A Thomas Jefferson Education

I never thought I would read a book that would change my life, but A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century by Oliver Van DeMille will. I always knew there was something wrong with the education system in the United States. I can remember going through public High School hating every minute and realizing that I was not really in a School, I was in prison. I didn't know why I hated it or why I didn't study hard (even though I loved learning). And now with my own children I thought that the solution was simply to reproduce the public school system within my own home via Homeschooling.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

A Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd) is about giving children the access to the type of education that will live up to their greatest potential, not throwing our children on a conveyor-belt by shoving stuff into their brains under the threat of punishment so they can regurgitate it back to us. How can we teach our students how to think if we are constantly teaching them only what to think! If we want our children to become great men and women we must introduce them to the great men and women of the past through reading the classics and we (teachers/parents) must stop being educators and become mentors to our students.

The theme throughout this book is Classics and Mentors. This is the key to a TJEd. Great men and women become great through coming in contact with the great men and women of the past, through the Classics and they are encouraged through mentors who encourage discussion, writing and role-playing amongst the students.

So you may be wondering, How will this change Frank's life? He's not the one in school. The 'problem' (if you will) with the TJEd is not that it is complicated, it is incredibly simple, it's just hard work. If you want to bring a TJEd to your students then you must become the mentor and you must read the classics and study just as hard if not harder than the student. Great teachers do not Educate, they inspire students to educate themselves. In order to inspire the Teacher needs to set the example and be excited about learning. This is where I need to change my life. I need to become a great teacher and mentor in order to inspire excellence in my children.

Anyone who is a teacher (either in public, private or Homeschool setting) or parent is doing a great disservice to themselves and their children/students by not reading this book. It's not long, and if you disagree or think it will be too difficult that's fine, but to remain ignorant is simply unacceptable.

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