Common Threads in Classics by Sara Sweet

Don’t you love it when common threads emerge among the various topics you’ve been studying? It’s so inspiring to find the ways things fit together and reinforce one another. I’ve lately been studying these are other materials: Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the Thomas Jefferson Education philosophies (contained in books such as Amy Edward’s LOLIPOP book and the DeMilles’ Leadership Education and Phases of Learning), Parenting:A House United by Nicholeen Peck, Commitment by Vaughn Featherstone, my canons of scripture, and a Positive Parenting class offered by the local LDS Institute presented by Carleen Tanner (whose blog can be found at carleentanner.com).

While there have been many bridges revealed to me over the last few months that connect the various ideas presented in these resources, there is one bridge in particular that has stood out to me as the most traveled between these topics. It is the idea of agency. I believe agency may be the key to unlocking many of the goals I have for my children and for myself so that we are free to develop and improve ourselves.

How easy it is to just answer a question with a straightforward answer, especially when the question is asked by a child. If we are answering with the intent to exhibit our expertise, then an accurate, thorough answer may accomplish that goal. But if our intent in answer the question is to bestow real understanding in the person asking, such an answer may not be most effective. Often the answers we seek for ourselves are the most complete and memorable. Christ often inspired this type of learning in his earthly ministries through the use of parables.

The real question we might ask ourselves is: What are our underlying goals as a parent? As a home educator? What type of child do we want to raise? What strengths to we wish to provide the opportunity for our children to develop? What will give them the wisdom and capacity to conquer challenges when we are not by their side? I submit to you that your worthy goals can only be achieved if you pursue our Heavenly Father’s plan, and not through the pursuit of His (and our) adversary, Lucifer’s plan. The path of compulsion is the path of misery and dissent. The path of free exercise of agency is the path of empowerment and self-refinement. As parents our charge is to provide the opportunities and environment in which our children can become who they are destined to become by their own choosing. By this, we effectively join Our Father’s work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men.

This necessity of protecting the right of our children to choose is a necessary component of Nicholeen Peck’s parenting skills. It is the key identified by Sister Tanner to inviting a child to come unto Christ, by encouraging them to interact with their Savior Himself rather than to perform required religious tasks for us. It is the secret to unlocking a love of learning that leads to true scholarship as taught by the DeMilles and Amy Edwards, as opposed to educational compulsion. It is the tool with which we place ourselves securely in Covey’s Circle of Influence, where we can become empowered to act and not to be acted upon.

Most of us must resist our desire to compel our children to act so that we may empower them to act for themselves. We must be creative in the way we structure our home to allow this preferred type of development in our precious, capable children. We are not the result of our circumstances. We are free to act, and to own both our mistakes and triumphs. With that freedom comes the responsibility to be better each day than the previous day, to set our own goals, measure, evaluate, and encourage ourselves along the path of our choosing. It is the way to wisdom, happiness, and success. Let us travel this bridge often and invite our loved ones to come along, that we can discover together our individual and collective joys.

Title Swap

Awakening to Our Awful Situation - Jack Monnett

None Dare Call it Conspiracy - Gary Allen

The 1,000 year War in the Mideast - Richard J. Maybury
WWI and WWII Uncle Eric Series - Richard Maybury
Bullfinch's Mythology
Mathematical Reasoning Supplement - Critical Thinking Company
The Story of the World Audio Cd's - Jim Weiss

To Kill, or Not to Kill - Julius Caesar

As I begun reading this play for book group, I believed that it was in the best interest of Rome to kill Julius Caesar because he was a corrupt dictator, and that the Senators should not kill Mark Antony because he was a quite side-kick.  But as the play progresses, I realized how dangerous Antony actually was.  He could pursued the citizens of Rome to follow him by promising them "Bread and Circuses."

The plotting Senators could not bring democracy back to Rome by removing one or two of its corrupt leaders because the citizens of Rome were like "sheep." This was clear in the first act in scene three when Cassius stated:

"And why should Caesar be a tyrant then?
Poor Man! I know he would not be a wolf
But that he sees the Roman are but sheep."

After Caesar was murdered by the Senators, all Mark Antony needed to do to gain the sympathies of the Roman Citizens was to pretend there were promises of free parks, money and goods in Caesar's Will. Antony then riled up the people to burn Rome and turn against the Senators.  If the people could be won over so easily by bread and circuses, then any corrupt leader could step forward and obtain power.  Even if the Senators had killed both Caesar and Antony,  Octavius (Caesar's adopted son) could then have stepped in as the new dictator with such promises of comfort.

The problem lies with the Citizens of Rome themselves.  They need to learn to think for themselves, and not just following whomever is currently standing in front of them making promises of safety and comfort.  Until each individual stands up and thinks for himself, Rome will continue to follow corrupt dictators that slowly erode their freedoms away.

To kill or not kill Julius Caesar?  I vote not kill.  Educated the people and they will remove the corrupt leaders themselves.  Stop giving them "Bread and Circuses" or they will continue to be "Sheep."  Start creating a thinking population.

At the Risk of Offence - Share Your Concerns

"Well, Captain Smollett, what have you to say?  All well, I hope; all shipshape and seaworthy?"
"Well, sir" said the captain, "better speak plain, I believe, even at the risk of offence.  I don't like this cruise; I don't like the men; and I don't like my officer.  That's the short and sweet."

How would this treasure hunt have been different if  Squire Trelawney had heeded the concerns of the captain instead of finding offence in his warnings?

Do we ever find offence when someone has the courage to disagree appropriately with us; when they warn us or try to help us see that we are on a course headed straight for disaster?

Title Swap

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Obama's America by Dinesh D'souza

A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt

Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff

Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborn

Title Swap

The Talent Code - Daniel Coyle
The Life and Times of Fredrick Douglass (audio discs)
The Land - Mildred D. Taylor
Liberty and Freedom - David Hackett Fischer
Children's Classics - Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf; Saint-Seans: Carnival of Animals; Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (CD)

The Prosperity of America is Due to the Superiority of Their Women

"As for myself, I do not hesitate to avow that although the women of the United States are confined within the narrow circle of domestic life, and their situation is in some respects one of extreme dependence, I have nowhere seen women occupying a loftier position; and if I were asked, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply,—to the superiority of their women."

“Thoughts on A Thomas Jefferson Education", by Sara Sweet

Sometimes, with the right lens fitted to view our world, it takes on a new shape and focus. Several months ago, I began reading the education philosophies presented by Oliver DeMille who, along with his wife and other colleagues, has written several books including A Thomas Jefferson Education. His assessment of the needs of children of various ages, as well as their ability and desire to forge an education of their own design, is a very different picture than the current public educational model, which system DeMille calls the Conveyor Belt. What better name for our public educational system which creates copycat thinkers whose main objective is to take their place in an expendable workforce and whose focus is on the acquisition of things and power. On the contrary, DeMille advocates an educational model based on the historic practices of many of our young country’s leaders and centered on the idea of inspiring youth to become virtuous leaders of self, family, community, and nation that he calls Leadership Education. But is such a different educational approach necessary? What kind of impact could this alternate education have in our lives, community and culture?

Recently, our family invited the missionaries serving in our church over for dinner. While visiting with these young men, I realized that they had little aspiration for the future. One wants to attend college and major in entertainment (theater) but is not sure how he would apply that education. The other is unsure what he wants to study after his mission. These boys seemed to me to have very little vision or passion for their current or future life situation. I have witnessed many young adults and young couples with little ambition as well, where they find themselves chasing what I call the New American Dream, which consists of little else than acquisition. A big house, expensive car, home theater and other forms and devices meant for entertainment, and the resulting debt from all such spending are the mediocre end goals being pursued in our day, and this only after individuals are burned out from a long period of self-indulgence during their teenage and early adult years. Marriage and children along with the rewarding sacrifices of creating and rearing a family are no longer prized, nor are the noble pursuits of charity, contribution, and as DeMille points out, the two great achievements of public virtue and liber.

If this is the reality of the younger generations, our culture is on a steep downturn. Without something to counteract the slippery slope of selfishness, apathy, and a typically lazy pursuit of indulgence, what kind of future can we expect?

Being new to theories and ideas presented by DeMille, it seems presumptive for me to represent his philosophies as the answer to all society’s ills. However, I personally feel inspired through my study to implement his theories in my home with great expectations. After reading his educational philosophies, I now envision a revised home school for our family that is filled with character building classic literature, teamwork, inspiration, self discovery, self motivation, and history (to provide a lengthy context and true compass in a world without either). I anticipate that refocusing my efforts in the home on people and processes, rather than skills and subjects, I will be able to provide the learning tools and  environment my children need to build their own vision and motivation for their futures, and the future of the communities in which the y live. I hope that through classic works and exposure to mentors both past and present, the y will develop a firm grasp on whom the y ought to emulate, and the real impact of their efforts. I also anticipate that through the ir own interested pursuits, the y will build a skill set that will have a depth and breadth only attainable through internal motivation and priority. I personally have much to learn and so much to change about myself and my home to make these worthy goals a reality, and I hope that through these efforts to do so I will lessen the distance between the ideal “self” that my children see of themselves at any given moment, and who the y want to become. In shortening the distance between who the y are and who the y want to be, I envision that they can become true leaders of self, family and community, possible even of our nation or world.

When someone asks my children ten years from now of their aspirations, as I did of the missionaries who visited our home, I envision that they will have firm answers, a plotted course, the skills to articulate and achieve their vision, and the charity to invite o the rs along on their surefooted path. If my children are able to accomplish these feats, they will have their roots in DeMille’s Leadership Education and a future that is boundless.

Title Swap

Books
Weapons of Mass Instruction - John Taylor Gatto
Wild Swans - Jung Chang
The Child Whisperer - Carol Tuttle
The Story of the World -
Right Start Math Games

DVD's
Amazing Grace
Alone, Yet Not Alone
Mom's Night Out

Web Sites
TED: Build A School in the Cloud by Sugata Mitra
TED SOLE
http://loveofplaymathmatics.blogspot.com/
https://xtramath.org/

How to Inspire Great Readers

Begin with Basic Tools

Did you know that over 90% of the English language is phonetically correct?  I have personally always struggled with spelling and when I heard this statistic, I wanted proof.  I found “proof” in my favorite resource, Spell to Write and Read.  I cannot give this program enough praise.  It is truly the secret to our families reading success.  You can find it at http://www.bhibooks.net/home.html

A Vacuum of Stimulation

Just like any other habit in your life that you want to create, you must make room for it.   No child would ever pick up a book on their own if they are allowed unlimited time with Television, Movies, Internet, and Video Games. If you want to raise a good reader, it is time to UNPLUG your family and let your children become very, very bored.  This may take some time to adjust too, that I like to refer as “detoxing.”  After a week or two of no electronic stimulation, your children will be craving new ideas – and that is where books come into the picture. 

Besides too much electronic stimulation squishing any desire to read, children can also spend too much time with friends, sports, dance, and other activities such as roaming the neighborhood.  Freeing their schedule up and allowing your children to have hours of “boredom” will highly increase their desire to read quit naturally.

Poetry

Did you know that the average American functions at only a 4^th-grade reading level? This is the level that we read newspapers, hear and understand our media and speak daily to one another.  How do we surpass this average and start thriving at a higher level?  POETRY! Add it to your student’s daily lives through reading it, memorizing it, reciting it, and copying it.  Poetry gives us a superior form of patterns of the English language at all levels.

Time, Not Content

Great mentors help their students establish and follow a consistent schedule, but they don’t micromanage the content.  Indeed, micro-management has become one of the real poisons of modern education. Encourage students to pursue their interests and passions during their study time.  For example:  Set aside a half hour a day for your student to read, but let them choose what it is they read.

Classics, Not Textbooks

No one can deny the value of a great idea well communicated. The inspiration, innovation and ingenuity inherent in great ideas elevate those who study them.  Great ideas are most effectively learned directly from the greatest thinkers, historians, artists, philosophers and prophets, and their original works. Great works inspire greatness, just as mediocre or poor works usually inspire mediocre and poor achievement.  The great accomplishments of humanity are the key to quality education. Study original sources — the intellectual and creative works of the world’s great thinkers, artists, scientists, etc., in the form they were produced.  Refer to the “Fantastic Reads for All Ages”book list for ideas for class titles.  Introduce new classics to your student by reading them aloud together.

Audio Books

A person can often understand concepts and vocabulary at a much higher level and rate when they are listening to a book, instead of reading it.  Listening to audio books is fantastic way to introduce your student to classics, which would be too difficult for them to read independently.  (This really works! My ten-year-old son recently no only listened to unabridged production of Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre,” he loved it too.)  Listening to great classics improves vocabulary, pronunciation, and comprehension.

Inspire With Your Example

Focus on your education, and invite them along for the ride. Read the classics in all fields, find mentors who inspire and demand quality, structure your days to include study time for yourself, and become a person who inspires great education.  A parent or teacher doesn’t have to be an “expert” to inspire great education (the classics provide the expertise), but he does have to be setting the example.