Homeschooling College

Homeschooling through high school is my most frequently asked question --

Q. - How do you home school through high school?

A. - We use the classics! (See my lists of Classes by Classics)

While this is an answer for high school, NO ONE accepts that answer for college anymore.

Why?!?

I guess it's because of all the accreditation issues, laws, and concerns of society now. Everyone believes that a college education is the only way to achieve success, even though there are examples of people taking other paths...Steve Jobs, Rachel Ray, John D. Rockefeller, Ralph Lauren, and many others. (See more at Huffington Post and Business Insider.)

Okay, well, those are the exception to the rule, right?

Maybe...and then again, maybe not.

Does a college degree help a lot of people improve their lives and get better jobs? You bet! For many it has improved their lives dramatically.

Yet, we are seeing a trend of college graduates end up with tons of debt and very little improvement in their quality of life and job advancement possibilities. (See Ivory Tower trailer.)

Concurrent or Dual Enrollment

I previously posted about Concurrent or Dual Enrollment. My children have successfully taken online college level classes at BYU-Idaho. There are many colleges and universities that allow high school students to enroll in classes through them and receive both high school and college credit....for a discount even! BYU-Idaho, for example, only charges $30 a credit compared to their normal tuition of $152 per credit hour for LDS students.

$152 regular tuition - $30 concurrent tuition 

= $82 savings per credit!

So far, I have paid only $360 for 12 credits (would have been $1824) for my daughter and $150 for 5 credits (would have been $760) for my son. A total savings of $2074. Nice, huh!?! Not to mention that they have those credits before graduating high school, saving them time as well.

CLEP Exams - Testing Out of Classes

We are now exploring another way to gain college credits for less money and study at our own pace. CLEP Exams have been around for quite some time, but they are a very well-kept secret in many circles. When I inquired about taking CLEP Exams I was discouraged from doing so, being told it would be a waste of my time and money and that I wouldn't get the same "quality of an education" as I would taking the actual classes in person from their college.

I knew a friend in college that took every available CLEP Exam offered at that time over 20 years ago. He tested out of a full year of college and saved himself over $5,000 at the time. Now, one could test out of roughly 80-100 credit hours of lower level classes, saving anywhere from $3480-$24,000 depending on the tuition cost of the college or university you wish to attend. Details on getting credits for CLEP Exams can be found here. The average test costs $80 and a successful score can earn the student 3-12 credits, depending on the test. 

It is also important to check with the college or university you want to attend in order to see how many credits they will allow you test out of or transfer into their school. Most are required to allow CLEP Exam tests, but some have limits on only allowing 24-40 credits transferred in from exams and other institutions. Still, 40 credits through CLEP can cost around $960 rather than the tuition of 2 years of community college for $3360 or $19,200 for a university here in Arizona.

$19,200 - $960 = $18,240 in savings for a university student!

Amazing isn't it?!?

I think it is SUPER amazing.

An Example - Financial Accounting

My son is extremely interested in business. So am I. We decided this would be our first CLEP Exam experience. I read a few reviews that said it was a harder test, but we want to know this information anyway, so why not give it a shot?

The study guide or Fact Sheet for Financial Accounting also gives some free resources. The Fact Sheet gives the basics of what will be on the test. At the bottom we decided to check out the free resources to see what might help us study for the exam without paying for a pricey guide. 

We decided on PrinciplesOfAccounting.com, which is a free online textbook by Utah State University. It has study materials, workbooks, and lecture videos online to go along with studying the textbook. There are a couple of free practice tests at the official CLEP website and Free Clep Prep. (There are several free resources including an MIT Open Courseware and books that can be checked out at local libraries.)

So far, so good. We have not taken the tests yet, but the preparation materials we are finding for FREE have made this option quite within our price range and hopefully, pay off BIG in terms of lower college costs. Those that have done it, swear by it!

Even if my children do not finish college, I feel that the preparation they are experiencing cannot harm them in any way, quite the opposite. They are finding that they can compete in the "real college world" that everyone always questions us about. All the nay-sayers have nothing to complain about when my children each boast high GPA's in college courses before the age of 18.

Systems: Academic Journaling

How do I journal? What should it look like? What goes into the journal? Should I go "old school" paper or "new wave" digital? (See more on digital journaling at the bottom of this article.)

These are very good, but also very personalized questions. One person loves lists and bullet style notes, while another loves to write in complete sentences with perfect punctuation and paragraphs that read like a good novel.

A person may start in their early years with one of two sentences about a book and end up in Scholar and Depth Phase writing a short thesis. Or, a student may be a combination of the two with bullet style notes for quotes and topics you want to remember from an informational book and longer, paragraph style reviews of books for sharing on a venue like Goodreads. (A link to my Goodreads reviews.)

...it just really depends on you...your preferences and where you are in the Phases of Learning.

People are always looking for examples. I do to! I like to see examples. So, here are some from my personal journals.

My Journals - Depth Phase

Just a few...

Right now, I am using 4 regular journals and a couple of "item specific" journals, all of them numbered. I am also making a master list of what is included in each journal. Rachel DeMille says that they leave a few pages blank in the front of each journal to add a table of contents as they fill up the journal. I didn't start out that way and so I created the master list in a blank notebook and list the journal # and page number of each item.

I started with the Master List as part of my binder (back when it was a short list), but moved it to it's own spiral notebook when it started getting pretty thick. I also need to print all of my book reviews on Goodreads and keep them in a binder for the day when technology ends (depends on your point of view here to if you feel this is necessary).

A list of my current journals:

1. Fiction reading
2. Non-fiction reading
3. Religious reading
4. Mentoring - "Student Whisperer Journal"
5. Food Storage & Emergency Preparedness
6. Marriage (I have a small notebook that I have recorded specific things about being a better wife and mother.)
7. Everyday life - personal journal

I have a mixture of how I record my reading epiphanies. 

I have some bullet style lists of quotes and topics I want to remember from the book.

Quotes from "The Jackrabbit Factor"

I have details of answers to exercises...

"Student Whisperer" exercises

I have full book reviews, many of which I duplicate on Goodreads.

I have diagrams of topics discussed...

Notes from a lecture on Child Development &
Foundations of Great Education

Digital Journaling

Technology has a lot to offer as well. I personally use Evernote and I have also used SpringPad. Both are free and come in PC and App formats. Both have unique things to offer. For journaling purposes, I find that Evernote has the most to offer, which is why I developed the Freedom Educator Planner Templates. The planner includes forms for book reviews, lecture notes, etc.

Evernote also prints nicely if you wish to print hard copies for future use or storage.

Evernote - Books Read 2013

I keep a list of books read by year and then add tags for the topic of the book. My reviews are copied from what I write in Goodreads, saving me a step in copy-and paste.

I also keep notes of other topics, especially website information that is hard to convey into a paper notebook.

Evernote - Curriculum Plans and Notes on Books we are studying

However, using a digital system can be in any method you wish. Any software that allows for typing up the information you want to store will work.

The beauty of systems is YOU decide what works for you and just start recording your information. It is not hard and it does not take a long time. Just start something and adjust as you learn what you like and what works for you. There is no right or wrong...just progressing and growing.

It Is About Connections

I'm often asked if I've read this book or that book. Some wonder how I can read such "boring" stuff while others think I'm somehow a whiz now that I've read these books. I'm happy to say...I'm still the same lady! I do feel like my understanding is expanded, but the size of my brain and it's ability to multiply and divide fractions is the same. I have not somehow learned the secret to splitting the atom nor can I quote Shakespeare in large quantities (I wish I could because that would be cool). Oh, how I wish I had a photographic memory!

In September I took a class at Monticello College called "Introduction to the Great Books" Course I. The materials to study were selections of Plato, Aristotle, and Aristophanes. I loved it! I wish I had the funds to continue taking all of the courses.

The reason for my studies and the books I choose are for connections. How does learning to read and write effectively help one to express ideas? How does looking at the universe help me understand mankind? If I know about Socrates and how he taught, will I be a better teacher? I think so.

So, here is what I'm currently studying:

• Law - Plato
• Ethics - Aristotle
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (again) - by Stephen Covey
• The World Before Christ (volumes 1-3) - by Dan Hunter (studying this one with my teens)
• Our Oriental Heritage - by Will Durant

What I hope to get to soon:

• Education of a Wandering Man - by Louis L'Amour
• The Northwest Ordinance
• The Real Thomas Jefferson - by Andrew Allison
• The next Will Durant book in the "Story of Civilization" series.

Virtue, a Means to Happiness

I took a class at Monticello Class called "Introduction to the Great Books" Course I, were we studied portions of the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Aristophanes. As part of the class I was required to write a paper. I highly recommend this class to anyone wanting a deeper Liberal Arts education.

Aristotle's School

Virtue, a Means to Happiness

By Celeste Batchelor

                The pursuit of happiness is often believed to be the ambition and purpose of each human being. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America states that the pursuit of happiness is an unalienable right given by our Creator to all men. But what is the pursuit of happiness? What makes one happy?

                Aristotle views virtue as the ultimate means of gaining happiness in Nicomachean Ethics when he says, “Since happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with perfect virtue, we must consider the nature of virtue; for perhaps we shall thus see better the nature of happiness.” Modern society seems to view virtue in terms of sexual purity, while Aristotle and Plato attribute virtue to mean all basic morality.

Plato in his work, Apology, follows Socrates trial where he entreats the jury and spectators that his purpose is to “persuade every man among you that he must look to himself, and seek virtue and wisdom before he looks to his private interests.” Virtue leads one to happiness and should precede private interests of career, politics, and social status. One might argue that social status and career lead to happiness, but it is missing the purest sense of happiness. Socrates was a poor man whose social status was viewed as high by only a few, yet he embodies happiness with his life to the very end.

                But what is virtue? Is it as Aristotle and Plato suggest the basic moral acts of every human being? Or, is it as modern society would have us believe, simply sexual purity? “By human virtue,” states Aristotle, “we mean not that of the body but that of the soul; and happiness also we call an activity of the soul.”

If virtue is of the soul it must also incorporate that of thought and action relating to everything that has to do with one’s soul. Aristotle further states, “Virtue too is distinguished into kinds of accordance with this difference; for we say that some of the virtues are intellectual and other moral.” Having intellectual morality is to make correct or right decisions, which in turn, lead to correct and right actions.  

Aristotle argues that happiness is to be gained through virtue and that happiness is God-given and also earned by “learning or training”. Thus, virtue is an act which can be taught to individuals to help them in their personal search for happiness. Right action, or virtue, leads to more happiness.

The pursuit of happiness differs from person to person. One person has great wealth and prosperity, while remaining determinedly unhappy. Yet another person lives happily in a shack with the bare essentials of life. The loss of the correct definition in modern society’s determining virtue as simply sexual purity may be the downfall of our nation. Without properly defining virtue as a means to happiness as the philosophers and “lovers of wisdom” of old taught, we may very well lose the ability to pursue humankind’s most prized attribute in life. Will your life be one of virtue?

History Notebook/Book of Centuries

This is a continuation of a post about History Notebooks. I began with a "Book of Centuries" a few years ago, which is an idea from the Simply Charlotte Mason website. When the children were younger (Love of Learners and Core Phase), the Book of Centuries was great. We could draw pictures, print pictures online, or copy pictures from books and glue them on the various "century" pages with a few notes about the date, place, or person.

We were not extremely vigilant at keeping this up, but we added to it every now and then. In all, it was more scrapbookish than a learning tool.

After reading some of Living History's books, mainly "The World Before Christ", I find myself anxious to record what I'm learning about each time period, the events that took place and people that lived then, as part of my regular study materials. I felt the Book of Centuries was just not what I needed anymore.

In comes the History Notebook (see free notebook pages here). I decided to go back and write some notes about the previous Epochs I've studied. Basically I'm starting from the Creation again and moving forward. I'm not writing about every single person and event, but choosing the ones I felt I learned the most from. For example, I've studied Noah and the Flood several times, but not as much about Noah's immediate descendants. So, I wrote notes about Ham and how his wife Egyptus brings the line of Cain into the future generations. I also studied Nimrod and the building of the Tower of Babel.

One aspect that I am considering important is to note the various sources where I am getting the information from. Hopefully, when I go back to study these eras again, I'll be able to add the new sources of information as I study. Keeping all of these divided into Epochs, or time periods, makes cross-linking happenings in other places during the same era much easier.

I'm very excited about this new method of study. I do not have many local peers who are interested or willing to study the things I'm studying. This is taking the place of the classes and colloquial groups I used to have. My current book club is at a stage of books that I have already read, which is great so I can study these classics again, but also feels limiting on any new studies. I'm thankful I found these resources from Living History and feel inspired to study on my own.

American Government Classics

I love learning about the birth of America, the various changes over time, and the current state of our great nation. This is one of the most important subjects to study from the classics. Textbooks have left out so much of what is true and necessary in the study of our government. One must study the original documents and the original words of the founding fathers in order to gain their own understanding of what government is and should be.

There are a lot of books listed here. For high school "credit", we choose from these lists and study for 100 hours to constitute a high school credit per Missouri law. That is pretty easy to do from this list, however, we continue with this list for Depth Phase.

From TJED for Teens:

• The Declaration of Independence
• The Constitution of the United States
• "The Gettysburg Address" speech by Abraham Lincoln
• "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr.
• The Real Thomas Jefferson by Allison, Maxfield, Cook and Skousen
• The Real Benjamin Franklin by Allison
• The Real George Washington by Allison, Parry, and Skousen
• The Making of America by W. Cleon skousen
• Democracy in America Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by Alexis De Tocqueville
• The 5,000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen
• The Law by Bastiat

Others we have added:

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

Again, I would like to add sections of The Great Books of the Western World. 

• Volume 43 - Articles of Confederation, The Federalist, On Liberty by J. S. Mill
• Volume 2 Syntopicon - Chapter 3 -Aristocracy, Chapter12 - Constitution, Chapter 16 - Democracy, Chapter 31 - Government, Chapter 42 - Justice, Chapter 46 - Law, Chapter 47 - Liberty
• Volume 2 Syntopicon - Chapter 59 - Monarchy, Chapter 62 - Oligarchy, Chapter 63 - One and Many, Chapter 64 - Opinion, Chapter 90 - State, Chapter 95 - Tyranny, Chapter 98 - War and Peace, Chapter 99 - Wealth, Chapter 101 - Wisdom

Medieval and Ancient History Classics

Aristotle

Medieval and Ancient History is a difficult one I think. First of all, there is not as much original texts from this time period. Secondly, what is available is harder to read and understand. I personally wait a bit on studying some of these original texts until they are firmly into Scholar Phase.

From the Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens list:

• Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Vol. 1 (Saint Joan) by Mark Twain
• Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Vol. 2 (Saint Joan) by Mark Twain
• Antigone by Sophocles
• The Illiad by Homer
• The Odyssey by Homer
• The Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato - Includes Euthyphron, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Plato
• Nichomachaen Ethics by Aristotle

Others we have added:

• Plutarch's Lives - also see Our Young Folks Plutarch, Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls, and the Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans.

Shakespeare Classics

 

Shakespeare...need I say more? An entire year can be spent on Shakespeare alone. My children have grown to love Shakespeare so much that they have requested their own copies. We have a copy from The Great Books of the Western World and one from the National Classics Series, both are accurate editions.

In addition to reading the classics, Shakespeare needs to be seen and experienced in play form to be complete. We try to attend as many Shakespeare plays as we can. They can be disappointing, however, in how they are interpreted. We've seen some modernized versions that are so cheap and misrepresented that it gives a poor shadow of the original. There are some good ones too, even some movies are perfectly depicted and are preferred over poorly constructed plays.

In my humble opinion, no education is complete without Shakespeare. I once read an article about all the every-day sayings that come from Shakespeare, and is second only to the Bible in the number of sayings derived from it's works.

Here are our recommendations. The links provided have several versions for eReaders like Nook and Kindle as well as audio downloads.

Shakespeare Dramas/Tragedies:

• Hamlet, Prince of Denmark - Movie: Great Performances versions (free online streaming), Mel Gibson version
• Romeo and Juliet
• Julius Caesar 
• Antony and Cleopatra
• Coriolanus
• King Lear - Movie: Great Performances
• Macbeth - Movie: Great Performances
• Othello
• Timon of Athens
• Titus Andronicus
• Troilus and Cressida

Shakespeare Comedies:

• All's Well That Ends Well
• As You Like It
• Comedy of Errors
• Love's Labour's Lost
• Measure for Measure
• Merchant of Venice
• Merry Wives of Windsor
• Midsummer Night's Dream
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Taming of the Shrew
• Tempest
• Twelfth Night
• Two Gentlemen of Verona
• Winter's Tale

Shakespeare Histories:

• Cymbeline
• Henry IV, Part I
• Henry IV, Part II
• Henry V
• Henry VI, Part I
• Henry VI, Part II
• Henry VI, Part III
• Henry VIII
• King John
• Pericles
• Richard II
• Richard III

Concurrent Enrollment (Dual Credit)

With my previous post being about the "College Conspiracy", this post may come as a surprise. I really do believe the college bubble will burst and thus lower college expenses and have a balancing effect on secondary education. College is not what it used to be and I do not think everyone needs to have a college degree.

That said, I do believe there may be reasons, when the time is right, to take advantage of the classroom environment. We decided that Nayna should take advantage of concurrent enrollment at BYU Idaho since they are offering classes for $30 a credit, which is a fantastic price. (Concurrent enrollment are classes that count for high school and college credit.) I want my children to have various types of educational experiences so that they can choose the best path based on those experiences. One class in an online college environment will give her a view of what the Professional Conveyor Belt is like without a huge cost or commitment.

My oldest daughter, Sam, has chosen a Professional Conveyor Belt path to become a pharmacist. At least, that is what she wants right now. We have stressed over and over again that she should not go into debt for this education. So far, she has managed to avoid any debt. She has done well, her grades are excellent, and she is getting some education, even if it is not the Liberal Arts Education I would like for her.

Preparing for College Entrance - The Transcript

Many parents sweat over the question, "How will my child get into college?" I have to say, I have thought long and hard about this too, if my children choose college as their path. So far the university has only asked for a simple transcript. The TJED way seemed a bit difficult at first in order to show a transcript that will mesh with the Conveyor Belt world.

We decided on the following transcript format:



In addition to this very simple transcript, I am preparing a list of materials used for each class. Sometimes that is very simple, say for math, where we used a curriculum like Math-U-See Algebra 1. For the literature classes, we are listing the books read. Science and history have been a bit different since we used a menagerie of books, videos, and fieldtrips to accomplish these "classes".

I'll post more as we go through this process. They may yet come back and ask for more details and items.

College Conspiracy Video

I've been following the idea of this documentary for some time and I know it has been a topic of conversation among many home educating families. I hope you'll watch and determine for yourself if this information is true and/or useful.

Personally, I find the information on student loans and the terrible condition of tuition costs to be true. I know that my husband and I have college degrees and loans which have had very little effect in increasing our income. Yet, we are still paying off the debt. Some might say, we just didn't get enough college education...that may be true. But shouldn't some college education be worth something? It is worth practically nothing in our current state.

What do we tell our children? I have one in college now and another starting some concurrent enrollment classes in the Fall. I have all kinds of questions...Should they go to college right now? Is it worth it? Will they be straddled with debt like their parents? We don't have any money to pay for their college, how much will they owe the government if they get loans?

...and most important...Is there a better way?

What a STEAL!

I am so excited I can barely contain myself!

I won an Ebay bid on a set of the Great Books of the Western World for only...

$66 with free shipping!

Whoot! I basically bid when it was a low-ball price thinking I would never get it, but just thought I would give it a shot. To my happy surprise...I won! That is probably because it is missing a couple of the books. The set usually runs $150-300 on Ebay. New sets can run over $900 dollars. For less than $20 I can pick up the volumes that are missing. Sweet!

Why should I be happy about this?
This set contains all of the great authors, philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, etc. of the Western World. Some have equated the knowledge in these books as equal to "a bachelor's, a master's, and two graduate degrees".

When used with a classical education, this set is the epitome of learning from the greatest minds known to man. The Great Ideas Program is an outline of readings over a 10 year period to finish most of the knowledge in these books. I started on that path, but had difficulty acquiring all the books. Now I have my own set. (Can you feel my excitement!)

The Blessings of Prayer
For several months now I have been praying about how to acquire some of the things we need - health concerns and healing (which came), paying off debt, home education curriculum, home education social activities, travel expenses to see family, etc. I have relied heavily on Heavenly Father to supply us with our needs after all we can do. This has come as a direct answer to my prayers. After our prayers for Chris's tumor have been answered, I didn't think we deserved any more blessings, but I am extremely thankful to a Heavenly Father who has seen fit to bless us with so much.

My $200 Budget
With our tax return we set a budget of $200 for new curriculum this Spring. I never thought I would be able to get as much as I did. I bought Math-U-See Geometry, Great Books of the Western World set (still can't believe it!), and Generation Change Home Edition for Teens. Along with what we have acquired over the years and the fantastic library system we have, these new additions will be greatly loved.

Now to find a place to put my set of 52 books!

The Beauty of Core Phase

I did not learn about Leadership Education (TJED) until my children were 13, 10, and 8 respectively. It took me another 2 years to fully get "off the conveyor belt" and begin getting myself in the right mindset to make sure we all had a solid Core Phase. I knew my youngest needed Core Phase for sure, and my other children had things to improve as well. The most difficult realization I came to was that I needed Core Phase work as well, yet I wanted a Scholar Phase. Now!

The Phases are Like A Planet
We often think of the phases of learning in a linear fashion. Our linear thinking would place the phases like this:

Core Phase ---> Love of Learning--> Scholar Phase-->Depth Phase--->Mission Phase--->Impact Phase

Phases of Learning like Earth

It looks as though you complete one phase and then move on to another. This model, however, is not correct. A more correct model is to think in a more "whole picture" fashion. I like to think of the phases as the planet Earth. In the center is the Core, then we add a layer of Love of Learning, then Scholar Phase, then Depth Phase, etc. The Core is still there. The Love of Learning is still there. We are just building upon prior knowledge and skills, adding each new layer to fulfill our creation as an educated person.

Without a strong Core, our planet-self would be hollow, or maybe only have half a core. If we continue our planet model, we know that Earth needs a strong core in order to have gravity work. It also needs the core in order to cycle around the Sun. With an out-of-balance or partially formed core, our Earth would wobble and make a very unstable effort to cycle around the Sun.

My Adult Core Phase (Work and Play)
I needed to correct some "damage" from my past, you know, the things we often call "baggage". Yes, I had some, most of us do. I heard a fantastic speaker, Julie Early, who talked about Adults in Core. I found that her talk was very correct in that I handled my Core Phase in much the same way as she describes it. I focused on figuring out what I needed to repair from the lessons of Core Phase in "Right and Wrong", "Good and Bad", "True and False". I read a few self-help books and applied them in my life (this was work). I put my focus more towards my family in organizing our home life (this was work). I tried to create wholesome family time to nurture relationships (this was play). I studied my central canon and applied the principles of my faith in my life (this was work and play).

The result: a happier life! 

Core Phase - Going Back or Moving Forward?

As my children were already "past" Core Phase ages, I would often refer to "going back to Core Phase" for them, when really we were working on both Core Phase and Love of Learning at the same time. You see, our linear model would make it seem as though only one phase can take place at any given time. This is a fallacy in our conveyor belt thinking. If we embrace the "whole picture" model, we realize that we are always working on the various phases, only adding new layers as we become more mature and ready for the next one. As infants we start out as small planets with only the need to build a strong core, then we add the following layers as our planet grows and matures.

If we are adults and just now learning about the four phases of learning, we have some of those layers already, but we can go inside and fill those layers with the right knowledge and skills while still building our Scholar and Depth phases. At some time we may have lost our Love of Learning, yet we can regain it! We gained some knowledge from our conveyor belt education, but we can round out our Scholar Phase and build upon what we retained by adding more of the classics.

The Beauty Revealed
Being an Adult working on Core Phase is nothing to feel ashamed about. Having youth in Core Phase is nothing to hide or worry about. It is part of the normal progression of life. Leadership Education is not about making sure you are in the "right phase" at the "right age". That is conveyor belt thinking! Rather, we only need to look at the "whole picture", making our main priority to fulfill the measure of our creation.

Cross-posted from In the TJED Trenches.

Transitioning to Depth Phase

I have been feeling a pull from somewhere inside me to do...something. For a few months now I have been trying to figure out just exactly what this inner need is exactly. There has been a lot of change in our lives in the past 18 months...Mike was laid-off, new job in Flagstaff, AZ, then another move to Missouri for a job change...all of which have made life seem a little bit hectic.

I thought maybe I'm feeling unsettled due to all the changes, but I realized the other day that I was feeling unchallenged educationally. I found myself looking at degrees and universities. Oh, I'm reading books like Plato's "The Republic" and Plutarch's "Lives", but I'm still lacking in peers to study with. It dawned on me that what I am lacking the most is a mentor. I couldn't find people in Flagstaff and I'm definitely not finding people here to interact with on the same level.

I decided to return to the trusted "Leadership Education" book to see what I can find to help. I immediately knew when I opened my book and flipped through it that I need to read about Depth Phase again. I realize now that I need to get busy with a solid Depth Phase. I've been messing around, staying safely in Scholar Phase for a few months now. My biggest problem is....drum roll...money!

Depth Phase is about a high quality mentored education. I cannot afford any of the options I've found. When I mentioned getting student loans to go to George Wythe University my husband about had a heart attack! Not because he does not want me to persue my education, but because we are at a point where I need to work. He does not see how I can go to college, work, and educate our children at home without me having serious health issues (not to mention a mental breakdown!)

I agree with my husband...it is just not possible for me at this point to go to college.

My second thought was some of the online mentoring offers, like from Dr. Shannon Brooks, but again the issue is money. I don't have any! *sigh* If you know of any FREE solutions, I would love to hear them.