What order should I read?

One of the most common questions I see from people just learning about TJED or Leadership Education is:

What order should I read the books?

That is a really good question! I read them in the order they came out, but I've found that is not the best way, quite frankly, some of them confused me and frustrated me at times. I was very overwhelmed with the TJED Companion book, so I rarely recommend that one at all.

Here is my personal recommended reading order:

1. "A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century" by Oliver DeMille - This book is the first and foremost overview of the philosophy and methods of TJED. If you don't like this book, the others won't help you like it any more. If you want to know the "why" behind the philosophy, read this book.
2. "Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning" By Oliver and Rachel DeMille - My all-time favorite, hands down. For me, this books gives a great deal of the "who", "what", "when", and "how". I refer to this book often and have read it cover-to-cover three times. It's just that good!
3. "Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens" by Oliver DeMille and Shannon Brooks - This book is one that I buy a copy for each of my teens to keep. It helped me to define my own Scholar Phase and re-think how I am looking at learning for teens. Included is a fabulous list of books by age to help the new and old TJED family (See here for a list of the books).
4. "The Student Whisperer" by Oliver DeMille and Tiffany Earl - I feel this book comes after extensive study of the previous three books. I still struggle with implementing some of the concepts explained in this book on a regular basis. In my opinion, it is a more "advanced TJED" book.

I do appreciate the Webinar I attended last summer that talks about Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced TJED. Check out this post for more information on those topics.

Another great way to get started in learning about TJED is to start with the 7 Keys Certification, see here for an overview and here for a list of the available training classes. I am considering trying to get a group together to study with...any takers?