What's New in TJED?

The Seven Liberal Arts

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I attended a fabulous Webinar "The New Approach to Leadership Education for the Decade Ahead" by Oliver DeMille last Thursday. He announced some significant new information for those who know or want to know more about Leadership Education (aka TJED).

Stages of TJED
The first announcement was defining 3 Stages of TJED. We all know when we are beginners and need to start with the "basics", but how do we know when we are ready to be Intermediate or Advanced?

1. Basic -
2. Intermediate -
3. Advanced -

I will briefly outline the stages and what Oliver suggests we do during those stages. However, this is not even a close comparison to listening to the Webinar.

Basic -  

• Read "A Thomas Jefferson Education"
• Read "Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning"
• Do the 7 Keys Certification (coming soon)

Intermediate - 

• Do the 7 Keys Certification (coming soon)
• Read "Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens"
• Read "The Student Whisperer"
• Read "1913"  (coming soon)

Advanced - 

• Read "1913"  (coming soon)
• Read "The Coming Aristocracy"
• Read Durant's "The Story of Civilization" - go deep!

New Book!

I can say that I am in Intermediate as I have read "TJED for Teens" several times, I'm just finishing up "The Student Whisperer" and pre-ordered "1913", Oliver DeMille's new book. I'm on the edge of Advanced Since I read "The Coming Aristocracy" before it even came out. And, of course, I have not finished the new "7 Keys Certification", but I'm leaning towards the idea that I won't need to because I've already studied and read so much on these subjects. I'll have to see all of what it entails before deciding for sure. I started "Story of Civilization" once before, but decided to read some other classics first. I'm looking to buy them now and start studying!

7 Keys Certification

This is a brand new announcement! The DeMilles will be announcing in the next couple of weeks a new certification to help people get started and growing in Leadership Education. I listened to one of the audio files for Level 3 titled "The 2 Hour Mentor" and it was really powerful. I did notice that much of it is included in "The Student Whisperer" however.

7 Steps of TJED (Different than the 7 Keys of Great Teaching)
Another new announcement is the 7 Steps of TJED. This has more to do with the process of implementing Leadership Education in our own lives and the lives of those we mentor, our children or others. I find this is a great way to explain "how to do" TJED.

1. Seek
2. Experience
3. Discuss
4. Apply
5. Practice
6. Polish
7. Repeat!

The Seven Liberal Arts

I was impressed and quite frankly blown away with the deeper level of information for the Seven Liberal Arts that Oliver gave to us during the Webinar. There is too much to explain in one post here, but be sure, I will be posting about this again in the future as I ponder the information and begin implementing it into my life.

Here is the list of Trivium and Quadrivium.

 

Trivium	Quadrivium
Grammar Logic Rhetoric	Astronomy Geometry Arithmetic Music

Secure, not Stressed

I met another family that has returned their children to public school today. I felt sad. It is hard to keep up with all the mothers I have met over the years that have homeschooled at one time or another. This mom tried it with her oldest for three years. When the next child became ready for public school, she begged to go to school with her friends. The mother, exasperated with her structured school-at-home program, threw up her hands and decided to send everyone to school that year.

I wanted to express my encouragement to try a different way of home educating. I wanted to argue all the great points of home education and how well things have gone for us. But, she has already passed that point and is sure she is unable to homeschool "properly" as she put it. I nodded my head and just listened.

Twelve years ago I remember a very similar conversation with a mother of eight who homeschooled all of her children. I was the one giving all the reasons why I couldn't homeschool. I brought up all the reasons I could think of, even going so far as to say my children were nothing special and did not need any special attention. I remember this wise mother nodding her head and listening. She did not offer an harsh words nor did she begin giving all her reasons why SHE homeschools. She just offered a listening ear.

A few years after this conversation I had with the experienced mother of eight, I found myself remembering that she had responded with nothing but kindness and understanding. She left me pondering my own excuses and reasons rather than feeling judged.

I hope that I can always emulate the same.

A book that helped me with the 8th Key of Great Teaching - Secure, not Stressed -  is "The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook" by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. The concepts are all compatible with A Thomas Jefferson Education (TJED).

TJED Conveyor-belt

Death of Socrates

I was going to post another Classics List for transcript purposes, but decided this needed to be posted instead.

On a Yahoo Group, of which I am a member, a discussion topic came up that has really got me thinking about TJED Conveyor-belt and the vast number of TJED based classes. I felt it need to be answered a bit more. So many people are looking for classroom environments for their Love of Learners and Scholars and I wonder if the choices out there meet the mustard.

Quote from a "TJED Muse" post: "When I asked the kids what they thought they'd REALLY like this class to look like, almost all of them agreed that they wanted to have a "sit down and take notes and lecture" part to the class each week, and they wanted it to last for 15 minutes. They also wanted a test. That was their request. Now, I wouldn't have designed a TJ Ed class that way, but it is what they wanted. So after four weeks, I talked to them again, and asked them what they had noticed. They noticed that they LIKED the lecture/notes, because they wanted to make sure that they were able to do that like the kids who attend public school."

My Answer: Have you ever considered that the reason these students asked for that type of learning environment is because that is the only picture of education that they have in the world today? Let's consider some other learning environments that brought people from thousands of miles away in a time when travel was difficult and time consuming, for example; Socrates, Aristotle, and Euclid.

How did they teach their students? Did they have tests, pre-essay and post-essay samples, or a syllabus? Or, did they inspire through asking and answering the tough questions, challenging the status quo, and showing by example what it takes to think for oneself? They taught their students in a Socratic discussion style in which they asked questions, deep thinking questions, and tried to answer them. These thinkers did not send out the questions before hand, rather they came up within the discussion.

As I read and study the great thinkers through the classics, I see very little classrooms that look like what we know today. For myself, I don't want my kids to get more of the world, I want them to get more of what is lost...a true educational experience that steps outside the box and asks the hard questions. In order to do that, it might mean taking the road less traveled and searching for those educational experiences that will impact them the most rather than a plethora of mediocre, which there is plenty of out there.

Does this mean we never experience the conveyor-belt? Of course not! There is too much around to avoid. But what it does mean is that we are careful and purposeful in what we choose to spend our time doing. There are many good things out there, but are they the best things? Only each family can answer that question for their family. I do hope, however, that we each keep the goal in sight as we make those decisions. Will this class, teacher, mentor, school, book club, group, friend, etc. lead my child closer to their end goals? Is this the best choice, or just a good choice?

For more on Socratic discussion, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method and
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-role-of-socratic-questioning-in-thinki\ng-teaching-learning/522

Education: How did it happen?

I've been re-reading "Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank. The second time through is definitely an eye-opener. I am understanding things I did not get before. I wanted to share a couple of insights from the book that I feel are relevant in today's society.

From Alas, Babylon:


Note: In this scene, Randy is talking to his brother, a colonel in the military, about the real threat of war in America. It is written in 1959, so the examples are older, but the meaning is relevant to today.


Quote #1:
"How did it happen?" Randy had asked. "Where did we slip?"

"It wasn't lack of money," Mark had replied. "It was state of mind. Chevrolet mentalities shying away from a space-ship world. Nations are like people. When they grow old and rich and fat they get conservative (not politics, conservative in innovation). They exhaust their energy trying to keep things the way they are - and that's against nature. Oh, the services were to blame to. Maybe even SAC. We designed the most beautiful bombers in the world, and built them by the thousands. We improved and modified them each year, like new model cars. We couldn't bear the thought that jet bombers themselves might be out of style. Right now we're in the position of the Federal Navy, with it's wooden steam frigates, up against the Confederate iron-clad. It is a state of mind that money alone won't cure."

"What will?" Randy asked.

"Men. Men like John Ericsson invent a Monitor to face the Merrimac. Bold men, audacious men, tenacious men. Impatient, odd-ball men like Rickover pounding desks for atomic subs. Ruthless men who will fire the dead heads and butt-kissers. Rude men who will tell the unimaginative, business-as-usual, seven-carbon *** to go take a jump at a galloping goose. Young men because we've got to be a young country again. If we get that kind of men we may hack it - if the other side gives us time."



Quote #2:
"Quite often the flood of history is undammed or diverted by the character and actions of one man."

Quote #3:
"When two ships are on a collision course and the men at the wheel inflexibly hold to that course, there is going to be a collision. You don't have to be farsighted to see that."

Why does this book matter?
In my conversations with many adults that I mentor, one of the most often asked question is "How can I be mentored by a book?" We are mentored by books when we make connections with how the characters behave and react to their environment and relate those characters and situations to our every day lives. In the above scene, I am reminded that the United States of America has been in crisis before. The United States struggle to remain a republic has been tried and tested many times.

I ask myself questions like:

• How did the characters behave? Where they right or wrong?
• How did our government survive other times of crisis? Can we use those tactics today or do we need new tactics?
• What made the difference between freedom and servitude? 
• How are these situations like today?

As I answers these question through my studies, I gain a better understanding of human nature and what I need to do, change, or support. 

This is how classics change us. 

This is how we are mentored by books.

What kinds of books are your mentors?

Shh! Scholar in Progress

During our Mentor Meetings Sunday night, a startling discovery was made....I interrupt my Scholars too much. Nayna politely asked during the meeting to not be interrupted during her study hours. I was pretty surprised, because I thought my kids have pretty un-interrupted time, but she explained herself well and was able to make excellent observations about the issue. Mike then commented, "When did you become so grown-up?" (Overnight...almost).

Basically after discussing her needs, we realized that 6 hours of study, which is the time we had allotted for her, is not enough time to accomplish all of her studies on some of our more busy days. She often chooses to use some of her Free Time hours to complete her studies. A new plan is now in place to allow her to complete her studies on days we have to travel into town for events. She has devised her own study plan and a new format for documenting her studies. She used to use a weekly planner as discussed in this post. Last week she created her own weekly checklist with room to write in the chapters, lessons, and other details of what she did that day for that subject.

Her subjects include:

• Home Study Seminary - Doctrine and Covenants
• Reading - Classics and personal choices
• Math - Math-U-See Algebra I
• Latin - Wheelocks Latin
• Music - Choir and Piano
• Physical Education - Wii Fit Plus, Yoga, Walks, etc.
• History - Early Modern Times
• Government - The 5,000 Year Leap
• Logic

I was thoroughly convinced by this admission that Nayna is over a year into the "Self-Directed Scholar" phase:

The Self-Directed Scholar studies eight to twelve hours a day, five to six days a week, ten to twelve months a year for three to four years.  This 5,00 to 8,000 hours of intense study builds a huge base of knowledge and skill which can be applied to whatever mission the later adult embarks upon.

It is exciting to see that she is really taking charge of her education in every way. I do not do much more than try to stay out of her way now!

My Week in Special Ed.

I spent the early part of this week (and will be there tomorrow as well) substituting in a special education pre-K class for autistic children. Needless to say, it has been very interesting. Early intervention is for some parents a saving grace, but I wonder how parents would feel if they knew what was really going on in the classrooms.

I've seen children forced to play with shaving cream while they are screaming, "No, please! Too sticky!" or forced to lay on their tummy rather than sit on their bum to read a book. Some of it is so excessive for silly reasons that I just can't imagine why it happens. What is the purpose? So, I decided to ask a few questions about why the children have to lay on their tummy rather than sit on their bum. I got an explanation of how the child's muscles need to be built in their necks and lower jaw.

But still, I'm wondering why force them? Why not inspire them to follow our lead to lay on their tummy and play a fun game to strengthen those muscles? Do we have to practically sit on kids (yes, I've seen this) and make them do what we want just because they are autistic? Now, I have not spent a lot of time with autistic kids and I KNOW they all have behavior issues (this is part of how they are diagnosed).

My question is...can the Leadership Education model work with autistic children? I believe it can and will even be better for the children. The problem then becomes an issue of wanting results NOW rather than taking the time to inspire the kids. So it seems to be a matter of quick results over allowing time to make the changes in a more loving and respectful way.

I was reminded by a friend about how Helen Keller needed to be forced somewhat in order to learn to communicate. I observed, however, that the conformity was in behavior mostly...eating with utensils instead of hands, eating from her own plate, not being rewarded candy for bad behavior, etc. The people around Helen had created these bad behaviors in the first place. Ann Sulivan only reversed these bad behaviors and replaced them with good ones.

Also, Helen Keller was not autistic and had the ability to learn these behaviors. I don't believe that the comparison is a good one, but still I can see that sometimes force is a matter of getting the child's attention long enough to inspire them. For the children in the class I'm working in they do have "mainstream" kids coming in to be an example, which I think is excellent in teaching them to communicate and model preferred behaviors. I just don't agree with the extreme force some of these kids are put through at times.

Inspire AND Require?

I have read several things lately about Inspire, not Require. Some people feel their kids won't do anything without requiring them. Some feel that not requiring is more unschooling and they are not comfortable with that. I have found that each child is different and is inspired under different conditions.

Marly (15) - Project Scholar
Marly is intrinsically inspired to learn. She devours books, reading hours and hours every day without me saying anything about learning. She finds so much to learn about that her day is full of learning experiences. My job as a mentor is EASY with her. She can find things to occupy her time without me and is a self-learner through and through. I find her writings have depth I didn't know she had in her. Inspiring her to learn about new topics or go into depth in other areas is as easy as getting the books from the library and putting them on the shelves. She peruses the books and eventually picks up most of the books I bring home.

Chris (13) - Transitioning to Scholar
Chris is a hands-on, I-need-to-experience-it-myself type of learner. Inspiring him is much harder in that he does not value stories very much. He values things that are "real"...really happened...or things he can do. I did finally find some books he likes, Robinson Crusoe being his all-time favorite so far. We also stumbled upon the fact that he likes Louis L'Amour books and is enjoying the Sackett series. Mentoring this child is HARD. It takes a lot of experimenting to find what inspires him, and even then it doesn't seem to inspire him long.

Did you notice I used the words "stumble upon" and "experimenting". This is what mentoring my son is to me. I have to work harder at it and search high and low, rejoicing in the once-in-a-while golden find that leads to an inspiring moment.

Inspire and Require?
During our Return and Report meetings, my son has expressed that he would rather I require something of him because he needs the direction.....hhmmm. After delving into this further, we came up with the idea that he needs a little bit of require in order to feel motivated (yes, I know this means he needs more core work). In the mean time, he very much wants an education and flounders a bit in finding things that interest him. We found that for Chris, he needs a basic outline of subjects that he should be doing each day - reading, writing, and math - and a list subjects he can touch on weekly - history, science, government, and grammar. He can choose what he does for those subjects, but he is required to work on each subject every day/week.

We have been doing this for a couple months now. Yesterday, I spoke with Chris about how this was working for him. I talked about taking away the require portion and he said, "But I need you to require me to do these subjects each day." OK, well I guess that answers my question.

Remember, YOU are the expert on your family.

Jan. 2010 - Week 1

We are back to "school" although I don't like calling it that. We took the entire month of December off to focus on family and our Savior Jesus Christ....Plus we were really sick most of the month. :-(

:: Daily Lessons ::

• Devotional: "Preach My Gospel" - Lesson 1 - a section a day.
  
• Read A-Loud Book: "The Long Winter" book #6 of Little House on the Prairie series.
• Math: Chris - Math-U-See: Delta - Marly - Math-U-See: Zeta - Celeste - Math-U-See: Algebra (review for mom...again!)
• Exercise - We are using the Wii Fit Plus while "the weather outside is frightful". It is harder than it looks!
  
• Writing - Chris - daily journal entries. Marly - writing her own book and Transformational Writing class assignments (see Marly's projects for more info.)
  
• Guitar Practice
• New Era and Ensign Reading, Scripture Reading, and Individual Reading - See each person below for their readings.
  

:: Weekly Lessons ::

• Monday: Grammar Lessons - Chris: "Winston Grammar" - Review - Marly: "Grammatically Correct" - Study subjects and objects.
• Tuesday: Guitar Lessons, Government Lesson, and Weekly Library Trip - "The 5,000 Year Leap" - Principle 9.
  
• Wednesday: Mutual/Scouts and History Lesson - "Story of the World", Vol. 2 - Chris: Chapter - Marly: Chapter 42 (Yea! She finished Volume 2).
  
• Thursday: Homeschool Friends Outing
• Friday: Science Lesson - "Concepts and Challenges in Physical Science" Chapter 3 - Two types of Energy.

:: Individual Readings ::

• Chris (Practice Scholar) - "Treasure Island", "Kidnapped", Scriptures, and New Era magazine.
  
• Marly (Project Scholar) - "Dragon Slippers", "Dragon Flight", "Dragon Spear", "Princess of the Midnight Ball", Scriptures, and New Era magazine.
  
• Celeste (Mentored Scholar - back to looking for a mentor) - "Jubal Sackett", Ensign and New Era magazines, Scriptures, and Primary Lesson.
  

:: Projects ::

• Chris - Palm programming in C language, starting to learn a little of Java programming, book report (still choosing which book).
  
• Marly - She is taking a Transformational Writing class at TJED Academy and Prep School as well as starting Seminary this semester. Our schools here only allow Seminary for a semester as release time, so instead of a 45 minute class it is 1 1/2 hours. We decided not to do early morning Seminary and we carpool with two other homeschooled girls.
  
• Celeste - Getting ready for taxes and learning what I need to or can claim for foster care.
• Family - Shoveling snow, organizing and purging items we no longer need as part of our Six Month Inventory and Purge.
  

Science, Slime, and the Human Body - 2009 - Week 8

I don't think reading a basic run down of every chapter we did in math and worksheets we used is fun to read....so we are going to focus on more what our real day looks like.

Science Fun
Human Body - Skin, Hair, and Nails Unit
On Thursday we started this very interesting- and a little gross - unit! In true Leadership Ed. (TJED) fashion I allowed the kids to take this lab to where their interests led them and then we looked up more with our books and the Internet. We have an awesome microscope that we bought at Amazon.com and slides (Kit A and Kit B) from the 4-Year Plan. Plus we made our own slides.

Here are the things we looked at:

• Dead skin from our own hands/arms.
• Hair from each of us and the dog.
• A dog eye booger. (eeewwww! not my idea)
• Saliva - Chris' to be exact.
  
• Prepared slide - Human Skin Cross-section - this shows the hair and how it grows out of the skin. We could also see the sweat pores.
• Prepared slide - Mouth Swab - the inside of our cheek skin.
• Prepared slide - Human Blood.

Book Resources:

• Usborne Science Encyclopedia - pgs.368-369
• How the Body Works - pgs. 31-41

Slime Lab
On Thursday thru Friday my kids wanted another lab day and so we went on a quest to find the BEST slime recipe. We tried several recipes and decided the best is to combine a Silly Putty and Slime recipe to get a nice, bouncy slime. The kids also discovered that if you put the concoction in the refrigerator over night it makes a better bouncy slime.

Read Together - We finished Little House in the Big Woods and started Farmer Boy.

Socialization Activities - Principles of Leadership Class

Marly - Projects - Loom Knitting & sewing balls for the Humanitarian Center. Reading - Diary of a Whimpy Kid: The Last Straw, Dairy of a Whimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Guy Time, Regular Guy, The Diamond of Darkhold.

Chris - Projects - Leatherworking. Reading - Redwall series, Diary of a Whimpy Kid: The Last Straw, Dairy of a Whimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.

Mom - Many of my projects are on hold. My work has graciously given me more hours, to which I am grateful. However, I'm very exhausted! Reading - The Love Dare and Leven Thumps and the Gateway of Foo.

2009 - Week 5 - This Week in Homeschooling

In addition to Marly and Chris's babysitting job, Chris has been sick with a sinus infection this week. The level of his education was greatly effected this week and we hope he will get better soon!

Kid's School:

• Devotionals - Gospel Principles lesson 12 - We spent the entire week on the Atonement.
  
• Classes/Clubs Attended - Principles of Leadership
• Read Aloud Book - Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (and my kids THINK they have chores)
  
• SAT Prep vocabulary & spelling words - Review last week's words - New Words - winsome, meager, haughty, foster
  
• Grammar & Writing - Journal Entries on each book read - The Winston Grammar Program: Basic Level - Word Roots Level A A1 & A2
  
• Science - The Human Body Unit - Respiratory System - Usborne Science Encyclopedia pg. 358-359, How the Body Works pg. 69-77, Human Anatomy Coloring Book p. 218-23 (College level book - we do not memorize the terminology, but the detailed diagrams are really good).
  
• P.E. - Daily dog walks. Chris was too sick to do much else.
  
• Math
• Marly: Math-U-See - Epsilon - Chapters 9-11
  
• Chris: Math-U-See - Delta - Unit 2 Test, online math drills
  
• Individual Reading
• Marly: The Story of the World: Vol.2 2-18, Molly Moon Stops the World, Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure, The Hounds of the Baskerville's (1st half)
  
• Chris: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Vol. 1, 1-38 thru 1-39 (1st half)
  

Mom's School:

• Reading list - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (still working on this one), The Love Dare (a 40 day challenge so I'll be reading this one every day for awhile - see this movie "Fireproof"), Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning (studying up on the levels of Scholar Phase to present to the family next week)
  
• Projects - cleaning and perfecting my bread making skills. See my favorite recipe at The Solar Cook.
  

2009 - Week 3 - This Week in Homeschooling

We had a great Monday with everyone taking the day off. Marly was sick this week and so we did not expect the level of study she usually applies, but she did a ton of reading while she was sick.

• Devotionals - Gospel Principles lessons 7-9
  
• Classes/Clubs Attended - Principles of Leadership
  
• SAT Prep vocabulary & spelling words - Review last weeks words - New Words - supple, avow, brazen
  
• Grammar & Writing - Journal Entries on each book read - Winston Grammar - Word Roots A1 & A2
  
• Science - The Human Body Unit - Muscles
  
• P.E. - (Marly was sick this week)
  
• Math
• Marly: Math-U-See - Epsilon - Chapters 1-4
  
• Chris: Math-U-See - Delta - Chapter 13
  
• Individual Reading
• Marly: Story of the World, Vol. 2-11 thru 2-16, Oddest of All, Nelly in the Wilderness, Fablehaven - Books 1 & 2, Crystal Mask
  
• Chris: Story of the World, Vol. 1-34, Dragon Rider
  
• Mom School: Reading list - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Young Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews (I highly recommend this book!)
  

SAT Prep - Vocabulary and Spelling words:
I subscribed to a daily email of SAT words through Peterson's Word of the Day. It is a free service and we get the definition, example sentence, and synonyms. I write the word of the day on the dry erase board and we discuss it right after devotional. The website also has test prep questions.

Why do we do this? - I feel that we should focus on getting into college and part of that process is the SAT test. We do not do AIMS testing - that is for public schools to be graded and for funding. They really have nothing to do with the students.

Fed up with the Government? What do we do?

In my personal studies I have been learning about the Constitution and the way the US government is SUPPOSED to work. I am greatly disturbed by how broken the system is and how we are not really a free country anymore. I read an article this morning that has resonated within me the reasons WHY I am studying about our government. It also addresses how we can fix it....seems difficult doesn't it? I hope you will all take the time to read this article and ponder if it is something useful to you.

Education Must Proceed Activism

The real question to me is....What KIND of education do we need to correct the problems in our country? What do we need to know? How do we learn it?

2009 - Week 1 - This Week in Homeschooling

Rather than post hit-or-miss homeschooling posts, I decided it might be better if I post once a week at the end of the week and just include the subjects we focused on.

• Devotionals - Gospel Principles lessons 1-5
• Literature Focus - Legends Unit - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Book Club meeting
  
• SAT Prep vocabulary & spelling words - coddle, debacle
  
• Grammar & Writing -
• Science - The Human Body Unit - Skeleton
• P.E. - Rollerblading & scooter riding at park day, Wii Tennis and Bowling
  
• Math
• Marly: fractions and decimals
• Chris: geometry - area of triangles and trapezoids
  
• Individual Reading
• Marly:
• Chris:
• Individual Studies
• Marly: Loom Knitting - creating hats and scarves
  
• Chris: Game Maker Pro - creating executable games for downloading
  
• Mom School: Reading list -
  

Free Education Downloads

For those who are interested, here are a few free downloads on education. I have the books if anyone is interested in reading more....

• A Thomas Jefferson Education & Leadership Education books
• Audio - Talks by Oliver DeMille

Free Education Downloads

Chris is more of an auditory learner than Marly. I have found this follows us as parents - Mike would rather listen to a book on CD than read it, where I would rather read the words. So we have one of each in our children as well - Chris listens to books and Marly reads them. Sam is also a great reader and falls somewhere in between these two.

I have found several free online resources for listening to books and seminars. I am becoming much better at listening to learn as I collect these resources for my family.

Classic Books & Education

• LibriVox - fabulous collections of audio files for public domain books (75 years or older).
• MIT Open Courseware - Free online classes with audio and video.
  
• Free Classic Audio Books
• Open Culture
  

Education Speeches and Seminars

• John Taylor Gatto
  
• Southwest TJEd Forum - I highly recommend that everyone listen to the first speech - TJEd basics.
  
• Homeschool.com - Free Radio Show
  

My Recommendations - Books, Books, Books

I love books! My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I would rather read than sleep.








Happy Reading!

Math-U-See Rocks!

Today Chris said to me, "I like this math. I finally really understand math." This year we bought Math-U-See. We made it through one entire year of math in two months! We have tried a few other math programs - A Beka, CIMT, Saxon, and Thinkwell. My children and I had difficulties with all of them. I am not very good at math...it only took me two tries to pass College Algebra...but who's counting. ;-)

Some might say this is exactly the reason parents should not home school their children. One argument is that the children will have the same holes and weakness in their education that the parents have. My answer to that is, "Not necessarily!" I have searched to find programs that are strong where I am weak. I often learn more about the subject right along with my children, allowing us to all fully participate in the education process. Our method of Leadership Education focuses on life-long learning, so shouldn't there be room for me to learn and grow as well? Do certified teachers KNOW everything they are teaching? Of course not! I worked with many teachers at our local elementary school that were forced to teach curriculum they did not know, nor where they educated/trained in the course material they taught. They were handed the materials and told, "Go teach it." Why can't parents do the same? They can and they do!

Just know that home school families do not need to be certified to teach their children. Most of a teacher's education is on "classroom management", which parents do not need. There is so much available to home school families in curriculum that are similar and often surpass what is taught in public and private schools. Please vote for freedom (should it ever come to that) and allow home school families to do what they love...teach their children at home without being certified.

I'll get off my soap box now...