It was great hanging out with Jax and Kenny. Jackie is very crafty and showed me her new scrapbooks that left me feeling very inadequate and even more behind than I thought I was! We Wii-ed for the first time, and man, was that cool! Yeah, I totally rocked at tennis. James and I kicked some serious butt! ;) It was great to catch up with friends without the stress of caring for our kids. We need to do this more often!
Our homeschooling seminar was two days long. The second night we were able to stay with Phil and Greg. Their home in Palm Springs is beautiful, and you couldn't meet two better hosts! We felt like we were in a high-end hotel. Our room was gorgeous, and their guest bed was SO comfortable (a little too comfortable- we overslept the second day of the seminar, but still barely made it on time!). They took us to this amazing Thai restaurant where I got to try Greg's favorite deep fried tofu (seriously good- even the King of Carnivores liked it!). We enjoyed their company immensely and hope to see them again soon.
Okay, well onto our seminar! Bare with me, this is good stuff. :) This is the first homeschooling seminar we've ever attended and it revolved around the concept of "A Thomas Jefferson Education." I was introduced to a Thomas Jefferson Education (or TJed for short) just a couple of months ago. I read a couple of books, and it was one of those experiences where you feel like you've found what you have been searching for. There are so many methods and philosophies of approaching homeschooling. Many titles have been formed and the whole process can seem to be a very daunting and overwhelming task.
Let me back up a bit, and briefly share with you our homeschooling story. James and I have always known that we would end up homeschooling. I figured I'd wait until the boys were school-aged and then begin. There were many reasons for our wanting to home school. Neither one of us felt like we received a real education. We had many wonderful teachers, we did learn ideas and concepts, but overall, there was something lacking. Until I learned about TJed I couldn't quite put my finger on what was missing. I had gotten straight A's through high school, attended Pepperdine University and graduated with honors...yet, I still didn't feel like my schooling experience was complete- I was lacking real life application and an internal desire to really learn. I learned how to play the game and get the grades, but there wasn't a whole lot of true education going on. There were many other reasons why we wanted to home school. Social pressures are increasing while social morals and standards are decreasing. James and I wanted to be the ones influencing our children, not other children or media icons that are less than ideal to emulate. Also, time is fleeting. I believe the best lessons are learned in the home by loving parents who know their children and how they learn best. The list goes on and on.
So, I had this "plan" in my head to begin our homeschooling journey in the fall of 2009 or 2010. However, life doesn't always go according to plans, and we ended up pulling Savanna out of public school in Feb. of 2008. Since it was a sudden decision (Savanna had been having some trouble in school for quite awhile, and then ended up going through 2 bouts of pneumonia which had put her very behind academically), we enrolled her in the school district's Independent Study Program. Here we met a wonderful teacher, Ms. Kelley. What a joy it was to work with her and have her help me school Savanna. She would prepare all the lessons plans and choose the curriculum, and we would meet with her once a week to show her Savanna's work. She was very open and flexible to other studies and projects we wanted to explore. We were involved with the ISP until the end of December of 2008. During that time I had begun slowly adding subjects and activities to Savanna's schedule that I felt enhanced her education while she was still needing to finish up her workload for the district each week. It began to get a bit complicated and overwhelming, and we made the decision to start our own private school, Wyett Classical Academy, and began homeschooling on our own in January of 2009- just 5 months ago!
It was time for our family to break off and start doing things the way I had envisioned it. I enjoyed making my own lesson plans and schedules and being completely in control (I like to be in control...doesn't everybody??), and Savanna enjoyed having more flexibility and little lighter of school load. However, the school load was still pretty stringent, and I was noticing study habits and work ethic issues that were very troublesome. I was finding that Savanna just really didn't want to learn. She would sit and do her lessons and get her work done, but it was not quality work by any degree. She would do the absolute bare minimum, and I began to feel frustrated and like I was wasting my time. This would cause me to impose even higher standards upon her which would cause her to rebel even more. We found ourselves in a stressful cycle- homeschooling had turned from something wonderful to a chore, a burden...and some days even a nightmare. I knew something needed to be tweaked (several things!), but couldn't figure out how to go about it. That is when I was introduced to TJed, and I seriously don't think our lives, school or otherwise, will ever be the same. I know that sounds dramatic, but it's true.
I can't describe all of the points of the Thomas Jefferson Education and do it justice, but I would love to share a few concepts with you that have dramatically changed our home life, our school life, and my attitude toward and perspective of my role as a parent. Here is one key point of TJed...you can not teach anyone anything! The idea of there being teachers and students is a myth. The truth of the matter is that people, children included, must choose to learn. Yes, they may sit diligently like Savanna and I did and go through the motions. They may even be able to memorize and write decent papers that appear that learning has taken place (or graduate with honors!). But to truly learn, to be able to apply your studies to your life, to feel passion and interest, now that is a choice. What would our education system look like if our children were excited to learn? If they could have a large role in what they read and studied? If they had mentors, instead of teachers, that guided them and directed them to explore the world around them and find their unique place, their unique contribution? Let me tell you, it would be amazing!
So if a great key to receiving an education lies in the "student" choosing to receive an education, what do us mentors need to do? We can't make the choice for them. No, that is what is already happening in many school circles and is failing miserably. We must INSPIRE them to want to learn. Now this is a little harder. It is easy to assign homework and grade it with our answer books, but to truly inspire them to want to learn is to become lovers of learning ourselves. How can I ask Savanna to do anything I myself am not willing to do? How can I tell her to write out her math when she sees me whip out my calculator, or to read a book that I would not read?
It became apparent early on in this seminar that this was not a seminar about the education of Savanna, Brad, or Ben. It was a seminar about the education of James and I. We were being inspired by the mentors at the seminar to become excited about our own learning, to be excited about our own education. To read great books and share them with our children. To explore our interests and learn how we could contribute better to society. All of the things we want to teach our children- character, courage, intelligence, problem solving, LEADERSHIP- we have to learn and model!
The Thomas Jefferson Education is a form of classical education (education based on the reading and studying of classic, original works) and is based on 7 keys or principles. If we as parents and educators could implement these keys, I believe that learning would occur as it once did back in the days of Thomas Jefferson. Some of these keys are already being used in many different classrooms and homes around the world, and the success that follows is a testament to their importance. These keys are explained in detail in Oliver DeMille's books, but feel free to post any questions. We are newbies, but are willing to share anything and everything we can to make this information more widely available and clear.
The 7 Keys of Education:
· Classics, not textbooks
· Mentors, not professors
· Quality, not conformity
· Structure time, not content
· Inspire, not Require
· Simplicity, not complexity (my favorite!)
· YOU, not them
I encourage everyone to read "A Thomas Jefferson Education" by Oliver DeMille. I have barely scratched the surface here. We have only been home one week and our home life has done a complete 360. Savanna is happier, I am less stressed, and there is learning (self-imposed!) going on like crazy! I will keep you updated on our progress and try to give some more specifics as we figure out this new path. In the meantime, whether you home school or not, this book will help you learn how to become an effective mentor. And every child needs a mentor.
1 comment:
I do have cute kids - but thankfully haven't had any belated baby fever!
Glad to see the TJed seminar was so useful. Melissa really likes it - oh she's on facebook now Melissa Fox, look her up! I read about half of the book, before Melissa needed it back, definitely some good stuff in there.
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