I have been a longtime homeschooler who stumbled a lot with different theories and needs as I taught my children. We aren't done with that adventure yet, but it is rapidly drawing to a close with only one year of formalized education left for my sons. My daughter's time is closing even more rapidly because we are putting her into public high school with specific goals in mind.
That said, I have learned a great deal by teaching my children and relearning things that I probably learned when I was in school. In some cases, learning things I had NOT learned in school although I was an honors student.
This blog is documenting where I'm at now and moving forward. Because learning doesn't stop and start according to your degree status.
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I have been studying the Thomas Jefferson Education theory of teaching and learning by reading the book Teaching a Generation of Leaders: A Thomas Jefferson Education for the Twenty-first Century, by Oliver Van DeMille. The first point of it is that as teachers, we can teach, lead, and inspire, but the responsibility of a student's education lies with the student, not the teacher. I think that is true to a point. However, there are some skills that are absolutely essential to successful living that not every student is interested in learning but must. So yes, it is important to learn math. And maybe even chemistry. So that is where the teacher/parent has to step in and make sure exposure to those subjects happens. However, I think this book gives some excellent ideas to achieve some desired ends. So that is my disclaimer to all those who would discredit the ideas behind TJ Ed. Use what works. Dump the rest.
All that said, as an adult my responsibility to continue learning is definitely my own, and as long as I have access to a library, I don't have to (and shouldn't) stop.
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One of the ideas that I thought pure genius in this book was the idea of keeping a Commonplace Book as Thomas Jefferson did, summarizing the main ideas of what you learn and study each day. In it, you keep at least one essay per day summarizing the main ideas or some new concept learned that day. It is important to apply the ideas in the classics to "real life." Otherwise, there is limited applicability to it. This practice of applying what I read has been one I was taught to do years ago when studying the scriptures. There are many things I learned, such as how to interact with others and understanding other points of view from the books I read. This idea of the Commonplace Book formalizes the approach to something I can review later so I began my Commonplace Book today.
Another aspect I thought brilliant was the idea that an essay should receive only one of two marks. They are:
I've always had a hard time giving my kids grades because I felt like either they understood it which would be an A
In real life, you can either do an assignment or project
So the whole program behind TJ Ed is this:
1. Read the classics.
2. Discuss them with a mentor who will only accept quality work.
3. Apply what you learn.
That's it. Well, not really, because there is a lot behind it. You have to read to understand, think about what you are reading, and discuss it. That means the mentor also needs to be reading and thinking about it as well and generating discussion with good, meaningful questions and experiences and coming up with applications for using the ideas in the book. It makes reading the classics an active experience because it isn't really someone else's job to come up with the questions. The classics can be the mentor; you don't have to have someone outside of yourself to do this although it's more fun!
That's where I'm at in the book so far. I hope you'll come back to learn with me. Grab a copy of the book and read it along with me and leave comments. Oh, and I'll mix in things I have learned along the way; this is my synthesis. I have no idea if the author would even agree with some of my ideas and frankly don't care. It isn't about what he learned, but about what I'm learning. And you. Feel free to mark up your book. I prefer the tactile sensation of writing with a pencil. Maybe you will too.
That said, I have learned a great deal by teaching my children and relearning things that I probably learned when I was in school. In some cases, learning things I had NOT learned in school although I was an honors student.
This blog is documenting where I'm at now and moving forward. Because learning doesn't stop and start according to your degree status.
--------------------------
I have been studying the Thomas Jefferson Education theory of teaching and learning by reading the book Teaching a Generation of Leaders: A Thomas Jefferson Education for the Twenty-first Century, by Oliver Van DeMille. The first point of it is that as teachers, we can teach, lead, and inspire, but the responsibility of a student's education lies with the student, not the teacher. I think that is true to a point. However, there are some skills that are absolutely essential to successful living that not every student is interested in learning but must. So yes, it is important to learn math. And maybe even chemistry. So that is where the teacher/parent has to step in and make sure exposure to those subjects happens. However, I think this book gives some excellent ideas to achieve some desired ends. So that is my disclaimer to all those who would discredit the ideas behind TJ Ed. Use what works. Dump the rest.
All that said, as an adult my responsibility to continue learning is definitely my own, and as long as I have access to a library, I don't have to (and shouldn't) stop.
--------------------------
One of the ideas that I thought pure genius in this book was the idea of keeping a Commonplace Book as Thomas Jefferson did, summarizing the main ideas of what you learn and study each day. In it, you keep at least one essay per day summarizing the main ideas or some new concept learned that day. It is important to apply the ideas in the classics to "real life." Otherwise, there is limited applicability to it. This practice of applying what I read has been one I was taught to do years ago when studying the scriptures. There are many things I learned, such as how to interact with others and understanding other points of view from the books I read. This idea of the Commonplace Book formalizes the approach to something I can review later so I began my Commonplace Book today.
Another aspect I thought brilliant was the idea that an essay should receive only one of two marks. They are:
Great work!
and
Do it again.
Only excellence should be accepted.
I've always had a hard time giving my kids grades because I felt like either they understood it which would be an A
or they didn't and that meant we weren't done.
No A, B, C, or D to it.
In real life, you can either do an assignment or project
or not.
Nothing in between.
I either can make a tasty dinner . . . or not. In Pioneer Woman's words, just keeping this real.
So the whole program behind TJ Ed is this:
1. Read the classics.
2. Discuss them with a mentor who will only accept quality work.
3. Apply what you learn.
That's it. Well, not really, because there is a lot behind it. You have to read to understand, think about what you are reading, and discuss it. That means the mentor also needs to be reading and thinking about it as well and generating discussion with good, meaningful questions and experiences and coming up with applications for using the ideas in the book. It makes reading the classics an active experience because it isn't really someone else's job to come up with the questions. The classics can be the mentor; you don't have to have someone outside of yourself to do this although it's more fun!
That's where I'm at in the book so far. I hope you'll come back to learn with me. Grab a copy of the book and read it along with me and leave comments. Oh, and I'll mix in things I have learned along the way; this is my synthesis. I have no idea if the author would even agree with some of my ideas and frankly don't care. It isn't about what he learned, but about what I'm learning. And you. Feel free to mark up your book. I prefer the tactile sensation of writing with a pencil. Maybe you will too.
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