creating a learning environment. I too believe that children will inherently know their own path if nurtured. They are like little seeds! I enjoyed Dr. Brooks’ style of speech too. He was able to keep me captivated. The part about parenting and marriage was helpful. It made good sense. Overall, the lecture was informative and I enjoyed it. Thank you.

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Websites

www.facetofacewithgreatness.com

www.plutarchpublishing.com

www.thesocialleaders.com

www.tjedonline.com

www.tommymom.com

Preview Conference Call

2010-02-24T17:22:00.000-08:00

Don't Miss the Face to Face Seminar #3
PREVIEW Conference Call Hosted by Dr. Shanon Brooks

Saturday February 27, 11 am

Including:

The Four Foundations of Freedom
The 250 Book Library Every Free American Should Have
How To Understand Any Documents in Less Than 60 Minutes
Freedom Vs Aristocracy
And Much More!

Guest visitors - past Seminar #3 attendees

Phone Number: (218) 936 7979
Access Code: 800965

We look forward to having you on the call.

Social Leadership: Your Role in the Future of America

2010-02-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

Face To Face With Greatness Seminars™
Social Leadership:
Your Role in the Future of America

Endorsed by Oliver and Rachel DeMille
A HANDS-ON WORKSHOP FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
ON HOW TO MENTOR THE CLASSICS

Life is never made unbearable by circumstances but by lack of meaning and purpose.
--Viktor Frankl

• The Four Foundations of Freedom
• Diagramming Documents
• Building your own Family Freedom Library
• Freedom vs Aristocracy
• What is Social Leadership?
• Colloquium on What is Seen and What is Not Seen, The Inner Ring, A World Split Apart and The Greek Georgic Tradition and the Founders

Strongly Suggested Preparation: To get the most out of this workshop, please read the materials: What is Seen and What is Not Seen, The Inner Ring, A World Split Apart, The Greek Georgic Tradition and the Founders and Social Leadership.

NOTE: Those who really prepare in advance get so much more from the seminar. Those who have not prepared by completing all of the readings will be frustrated and will be the source of frustration for others. Seminars will be taught from the prospective that all attendees have prepared properly and that all readings have been completed.

How can a generation that wasn’t mentored in the classics, mentor their own children in the classics? Do you want to help your children get a superb, leadership education… but just aren’t sure how? THIS SEMINAR TEACHES YOU HOW!!

Date: April 16-17, 2010
Location: Portland, Oregon
Cost: Before March 1
$175.00 per person*
$300.00 per couple*

After March 1
$200.00 per person*
$350.00 per couple*

This seminar is hosted by Lynne Nielsen and is open to the public.
Space is limited to 50 participants.

*Seminar fees are transferable person-to-person, not seminar-to-seminar, and are non-refundable.
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For more information or to register, please contact
Lynne at 503-358-9948 or by email at lynnehnielsen @ aol . com

Raising the Standard of Living

2010-01-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Can the education of women and children really raise the standard of living and of a nation? If so, how is it accomplished?

“And how much capable mothers might derive from Wordsworth’s poetry for the spiritual nurture of their children. Capable mothers are alas, comparatively few; but forces are now at work which are increasing the number of such mothers, and will continue to increase it more and more as the ideals of true womanhood are more and more realized and exalted.”
~by Hiram Corson, The Voice and Spiritual Education

How do we become capable mothers?
Most of the women of my generation do not know what being a capable mother even means nor do they know anything about family culture. We don’t know how to manage or set up a home well because it was not taught to us. Being a capable mother is not valued in our society today. The sacrifice a mother makes in staying home to nurture, train, love, and guide a child to adulthood is scoffed at. Women who chose to put family first are regarded as unenlightened women or as unmotivated to pursue a career. Some people are simply surprised at our choice to build a strong home as if it had never occurred to them that they could chose the same. How do we develop a family culture of learning, love, loyalty, and work if we were not raised with it? Do we need mentors, books, examples to teach us? Yes, we do.

First and foremost, we need a desire to learn what we missed, acknowledge what we have needed, and seek to find that desire. We must have some control and knowledge of how to run a household before deeper learning can happen. Our home culture does not have to be perfect, but with chaos, bad feelings, and ornery attitudes no learning can take place. This is something I have resolved to work on in my home. The more I study about family relationships, organization, examples of home culture in good literature, and home culture mentors, the more ideas I find and can apply in my home.

Recently, I have realized how I need to be better educated, something that will change me fundamentally. I received a major paradigm shift about a year ago when I realized I was going nowhere with my life. I was not living the life I wanted. After ten years of studying relationships, early childhood, and parenting ideas, I realized I need to work more on my own character issues rather than fix-it strategies. If I work to better my character, this will affect my children in positive ways. I need to become a capable mother and woman. I have gone through a long process in accepting this realization.

Not until I made a conscious effort to change my attitude and realized what was most important in my life, did I have the strength to make changes in my life. I had to find out what it was I needed to do in this life and at this exact time in my life. I needed to have a mission, a purpose, and vision of what God wanted me to do. I had to trust that the answer He gave me was right for me. I am comforted by that knowledge, that conviction, when times get tough.

After gaining a conviction of what God wanted me to do with my life, which may or may not be super detailed for others, I needed a vision, an end result, for my family. Having a mission for myself and a vision for my family assisted me in making changes in my family culture. With a clear path to take, I was able to pick and choose what would fit in with my vision and goals. It is much easier to say no to good things that come my way but which don’t further me and mine on our journey. Making conscious decisions about what I involve myself in is half the battle with charting my course in life. I am stronger in my convictions, what I choose to bring into my life, and what tools I need to complete my goals in life.

“Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all…. That is influence; that is power."
~ Julie Beck~

After I created my vision, I thought about the things necessary to make it a reality. I need to have a good, solid education. I must have knowledge to offer my children. I must know how to help them find the answers they need in pursuing their own education. I must set an example by seeking to educate myself. I will inspire them, encourage them, explore with them, and have fun with them along the way.

I can find many of the things I seek in reading classic works and deciding what is truth to me. Pondering and writing about what I read helps in this process. I have realized having support and different ideas from others are vital to the way I learn. I am learning much more about myself in this process than I ever thought I would. I am becoming a better mother, wife, and person as I educate myself.

Fear imprisons, faith liberates;
fear paralyzes, faith empowers;
fear disheartens, faith encourages;
fear sickens, faith heals;
fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable.
~Harry Emerson Fosdick~

Education comes down to faith in the process, God, and oneself. Let us all become capable women. We will find success and raise the standard of living of our nation by our example. I am willing to do this-are you?

Amber of Tri-Cities, WA

Moving the Cause of Liberty

2009-12-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

We are making fools of ourselves once more. For over 230 years America has struggled against oppression, injustice and slavery, among many other great evils, while still advancing the causes of peace, life, the pursuit of happiness and, most importantly, liberty. Today, something much different is taking place. Children, even before their very birth, are in debt; the people’s voice in their own government is being smothered; the lives of hundreds are being enslaved by ignorance spread by our very own systems; and the words of truth are being ignored by those who should be documenting them. Our whole society is tearing apart at the seams and few have taken enough notice to try to repair it.

The only thing stopping total collapse is liberty. Because people are still able to think for themselves chaos is held at bay by the desire for the benefits of peace. Luckily, though many have forgotten, liberty is an unalienable right which can never be taken away, but, like a beam of light is hidden by a dark cloud, it can be blotted out. Like trained animals we are being taught to rely on others, releasing out freedom and independence; systems are operating which put the good in some form of bondage, while giving evil to have a greater hold on the lives of others; and, while we must always have laws to protect us from the harm of others, our rights are being taken away before our very eyes. Organizations across the earth are covering the light of liberty in the physical, intangible and mental realms, which is horribly affecting our way of life.

But all is not lost. History is repeating itself again and leaders of every shade are stepping forward to save this country. In times of need they have always done so: every civil war has had a Lincoln, every revolution a Washington, every protest a Gandhi, every problem its vanquisher. This crisis, for it soon will be a crisis, has leaders to destroy it as well, some of whom are only children at the moment. It is these children who will solve the coming problems and liberate America from its self-imposed bondage, and a small group in southern California is trying to nurture youth to become those saviors. This group is small, but great; it is compassionate yet strict; it was built by ordinary people to do extraordinary things; and it IS going to have an impact on the future of this earth. This group is G.E.N.I.U.S.

Their name proclaims their mission: to Guide, Educate, Nurture and Inspire Unique Scholars. But to guide, educate nurture and inspire them to become what? Geniuses: people who have achieved their greatest potential. Liberty is the most powerful thing people can have to fulfill such a mission, so it is freedom which they are using. The very essence of each class is imbued with the ideas of liberty, allowing the potential for great manifestations of genius to take place. G.E.N.I.U.S.’ classes each impact a different part of the liberty within each of its scholars, and by the end of a scholar’s time in a class they will have awakened a new sense of liberty in their minds and hearts.

Knowledge, understanding, ability, leadership and freedom are what G.E.N.I.U.S. is striving to give its scholars. Each of the classes is designed to impact them in a profound way, and if in the end the classes have done so then the scholar has received one of the greatest gifts this world has to offer. They have the power to influence their own destiny and to become who they most desire to be; they have the knowledge to succeed in all areas of life, no matter how hard the challenges; they have a mindset which allows them to keep growing and developing, while still allowing them to be themselves. These scholars, these youth, are the future of America, and if they have learned from these classes they will be among the great names of history. Liberty will be the flame which burns inside them, the fire which burns within their very spirit. They will be the saviors of liberty, and nothing will stand in their way because of what they carry forth. These will be the scholars of G.E.N.I.U.S. and it will be thanks to that small group that they became so extraordinary.

Written by Josh C.

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NOTES:

Josh C. is a youth who wrote the above excerpt from his opinion paper on "moving the cause of liberty".

*G.E.N.I.U.S. is a Commonwealth School in a mentoring environment where youth participate in activities lead by an adult mentor to help them become self-directed scholars through practice-, apprentice- and self-directed scholar projects. The Commonwealth School program was designed by Leadership Education Mentoring Institute which trains adult mentors in leading youth projects as a Commonwealth School. For more information see http://www.thelemi.com

How Does One Become an Inspiring Mentor?

2009-11-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

(a) Someone once asked Robert Newton Peck, a prolific writer of children's fiction, how to write a book. He responded, "Read a thousand books first".

(b) Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" chronicles many cases of 10,000 hours of practice leading to mastery.

(c) Inspiration comes from "inspirare", "in the spirit". I'd like to quote briefly from an essay I am currently studying: "In many traditions, the word "spirit" refers to life-force, the basic energy of being. Symbolically, spirit is the breath of life. The Hebrew ruah, Greek pneuma, Latin spiritus, and Sanskrit prajna all mean both "breath" and "spirit." Traditionally, this life force is seen as manifest in our love--in the passions and inspirations that motivate us and connect us with the world and with one another.

"In this view, spirituality has to do with the fundamental propelling forces of our lives, our most profound loves, passions and concerns. It is the wellspring of our sense of meaning and of our will to live, the source of our deepest desires, values and dreams. Spirituality, then, is not a thing apart from our daily lives, but rather the fundamental energy source that fuels all our emotions, relationships, work, and everything else we consider meaningful."

Although I have only recently (within the past couple of years) come across these three pieces of information, I find they sum up quite nicely the steps I am taking to become more inspiring -- to myself, to my family, for all those in my stewardship. When I combine (a), (b) and (c), I come up with a few steps that have been helpful for me:

(1) If you want to be an inspiring mentor, take as many hours as possible to be inspired yourself, whatever that means to you. It might be worth starting by finding out what inspires you. For some, it is nature. For some art or music. For some, it is devoting time to their spiritual practices -- praying, meditating, reading scripture, serving others, visiting holy places...

Know what touches your heart and mind and soul -- what opens them, expands them, and leads them towards a longing for truth and further growth. Then schedule in some time every day for at least a passing experience with those things. Understand the process of being inspired. Open yourself to greatness every day.

(2) As time progresses, you will be led to do in-depth study of what inspires you. For some, that means research -- deeper reading of scripture, intense study of the biographies or artistic or service or work practices of those who inspire you -- who become *your* mentors, whether in person, or through their works and contributions to the world. For some, that means intense practice -- wielding a paintbrush or an instrument or a garden trowel or tools for serving others or spending much time in holy places. For some, it means both. Take the time to immerse yourself in such study and application.

(3) Know what touches your child's heart and mind and soul -- know what conditions need to exist for them feel inspired. This starts with an in-depth study of your child, and much practice of your relationship. Trust needs to be strengthened -- in some cases, established or re-established. I refer you to Diann Jeppson's TJEd Continuum diagram in the back of the Leadership Education book by the DeMilles for further information.

For some children, physical presence is needed -- much one on one time, or tickling, or hugs, or snuggling against their mother as they read. For some, it is much physical movement -- inspiration to do more, stretch more, attempt new things comes from running, or riding a bike, or tinkering with tools, building or discovering. Some children have passionate interest in something -- for my son, it was Star Trek -- so interest in THEIR interest, mastery knowledge of THEIR passion is the key to their heart, and then their mind. Find out what inspires your child, and if you can, find out how it inspires them, and why.

(4) Find ways to make your passion and what reaches your child overlap. You are not trying to change your child, to have them accept your interests instead of theirs, but to find ways to connect that which makes you feel alive, and that which touches them.

(5) Finally, one thing that I think has been well illustrated by recent posts is the importance of taking care of your physical well being in order to create fruitful conditions for your inspirational best self. Eat well, breathe well, sleep as you can to be able to have the energy and strength to carry through on the epiphanies (a-hahs) that come to you about how to reach your child or create a more inspirational environment or better train yourself to be both inspiring and inspired.

These are the bones. I hope others clothe them in the flesh of their own experiences.

Debi from Canada

Cycles in History Workshop 11/14/09

2009-10-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Not your traditional

FREEDOM Project

2009-10-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

A Constitution Study

Begins Thursday Oct 22, 7 - 9 pm
Class meets every other week through June 2010
Commerce Business Building
7100 SW Hampton St #221
Tigard, OR 97223

The Freedom Project is a study of America's Founding documents and principles of government including The 5000 Year Leap. This project studies various forms of government and their effect upon the happiness of the people.

Participants will learn by:

1. Reading and discussing the lives and works of individuals who fought for freedom
2. Lectures on foundational principles of freedom
3. Annotating the U.S. Constitution
4. Writing workshops which develop the power of personal influence
5. Field experience while taking active involvement in local government

Please join us in the Freedom Project where you will be empowered with greater knowledge of the Founding Fathers to effectively promote the cause of liberty.

"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free,
as Jefferson cautioned, it is the responsibility
of every American to be informed." Ronald Reagan .

This course is similar to a year long weekly course "Key of Liberty" for youth 12+ but designed with the busier schedule of parents/adults in mind -- by meeting every other week.

Tuition: $50 per individual or $75 per couple (we recommend couples if possible)

Fee: One time $10 online registration and $15 for student workbook
ordered through www.LiberCommunities.com
This includes access to a nationwide network of others taking this same course!

plus books -- some of which you may already have.
* The 5000 Year Leap, by Cleon Skousen
* John Adams by David McCullough
* The Real George Washington, by Jay Perry
* The Making of America, by Cleon Skousen
* Bridge at Andeau, by Michner
* And There Was Light, by Lusseyran
* essays by Bastiat

Registration Form You may print this off and bring it to the first class with your payment, where we will introduce the syllabus, the books we are studying this year and outline our goals for the year.

Saving 9 Little Boys

2009-09-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

Hannah Hendee

On 16 October 1780, about the time that Peter was routing the British at the Burkeville tavern, Robert Havens was awakened by the barking of a neighbor's dog; something was after the sheep. Partially clothed, he left his house near the White River in South Royalton, Vermont, and ascended the hill. He found the sheep safe. He stood pensively looking back as the first light of dawn touched his frontier home. Something was wrong!

As he turned to retrace his steps, he saw a large company of Indians move from the forest and push in the front door of his home. Two teenage boys who had been aroused to help with the sheep were getting dressed. One was his son Daniel Havens. The other, Thomas Pimber, was courting a neighbor girl and had stayed overnight with the Havens family.

The boys burst through the back door and ran for their lives. Daniel stumbled as he reached the stream, rolled down the bank under a log, and was not discovered. Thomas Pimber was not so fortunate. In a few minutes the Indians were roaring with delight. His scalp had a double cowlick. Cut in two, it would fetch a double bounty from the British.

The Indians-three hundred of them from Canada-and a few Tories were commanded by a British captain named Horton. The British had offered the Indians eight dollars each for live captive men, something less for boys, and a lesser amount for scalps. The British had placed no bounty on women and girls, who were therefore immune to captivity and subject to something less than death.

During that long-forgotten burning of South Royalton, Vermont, the Indians moved downriver capturing the men and boys, killing those who resisted. They killed all the livestock and burned the houses and barns holding the harvest upon which the colonists depended for survival during the long New England winter.

Some distance downstream, the Hendee family had been warned. The husband set out on foot to warn others further downstream. Hannah Hendee grabbed her seven-year-old son, Michael, and a younger daughter and ran for the woods. Just when she thought she had reached safety a band of Indians stepped from the shadows and wrested her boy from her. One of them spoke English. She demanded to know what they were going to do to her boy. The Indian replied, "Make a soldier of him."

As the Indians dragged her sobbing boy away, she made her way toward the road along the river carrying her little girl, who screamed in panic for her mother to keep the Indians away.

Near the river she met Captain Horton and asked what they intended to do with the little boys. She was told that they would be marched to Canada with the men. She said the youngsters could not endure such a march, and was told, "In that case, they will be killed."

She headed down the road toward Lebanon, sixteen miles away, carrying her little girl. She had not gone far when she was filled with a surge of uncommon resolve, a fierce determination. They should not keep her little boy!

She returned upriver and found the British and the Indians gathering their captives on the opposite bank. She started across and would have drowned had not an old Indian helped her to shore.

Oblivious of the danger, she demanded her little boy. Captain Horton said he could not control the Indians; it was none of his concern what they did. She threatened him: "You are their commander, and they must and will obey you. The curse will fall upon you for whatever crime they may commit, and all the innocent blood they shall here shed will be found in your skirts when the secrets of men's hearts are made known, and it will cry for vengeance upon your head!"

When her little son was brought in she took him by the hand and refused to let go. An Indian threatened her with a cutlass and jerked her son away. She defiantly took him back and said that she would follow them every step of the way to Canada, she would never give up, they would not have her little boy!

Finally, intimidated by her determination, Captain Horton told her to take her son and leave. He could face an army of men, but not a mother driven by the strongest of emotions. She had gone but a few rods when she was made to return. Captain Horton said she must wait in camp until all the captives were assembled and the march north began.

During the day other little boys were brought into camp. Desperately they clung to Mrs. Hendee. With uncommon courage she interceded for them as vigorously as she had for her own.

Finally, when the captives were assembled for the long march to Canada, Mrs. Hendee somehow crossed the river with her daughter and nine small boys: her son, Michael, Roswell Parkurst, Andrew and Sheldon Durkey, Joseph Rix, Rufus Fish and his brother, Nathaniel Evans, and Daniel Downer. Two of them she carried across. The others waded through the water with their arms around each other's necks, clinging to her skirts. As the cold October night closed in, Mrs. Hendee huddled in the woods with the soaking-wet little brood she had rescued from certain death.

One of the boys, Daniel Downer, "received such an affright from the horrid crew, that he was ever afterwards unable to take care of himself, wholly unfit for business and lived for many years, wandering from place to place, a solemn, tho' silent witness of the distress and horror of that dreadful scene." (Evelyn Wood Love-joy, History of Royalton, Vermont [Burlington, Vermont: Free Press Printing Co., 1911].)

They talk about a woman's sphere,
As though it has a limit;
There's not a place in earth or heaven,
There's not a task to mankind given,
There's not a blessing nor a woe,
There's not a whispered yes or no,
There's not a life, or death, or birth,
That has a feather's weight of worth . . .
Without a woman in it.
-Author unknown

Face to Face With Greatness Seminar

2009-09-05T03:23:00.000-07:00

Thomas Jefferson Education Revisited:
You, not Them
September 25-26, 2009

Endorsed by:
George Wythe University

A HANDS ON WORKSHOP
FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
ON HOW TO MENTOR THE CLASSICS

“For learning requires a mentor—an Athena, a Virgil, a Beatrice—to lead and teach, guide and instruct . . . showing their charges how to learn, stepping back when the pupil begins to see and to understand on his own.” --L. Cowan

* Core and Love of Learning
* Transition to Scholar
* Scholar Phase
* Depth Phase
* How to Read a Book
* The 8th Key
* Pre-readings:
The Virginian, Pride & Prejudice,
A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion,
Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning
* Colloquium on The Virginian and Pride & Pejudice

Seminar Schedule: (each day includes 1h 30 min lunch break)
Friday: Registration opens at 8:30 am
Seminar begins promptly at 9 am - 5 pm,
Saturday: 9 am to 5:30 pm.

Pre-Registration Cost:
$185.00 per person*
$140.00 per spouse*
$ 95.00 per youth (14+)*

At the Door Cost:
$200.00 per person*
$150.00 per spouse*
$110.00 per youth (14+)*

**Click Here to Register ** Space is limited

*Seminar fees are transferable person-to-person, not seminar-to-seminar, and are not refundable.

This workshop provides an opportunity for 'training' that will help you as a parent and as a teacher.

The Virginian Audio:

Pride & Prejudice Audio:

The 4 Lost American Ideals

2009-08-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

We recently had a conference call where we listened to Oliver DeMille explain the four most important ideals that were present with the Founding Fathers that are missing today.

Georgics
Providence
Liber
Public Virtue

What this presentation teaches about Freedom and America are eye opening and inspiring.

To learn more details about Liber, come to the Face to Face with Greatness Seminar, Sept 25-26, 2009!

The Freedom Project - for Adults

2009-08-30T01:37:00.000-07:00

The Freedom Project is a study of America's Founding documents and principles of government including The 5000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen. This project studies various forms of government and their effect upon the happiness of the people.

Participants will learn by:

Reading and discussing the lives and works of individuals who fought for freedom
Lectures on foundational principles of freedom
Annotating the U.S. Constitution
Writing workshops which develop the power of personal influence
Field experience while taking active involvement in local government

Please join us in the Freedom Project where you will be empowered with greater knowledge of the Founding Fathers to effectively promote the cause of liberty.

The Freedom Project meets in a classroom setting twice a month for nine months. This project is offered in communities around the United States and Canada, as well as Online.
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free . . . it expects what never was and never will be.” Thomas Jefferson

"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, as Jefferson cautioned, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed." Ronald Reagan

Sign up for a Freedom Project Class near you. Look at the sidebar on the right for schedules.

___________
The Freedom Project Certification
and Continuing Education Credit:
George Wythe University’s “Freedom Project Certification” accompanies this project. (See www.gw.edu for the Freedom Project Certification requirements.) Upon completion of the certification three credits may be purchased and applied to a George Wythe University degree program.

Thoughts on a Thomas Jefferson Education

2009-08-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

There are a few books that when you initially read them, simply resonate with your spirit. A Thomas Jefferson Education is one of them. I read many different books on educational philosophy over the course of about 7 years, searching for answers and learning by trial and error on my “guinea pig” children. I wanted them to have a superior education, but my own limited understanding and poor study habits were a definite hindrance. I had come to realize that a public school education would only give them what it had given me… and I wasn’t very happy or satisfied with the results. I wanted more for my children. What parent doesn’t want that?

I’ve always believed in building on what you have – weeding out the bad and improving on the good. I tried with all my might to “build” upon the public school system (classroom helper, homeroom mom, PTA, parent committees, school board), but it made no difference. The decision to “weed out” the public school system was decidedly the most difficult decision of my life – that was one HUGE weed; a gigantic leap of faith! It took over a year, once the thought took hold, to gain the courage to do so.

With a very poor beginning, feeling alone and unprepared, through lots of tears and time spent on my knees, I began my experiment, knowing that my children’s future was at stake. I was always cognizant of the fact that this little experiment could literally destroy my children and their futures… and that it would be all my fault. Talk about pressure! This was an enormous crossroad in our family – our Rubicon. Taking this road would forever change the course and destiny of my family. Would it be for better or worse?

Four years into my homeschooling experiment, I was introduced to the book, A Thomas Jefferson Education. By that point I had learned a great deal about what worked and what did not. I was doing OK, and remarkably happy with our progress as a family in spite of all the limitations and deep seated fears that continued to nibble away at my confidence. I knew I was doing better than the public school up to that point, but it still wasn’t enough. Something more was needed. Thankfully, a generous and loving Heavenly Father had been supporting and guiding my fledgling efforts. We discovered George Wythe College quite by accident; a peculiar story I won’t take the time to relate in this paper. I also had a seventeen year-old daughter getting ready for college. One look at the curriculum and we were both sold… instantly. Then, as a matter of course, one cannot attend GWC without reading and learning about A Thomas Jefferson Education. I find it interesting that when something is right, it has a way of making itself known to our hearts almost instantaneously. It just “feels” right and something cries out from deep within our very souls. Then doubts come, but only because the heart has to compete with the mind; especially when a new idea goes against tradition.

Somehow our society’s educational traditions have gotten off track. It was that insight that prompted me to make the attempt to teach my own children. But I also knew I couldn’t continue by myself indefinitely; I needed help! Badly. A Thomas Jefferson Education was an answer to prayer. It is much more than a book on educational methods or philosophy. It is a book on educational principles. My heart tells me they are correct principles; my experiences have confirmed them. However, friends, family, acquaintances, and even my own “conditioned” beliefs continue to fling traditions at me that keep me from implementing those principles to their full potential. Bad habits are so hard to break! Yet the principles are there. The paradigm has shifted.

My vision and understanding of education – what it is and what it is not – changed drastically after reading about TJEd. Once your eyes are opened to a grand view of a beautiful scene, you are never quite the same afterwards. That vision stays with you. It may fade with time if not refreshed, yet the memory is always there to some degree. Suddenly all the small components of that scene take on greater meaning, purpose and depth. One can see how each piece fits into the larger, greater puzzle of life. Greater appreciation and reverence for each small truth begins to make an impact that changes our lives forever. Our course has changed. We take that fork in the road that leads us toward that beautiful new vision. We stumble, fall, question, and encounter roadblocks along the way, but we cannot go back once we’ve seen it… and be happy.
Among all the substantial insights gained from reading A Thomas Jefferson Education, there were two key points that particularly captured my attention.

The most striking was the injunction to "Inspire not Require". I have always known that the power of example is tremendous. Like the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. But it especially hit home on one occasion in particular that I’ve never forgotten.

When my youngest son was just a toddler he began exhibiting some very odd behavior. For no apparent reason, he would suddenly stop whatever he was doing, walk towards a blank wall or door and press his face against it, stand there for a few seconds, then just as suddenly turn around and go back to whatever he was doing before as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He would do this at least three or four times a day. My husband and I would look at each other and wonder what prompted him to act in such a bizarre manner. This baffling behavior continued for several weeks. It was the only abnormal quirk he exhibited. He acted much like any typical toddler in every other respect, so we weren’t overly concerned, but we were certainly curious! We often made comments like, “He’s YOUR child” or “He must take after YOUR side of the family”, and would just laugh it off, knowing he would eventually grow out of it. But I’ll be forever grateful that he didn’t grow out of it before I learned the powerful message he was bringing me.

One day I was in the kitchen when I thought I heard a car in our driveway. Wondering who it might be, I walked to our laundry room door which opened out into the driveway and looked through the peek hole in the door. As I stood there gazing through the peek hole, my little boy came running up from behind and squeezed himself between me and door, again exhibiting that odd behavior of pressing his face against the door. Suddenly, in a flash of comprehension, I understood! He was copying me! Laughing, I quickly picked him up and positioned one of his eyes in front of the peek hole. I could see the little light bulb go off in his head as a huge smile spread across his face. Needless to say, his odd behavior immediately came to a halt. One look through the peek hole and he had the vision of what I was doing and why. This experience changed him. He never again pressed his face against a blank wall or door. From then on, he dragged a chair to the door and looked through for himself – behavior that made perfect sense.

We have two doors in our home that open to the front of our house; both with peek holes. Obviously, my son had seen me and other family members use these peek holes, but being so short couldn’t see them from his low vantage point. He only knew that we would walk to a door occasionally and press our faces against them. Children learn by imitation, so he was doing what any normal child does. He was copying us even though it made absolutely no sense! Although this incident brings to mind many possible analogies and lessons, one of the greatest lessons I learned from it was the power of my example on my children… for both good and bad. But more importantly, how easily we follow and copy things that others do – that society does – that make no sense. How many false traditions do we pass on without understanding why? How often do we press our faces against a blank wall?

Reading A Thomas Jefferson Education opened my eyes to many blank walls I had been pressing my face towards. Like my son, now that I’ve seen through that peek hole and caught the vision beyond the closed door, there’s no going back. I cannot continue a tradition and habit that doesn’t make sense. I have to change! And I have to find some way to help others see what I’ve seen. I have to learn to inspire!

To inspire, however, requires another key point – "You not Them." To be a good example, requires establishing good habits worthy of emulation and also means getting rid of bad habits as well. That’s the painful part. We have to pull up a chair and get busy studying ourselves, as well as do a bit of weeding. Eventually we all come to realize sooner or later that the only person we can change is ourselves, and that changing ourselves is what makes the greatest impact. It brings to mind a little poem I once heard that has simplified my life and given me hope. It reads:

“Your task… to build a better world”, God said. I answered, “How? The world is such a large, vast place so complicated now. And I so small and useless am; there’s nothing I can do”. But God in all his wisdom said, “Just build a better you”. –Anonymous

Susan J. of AZ
Friday, October 3, 2008

Dr Shanon Brooks Aug Visit to PDX/Vancouver 2009

2009-08-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

In gearing up for the September 25-26, 2009 Face to Face #2 Seminar, Dr Shanon Brooks was in town and visited with people throughout the greater Portland Region. (Vancouver, WA; Salem, Oregon City; and Beaverton)

We were privileged to learn about a new book coming out in November 2009 called TJEd for Teens -- it gave us some interesting history about where the Teenage term was first used, and the consequence this concept has brought about the 'Midlife-Crisis' of our times.

He introduced some questions that every teen can ask themselves which will help them focus on the correct principles and help them make better decisions. As we parents know, the teen years are transformational in the direction a person makes for a lifetime. He shared with us some of the "Transformational Life Questions" every person needs to ask themselves.

The response by attendees' was incredibly positive. It has helped many of us to re-focus as parents so we can be more effective. Definitely a book on my list to get!

As a follow-up we also offered a conference call on August 26, 2009 to answer specific questions. He also gave us some insightful new information that helps us understand more about the content of the Face to Face Seminar#2: TJEd Revisited-You, Not Them (September 25-26, 2009)

Here's the recording of the call:

NOTE: We have TJEd for Teens available here in Portland Oregon. Contact Ann Agent 503-939-6577
The Seminar was well attended and very informative. We will post when another Seminar is available in locations of the Pacific Northwest. It will be posted in the sidebar..

The Value of Education

2009-08-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

By Jared and Selena Sorensen

“The good education of youth has been esteemed by wise men of all ages as the surest foundation of happiness.” Benjamin Franklin

Our freedoms are under attack, our economy has weakened and public virtue among our political leaders has vanished. History repeats itself and therefore we are experiencing the past due crisis in our nation. Although the government can be blamed for many of the maladies in our current economy, if there is to be real “change” it will come from the bottom and work its way up, not be imposed upon us from those on the top. That means that we must begin with our generation in order to become the informed electorate envisioned by the founders of our country. “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free…it expects what never was and never will be.”(Thomas Jefferson) By paying the price to obtain a Leadership Education for ourselves and our children, we can stop the erosion of our freedoms.

Right now we are seeing in the world a period of deflation and revaluation in property, stocks and commodities. There have been housing bubbles, tuition bubbles, and even bubbles in the commodities that have burst and caused values to decline 50% and more. What has happened to the value of education during this deflationary period? This largely depends on the type of education one possesses. Unemployment rates are now in the double digits suggesting that the current recession has affected all sectors of the working class. Many highly educated individuals have found that they are no longer needed as businesses, out of necessity, down size their work forces.

Leaders Wanted!

Where will the leaders come from to bring the United States back to the principles upon which the country was founded? Are these principles obsolete in the 21st century? The individuals that will lead our nation are being created right now in our homes.

The United States is among the most educated societies ever to live on the earth. One who believes in the value of education might be predisposed to believe that our country would be free from many of the ills that have plagued former civilizations. Recent attacks on morality and the current economic crisis suggests we are not immune from these problems. What is wrong? Perhaps the answer lies in our education.

The Founding Fathers realized that for freedom to endure it was necessary to implement public education. Jefferson stated, “If the condition of man is to be progressively ameliorated (improved) as we fondly hope and believe, [education] is to be the chief instrument in effecting it.”

In order to make the changes we need in our society, we must first know what types of education are now available to us. They can be divided into at least three groups: Job training, Professional, and Leadership Education.

Job training

Job Training is the type of education offered by many universities, technical schools, training programs and the public schools in America. The purpose of this educational system is to give individuals the skills needed to obtain jobs and become functional citizens in the nation. There is nothing wrong with this form of education; in fact it is a great thing. Job training does have some weaknesses however, as we can see by the current number of individuals who have received this form of education that are now unemployed. These individuals sacrificed both time and money to acquire the skills that would get them good paying jobs. Unfortunately, many of these skills are now obsolete or are not currently in demand.

Professional Education

Doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers and many of those currently serving in political offices receive a professional education. These individuals are an integral part of any society because their services improve the quality of life for the people. The time and money required to receive a professional education is extremely great, and the monetary rewards they receive are commensurate with their investment. Because the services rendered by professionals are so needed, they have greater job security. These individuals are not immune from the economic recession however. Professionals may still have employment, but they have witnessed the erosion of their net worth thus requiring them to postpone retirement.

Leadership Education

There is another form of education that is known as leadership or Oxford education. This type of education involves the in-depth study of classical works, books, and art. Leadership education is based on the ancient Hebrew model of education, whereby a mentor works closely with a student to form a personalized education that will be a guide on the path to obtaining wisdom. Wisdom is defined by Webster as: “Insightful understanding of what is true, right, or enduring,” and represents the “amassed learning of philosophers, scientists, and scholars.” True wisdom, combined with common sense, or “native good judgment,” gives the student depth and breadth in all subjects, including math and science. We are living in the information age. Information however is of minimal worth if it cannot be converted into wisdom. Wisdom must also be coupled with moral principles to prevent tyranny and despotism. A good example of the lack of moral principles in leadership was demonstrated in the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler.

Many of the Founding Fathers of America received a leadership education under the hands of great mentors such as George Wythe. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and their contemporaries studied the works of Montesquieu, Cicero, Plato and many others, in their original context and very often in their original languages. Those history lessons enabled the Founders to come together in the common cause of creating and preserving a system that would protect man’s inalienable rights and God-given freedoms. As a result of these men coming together with a common goal—because of their wisdom obtained through their education, and under the hand of God, the Constitution of the United States was born.

Some argue that the principles upon which the United States Constitution is founded are outdated and not applicable in our day. To an extent that may be true, but if it is, it is a result of our Nation’s actions that are contrary to moral government. The Constitution has no power over an immoral people. John Adams stated: “Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Morality has been steadily on the decline in our nation for the past century. The ills that have eroded the moorings of the Constitution cannot be corrected overnight and not without sacrifice and effort.

The purpose of job training education is to teach a person what to think, professional education teaches people when to think, and leadership education teaches one how to think. What could be more important for all of us who love our country than to know how to think, how to study and plan, how to discern between right and wrong and how to have the courage to choose the right.
Although all education is good, leadership education gives one a breadth of knowledge that allows the student to adapt to changing circumstances. This does not ensure that the person with a world-class leadership education will not lose his or her employment during economic downturns, but if that individual does, he or she will be more likely to find the silver lining in the storm cloud and the opportunities that inevitably accompany every crisis. The current crisis in our world has leveled the playing field in many ways for those in the work force. The leadership-educated entrepreneur now has many advantages over the individual who has become indebted to obtain a degree from a prestigious university.

Freedom and Education

If our nation is to remain free we must return to the principles upon which this great nation was founded. Leadership education principles can be applied in any system of education. “Lay down true principles, adhere to them inflexibly, and do not be frightened into their surrender.” (Thomas Jefferson) The key is to take responsibility for one’s own education. Sir Walter Scott stated, “All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.” It is up to each of us to become educated and then assist in the education of those around us. The big question is how. And the answer is: Prayerfully seek for guidance from God, and then go to the classics, find a mentor who has the type of education you desire, and start now to educate yourself and your children. The call to leadership will come. As we pay the price to obtain a leadership education we can answer that call and follow the wisdom of Gandhi to “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Jared Sorensen lives with his wife, Selena, and their 6 children on a ranch in Ruby Valley, Nevada. Jared and Selena are obtaining a leadership education through George Wythe University and are striving to give a leadership education to their children.

The Nation Comes from the Nursery

2009-08-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

By Laurie Gatrell

Recently, as my husband and I ate dinner at a rustic steakhouse, I noticed a large portrait of a mother and child above our booth. In the picture, the young woman, in her blue satin Victorian gown, gazed adoringly into her child’s cherubic face as they sat serenely on a pastoral bench. Across the bottom of this tranquil scene blazed the bold statement: “A Woman’s Place is in the Home.”

In our politically-correct society, “them’s fightin’ words!” Therefore, one could almost dismiss them as sentimental; an out-dated, irrelevant Victorian platitude. But I couldn't; not since learning about the importance of statesmanship and leadership education in the home at the “Face-to-Face with Greatness” seminars.

Statesmen, I learned, are ordinary people who choose to live good, honest lives and pay the price of greatness; who become the change they want to see in the world and who make a difference in society. Leadership education is the type of education our Founding Fathers had.

One presenter, Laura Bledsoe, quoted Samuel Smiles, who said, “The nation comes from the nursery.”

These words resounded in me.

Before our country was founded, before the Boston Tea Party, or the Stamp Act, and before Thomas Jefferson heard Patrick Henry’s “give me liberty or give me death” speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses, and before the men who made our country had paid their price to be great-- there was a woman. You probably haven’t even heard of her, but her legacy influenced the founding of our country. Her name was Margaret Walker Wythe.

Margaret and Thomas Wythe, a plantation owner in Virginia, had two sons and a daughter together before Margaret was widowed at a young age. Her second son was having difficulty in the public school, so she brought him home and taught him herself.

It was rare in those days for a woman to be educated, and Margaret was not merely ‘literate,’ she was a ‘highly educated woman’. She mentored her son until he was about sixteen in Latin, Greek, mathematics and more. Most importantly, she helped him acquire the greatest gift: a life-long love of learning.

Margaret passed away about this time, but building on the foundation she gave him, he decided to study at the College of William and Mary. Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford it. He didn’t let that stop him, however. Indeed, over time, Margaret’s son became Virginia’s foremost classical scholar, the colony’s Attorney General, a delegate to the Continental Congress, a speaker of the Assembly, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, the young man who’d been too poor to even attend the College of William and Mary eventually became its, and the nation’s, first law professor!

This man went on to mentor the generation of lawyers, judges, ministers, teachers, governors, senators, congressmen, and ambassadors who surrounded the events and laid the foundation that birthed our nation, and who led it in its infancy. Two of his students became president, two others were attorneys general, and, as Professor Forrest McDonald put it, this man mentored “enough other Founding Fathers to populate a small standing army!”

Who was this great man who was educated at his mother’s knee? He was George Wythe, and the impact of his mother, “of this amazing woman…cannot be overemphasized.” ¹ How would it be to have such a positive impact on your child; on your community? By obtaining a leadership education for myself, it’s possible.

I soak up every opportunity I can to learn about the principles of great teaching, mentoring the classics, and creating within the walls of my own home a great environment for freedom and self-governance. Through studying the classics and coming Face to Face with Greatness, I am building my own superb classical education. I’m making a difference to my family and my community.

I can be like that Victorian lady in the picture. I can be like Margaret Wythe. So can you. When it comes to educating our children, a Stateswoman’s place is in the home.

1Brown, Imogene E., American Aristides: a biography of George Wythe, Rutherford N.J: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1981.

TJEd: A Father’s Perspective

2009-08-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

By Lance Gatrell

Are you growing uncomfortable with the unexpected “stuff” your child is learning in school? Has your child lost his/her curiosity or creativity? Does your child view learning as a chore, or as something unpleasant? Have you noticed that public education treats your child like an object on an assembly line, where every child is taught the same thing and in the same way, even if your child has unique abilities that should be nurtured in a unique way? Has your child ever had a teacher that squashed his/her interest in a subject? Have you found your own personal education stagnating?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then perhaps a Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd) is what you and your child need. The term “Thomas Jefferson Education” is named in honor of one of the great thinkers amongst our Founding Fathers. Thomas Jefferson, as well as several other prominent thinkers during the founding of our country, was mentored by a wise teacher, George Wythe, who taught Thomas through studying the great classics of literature, history, political thinking, mathematics, and science, etc.

Our family started our TJEd about three and a half years ago. Since that time, I’ve observed the gradual transformation in our family as I, my spouse, and my children have read and studied some of these classical concepts (our education is not complete—not that you should ever “finish” learning).

Following TJEd principles, the parents are to set the example by continuing their education, and so I’ve read more books in the last three years than I did in the previous 17 years combined. I’ve seen our 11 year old son close a book about Archimedes one Saturday and exclaim “That was a great book”. I’ve watched our 7 year old daughter change from crying that she “hates” reading and that she can’t do it, to now devouring 150 page novels in a day or two, and studying about animal science so that she can become a veterinarian when she grows up. She is writing her own novel that is quite interesting. When our 16 year old son was 12, he played the trumpet in the school band, but we couldn’t get him to practice, nor did he enjoy it. Now, he has discovered his talent on the piano, and several times a day he chooses to sit at the piano and work on a piece, or work on figuring out a song by ear. My children now love to read.

I’ve noticed that the behavior problems have diminished; they’re not perfect, but there has definitely been an improvement. I’ve noticed that my children have become more kind to others. Their willingness to do chores has also increased; again, they’re not perfect here, either, but they have improved.

If you’d like to learn more about a Thomas Jefferson Education for you and your children, please contact Ann Agent, 503-939-6577 to participate in an introductory meeting. Or sign up for the Seminar: You, Not Them to be held in Portland OR on September 25-26, 2009.

Summary of Leadership Education

2009-08-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

A Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd) Overview

“A Thomas Jefferson Education” by Oliver DeMille is available
in the Washington County Library System.
By Ann Agent prepared 05/06, updated 05/09

There are many “styles” of learning that are well recognized. This particular approach to education is very different. It was named by Oliver DeMille based upon his intensive personal study of the Founding Fathers. He learned how Jefferson was educated through the mentoring of George Wythe, a signer of the Constitution and a great leader of that time. DeMille also researched the other great leaders throughout time and found they had very similar experiences to their education. This is actually a philosophy approach referred to as Leadership Education— a set of principles applied to the various modern styles of education most are familiar with.

TJEd has some basic concepts that classify these principles. People can understand the principles and then use different methods within the context of the TJEd principles. One basic premise: you cannot educate someone else; people have to choose to learn. In other words TJEd respects individual agency and accountability. With this approach a person’s educational journey
is divided into 4 Phases of Learning, supported by 7 Keys of Education under each developmental phase and done in the 5 Environments of Leadership Education.

No matter when one begins to use this philosophy whether from birth, or later in life, everyone must go through the Phases (and included are some examples of some educational methods most effective for that phase).

This process can be applied to ANY educational environment and not limited to Public or Private School, Home Education, etc. But the princples are used in all activities and phases of living.

4 Phases of Learning
(ages suggested can range + or – 99 years.)

1) Core Phase ~Birth to ~8yo

(Montessori and some Charlotte Mason methods)
The heart and habits of life. This is where the values, character and work ethic are learned typically through play. Such as right / wrong, how to relate to the world around them, others & introduction to social skills.
KEYS: Inspire, not Require; Structure time, not content; Classics not Textbooks)

2) Love of Learning Phase ~8yo to 12 yo

Delight or Interest Driven (Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, Unit Studies)
This is a flutter-by stage when a child will want to try it for awhile then drop and move on to new things. They are curious but not capable of deep intensive study yet. The attention/focus time still relatively short. They are enjoying the journey of looking into a myriad of things. An introduction to everything is going on in this phase. They “practice scholar phase” as they transition.
KEYS: Inspire, not Require; Structure time, not Content; Classics not Textbooks)

3) Scholar Phase ~12yo – 16yo

(Classical/The Well Trained Mind, or some Curriculum approaches)
Broad and deep study preparing for life’s mission. The learner willingly takes on long periods of intense study 8 – 10 hrs at a time is typical. Eventually leading up to 5,000 to 8,000 hours of study. They focus on this intense personally driven study 5-6 days a wk for 10 to 11 months per yr. They are self-motivated and somewhat reclusive because they are intent to learn. This is considered “pre-university” study. They use mentors, and willingly seek to have their work reviewed and will do it again until it is excellent.
KEYS: Classics; Quality, not conformity; Mentors; You, not Them; and in the 5 Environments

4) Depth Phase ~16yo – 22yo

(University or professional study -- or mentor guided apprenticeship, Specialty)
This is where the learner now goes into professional study, typically at a university. Here is when one has figured out his “life’s mission” and does all he can to achieve it, receive training for it, it’s the Depth of Knowledge process.
KEYS: Classics; Secure, not Stressed; You, not Them; Quality, not Conformity; in the 5 Environments..see below)

Note: If a Core or Love of Learning phase was poor, then the learner may experience great difficulty focusing in the Scholar phase and this must be resolved before a full scholar phase can be completed. If an age is given as related to developmental stages keep in mind, learning these principles can be done at any age, the best time to do this is as a youth. Many parents are
just now learning the phases and modeling the behavior for their children. They are built through the 7 Keys of Education.

Keys of Education

These are applied based upon the phase the learner is in. Learning occurs developmentally and builds layer upon layer. It would take an hour or two to go through each of these in detail but their concepts are suggested in their names—a very brief comment is included if possible:

Classics not Textbooks
– in other words, living books, and original sources. These will give a better education than a textbook where others have decided for you, what they want you to know. I think that textbook learning is why so many disconnect learning, they are only getting part of the picture.

Mentors not professors or experts
- or experts...lets face it the expert and the professor know what they know because they paid the price. Thatknowledge does not automatically transfer to the student. Mentors, on the other hand, can guide and encourage students to become their own expert.

Inspire not Require
– Requiring a child before he is developmentally ready can lead to hate of learning and resistance. Development is not determined by age or intellect. Parents need to be the examples.... Children need that parental example. They need the core phase. If you feel your core phase was inadequate, get one!
– Inspire comes from the root meaning of "in spirit". Are we "in the spirit" of learning?
– Parents getting inspired will do more to help their children discover their own passion for learning when they lead by example, than by anything else they can do. Lead out and avoid "educational vomit" meaning don't pounce on a child the moment they utter any sign of interest in a subject.
– We lead them to learning through our own example of being passionately involved the the pursuit of knowledge.

Quality not Conformity
– When the learner is inspired, they will strive for excellence, be willing to do it again until it is perfect. When he submits (as in when he's ready to seek out guidance and direction from a mentor) he trusts the direction to do work until its best. This process is part of the sheer joy that comes through the hard work to do it right, vs the lazy approach to just get it done no matter how it ends up. If he's not ready for seeking guidance, but pushed before he's ready, then he conforms to another persons agenda or purpose, not their own. When they own their work, they strive for quality

Structure time not Content
...if you study great men like Lincoln, Churchill, and others, you will see that they structured their time. They had a time to worship, to eat, care for the animals, work, and often they took time in the evening to learn, after all their work was done, they took some of their leisure time to study and learn. Home is not an artificial institution, and I do not feel it should be run as one. There are tasks of everyday living that are every bit as important for adult life as the academics are. There are areas of greater significance than the academics, as an example of bible study it is
better to set an amount of time for study, than it would be to define the content, such as a chapter a day. You may study just one verse, or be led to follow a thread for a time.

Simplicity not Complexity
– When a curriculum is complex, the more reliant the student becomes on experts and likely to be caught up in the Requirement/Conformity trap. The more work we have to do to: prepare, or complete a task, the less likely it will get completed. Sometimes we add all kinds of busy work that is really not needed. Education means the ability to think, independently and creatively. Great teachers train great thinkers, and great leaders, by keeping it simple. Find a great thinker and leader in history, and you will find this method in their educational background.

You, not Them
– If you think these principles are about improving your child’s education, you will never have the power to inspire them to do the hard work required for self-education. As the parent/mentors we must model the behavior, while the children continue where they are, learning in the mode they a accustomed to. You begin your education, set the tone, be the example, establish a house of Learning. You do not need to be an expert to inspire a great education (the classics provide a variety of expertise) but must be setting the example.

5 Environments of Leadership Education

These are the environments that are used throughout all the phases, sometimes
referred to as "5 Pillars".

Classics

Mentors

Simulations

Field Experience

God - or where your philosophical source from where
all values and morals come from aka, your "Central Classic".

These 5 Pillars work best when you have others to discuss these things with. This philosophy to education has trained great leaders from Washington, Jefferson and Abigail Adams to Lincoln, Churchill and Gandhi to name a few.

The 8th Key of Education: Secure, not Stressed

– Its important to find security by knowing:
(1) that you are doing what is right, and
(2) that you are doing it effectively. Use whatever means available for to you to know what is right for your family. It is essential to be truly secure about seeking a Leadership Education. Its also important to know you are doing it well. Either by trying it for years on your own (learn by trial and error – which is stressful) or by learning what works from those who are doing it successfully – in the classics, in books*, in seminars & conferences specific to Leadership Education. In other words, being mentored by those experienced in Leadership Education plays an integral part in ensuring your success.

“You must be the change
you wish to see in the world” ~Gandhi

Conclusion:
By learning and applying the Leadership Education principles, you can best use the types of specific educational methods at the right time in the right way. This is the path to obtaining superb education. We'll use tools effectively, spend time wisely, focus on the appropriate phase of learning and truly achieve the ability to think for oneself and learn our life's mission. We'll also have the knowledge to stand up for true principles and be able to mentor our children effectively toward their own life's missions.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TJEd_OR/
For more information about the Oregon group contact: TJEd-OR-owner@yahoogroups.

com

*Suggested books to read:
A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the 21st Century, by Oliver DeMille
A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, by Oliver & Rachel DeMille, Diann Jeppson
Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning, by Oliver & Rachel DeMille

For Oregon Seminar Information see:
http://www.FreedomAcademyWeb.org and click on the TJEd Seminar link
or http://FaceToFaceWithGreatness.com to locate a seminar near you.
Contact George Wythe College at www.gw.edu

*These are available at a discount:
TJEducation book $20 (reg $26.95)
Leadership Education $20 (reg $26.95)

coming soon:
TJEd for Teens by Oliver DeMille & Shanon Brooks