Clashing Worldviews

I have been studying a book called "Understanding the Times", which is an apologetics Christian textbook about the various worldviews of the western hemisphere. It took me awhile to get a hold of this book and as I browsed the pages I was not initially interested in reading it. However, once I began reading the book I have now become completely engrossed in the idea of world views.

What is a "worldview"?
Basically a worldview is how a person's world wide perception, which includes the framework of ideas and beliefs, is used by an individual to view the world. It includes religion, philosophy, psychology, biology, etc. It really encompasses everything about how a person views how the world works.

I am still in the process of studying this book and I have an older version that does not include the Islamic worldview, which I would be very interested in studying as well. In all, I highly recommend this book! I have realized there are so many things around us that teach us and our children about other worldviews and we don't even know it!

New Age or Cosmic Humanist Worldview Examples:

• Avatar: The Last Air-bender - Teaches Reincarnation
• Phenomenon movie with John Travolta - Becoming "one" with the universe and that using more of your brain is the end purpose of life in order to become a God.
• A lot of American Indian faiths
• Johnathan Livingston Seagull book

Secular Humanist Worldview Examples:

• Dinosaur books, movies, and cartoons - Teaches evolution and Atheism.

I believe there are many others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. It has made me readdress some of the cartoons, movies, and books my children have read/seen over the years to teach them what they are really viewing. I believe that as Christians we need to be very aware of what is being taught in the entertainment that enters our lives. I'm not necessarily saying it all needs to go, but I am saying that being aware helps to teach ourselves and our children not to be deceived. I know that not understanding this concept is part of the reason why Satan is so successful at leading people away from God.

I am not finished with this book yet, so I will post a full review when I'm done. I do hope to get the newer version too. I believe this is such an important issue to discuss with our children that I had a great discussion with my two oldest about this subject in one of those prime teaching moments on Saturday. Priceless!

P.S. I would not buy the full curriculum set as it has some anti-Mormon DVD segments.

I Finished the 5 Pillar List! Whoo Hoo!

I started working on my 5 Pillar Certification reading list a little over 2 years ago. I am so excited that I just finished my last book, "Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers". Yippee! I have worked very hard to complete this challenge that I placed upon myself, but sometimes I struggled to read books that were not MY choice. I think this experience was one to help me over the hump of transitioning to Scholar Phase and beginning to fill in more of the holes in my education, in areas like biographies, plays, and non-fiction works. I have a lot more work to do in order to feel "well-educated".

I have come to the conclusion that a college education is not much of an education at all. Sure, I learned small amounts about literature, web-design, math, and history...but, my current readings have taught me far more than what I learned in college. I feel so blessed to have found Leadership Education (a.k.a. Thomas Jefferson Education) and to be experiencing this for myself while my children are still young to learn at home in a way that makes their education truly theirs and not some rubber-stamp education provided by the government. I hope that everyone who reads this post will continue their education by reading the good books from the great minds of history.

I have only cracked the surface!

Getting Ready for Homeschool

For Planning My Education and What I'm Going to Do for Those I Mentor - I keep all of these in a notebook that I lovingly call "My Brain" with the following tabs: Curriculum, Planner, Each Child's Name, and My Name.

Curriculum Tab

• Course of Study - I type in all the books I plan on using for the family by subject and print it out.
• Curriculum Key - to keep track of what I abbreviated each item to be. (Ex. - Story of the World, Volume 1 = STOW1 in our planners.)
• Classic Book Lists - Classics For Young Children, Classics for Youth, Classics for Adults
• Curriculum Purchasing - I love this form to help me choose where to buy and the cheapest price I find it for.
• Other Curriculum Lists - School of Abraham Good Books List
  

Planner Tab

• Weekly Planner - to write in what we actually do. I do not plan assignments at all. The blocks are empty to write in whatever you need. It includes a To Do list and Notes area. My blocks are: Devotional & Read-A-Loud, Do Together, Child 1, Child 2, Child 3, and My Reading.
• NOTE: During the Transition to Scholar Phase, the Scholar begins taking over their own planner and book list responsibilities and reports to me as part of their accountability. This usually starts in about the Project Scholar phase.

Each Child's Tabs

• Book Lists - I fill in the books, journals, videos, etc. that each person uses. Scholars are to keep track of their own.
• Individual Forms - Scouting or Church Achievements or Awards that they are working towards. I have checksheets for the things each person is working on. (If you are LDS you can go to http://www.scoutsoft.net/sb05071.htm.)
• Misc. things that apply to each person.

My Name

• Moor House Academy forms - Educational Self Assessment, Family Vision, and Master Actualization Plan.
• TJed Notes - from A Thomas Jefferson Education and Leadership Education.
• Book Lists (same as children's).
• 5 Pillars Checksheet - This is an important part of my education. I keep track of my progress through the 5 Pillar Certification.
• 100 Books from the George Wythe College Reading List Checksheet - Again, this is another important part of my education. It feels wonderful to see my progress and know that I am truly moving forward in my own Scholar Phase.

Other

• I have to have a catch-all place for stuff I might need.

What is Seen and What is Not Seen

I had never heard of Frederic Bastiat until seeing his name on a list of authors from the Leadership Education reading lists. I really did not know what to expect when searching for his essays. I have to admit that I have not read many essays, especially political essays, and so I procrastinated reading this essay until recently.

How I wish now that I had not done that! I wish this essay was required reading for all adults of voting age. With this new age of bailouts and government spending exploding like a shaken soda bottle, this essay perfectly illustrates the need to look at both immediate benefits and LONG TERM consequences of every political decision. Bastiat classifies short term benefits as "what is seen" and the long term consequences as "what is not seen". He gives several examples of both sides of each issue.

As I read this essay, it became very clear to me that Bastiat knew what he was talking about. He understood the delicate balance of power in the economy. He writes in detail of the wrongness of government over regulating the economy, taxation, and how government officials understate the obvious long term consequences of their short term "fixes". How I wish the general American public would all read this essay! We could avoid do many blind attempts at fixing an economy that will right itself.

Please read What is Seen and What is Not Seen by Frederic Bastiat.

My Scholar Phase

I have been inspired by my friend Jess to post my updates on my own Scholar Phase in my efforts to become a truly educated person. She is an inspiration to me in how she keeps up with her efforts and shares them with everyone.

Like Jess, I have been working on the 5 Pillar Certification (go here for a free checksheet I created) from George Wythe University. I could not afford to pay for the true certification, but I am successfully completing the requirements on my own.

I am on Level 2 and need to choose 12 of the listed readings in order to finish this level. Here is the list of completed readings in which I have also written papers on:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. The One Minute Teacher by Johnson & Johnson
3. Leadership Education by Oliver DeMille
4. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
5. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
6. The Seven Lesson School Teacher by John Taylor Gatto (I actually read this as part of Dumbing Us Down)
7. How Children Learn by John Holt
8. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
9. A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
10. The Virginian by Owen Wister

Only two more to go! I have The Fourth Turning on hold at the library. On my books shelves I have Multiple Intelligences and Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers (which I have started both). I keep getting sidetracked into other equally good books! (Right now I am reading The Promise, which is sequel to The Chosen from the Level 1 readings.)

UPDATED NOTE: George Wythe University does not offer this certification anymore, however, I highly recommend reading this book list with a peer group.

5 Pillar Certification

LEVEL I
An introduction to the Five Pillars and the Classics/Mentors model of education.

1. Read the following books and discuss them with a friend.
   
   • Potok, The Chosen
   • Bronte, Jane Eyre
   • L’Amour, Walking Drum
   • Moody, Little Britches
   • Stratton-Porter, Laddie
   • Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew
   • DeMille, Thomas Jefferson Education
2. Attend the seminar “Face to Face with Greatness: A Thomas Jefferson Education.”

LEVEL II
A comprehensive study of additional classics.

1. Complete Level I and enroll in Level II.
2. Choose twelve of the following books. Write a one page summary for each and submit via email:
• Austen, Pride and Prejudice
• Bastiat, What is Seen and What is Not Seen*
• Johnson & Johnson, The One Minute Teacher
• Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• DeMille, Leadership Education
• Dickens, Great Expectations
• Frank, Alas Babylon
• Gardner, Multiple Intelligences
• Gatto, The 7 Lesson School Teacher*
• Harward, Market-Based Education
• Holt, How Children Learn
• Hugo, Les Miserables
• Kavanaugh, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers
• Lewis, The Abolition of Man
• Noebel, Understanding the Times
• Shakespeare, five plays
• Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Strauss and Howe, The Fourth Turning
• Thoreau, Walden
• Wister, The Virginian
3. Attend the seminar “Face to Face with Greatness: The Power of Mentoring the Classics.”

(* = articles found in the books Bastiat, Essays on Political Economy & Gatto, Dumbing Us Down)

LEVEL III
Practical application of the five pillars in an educational setting.

1. Complete level II and enroll in Level III.
2. Administer or teach in a public, private or home school or class and apply the 5 Pillar™ system for a minimum of six months. Keep a journal of the entire project. Write a project summary when the project is complete. Pass an oral board discussing your findings.
3. Attend either of the following seminars*:
• Face to Face with Greatness: World Views and the Emerging State
• Statesman Retreat: Rethinking Leadership
UPDATED: Seminars are no longer offered by George Wythe Univ., but here is a checklist for the 5 Pillar Certification reading list.