A Thomas Jefferson Education/Leadership Education

by Mary Ann on May 6, 2010

It will be instructive for those who know about the Thomas Jefferson model of Education and those who are new to the subject to have a basic review of some of the more important elements.

Leadership education, which Oliver DeMille called “Jefferson Education,” teaches students how to think and prepares them to be leaders in their homes and communities, entrepreneurs in business, and statesmen in government.

Leadership education has three primary goals; to train students to do the right thing and to do it well in business, government, school, church, and family. Second, to perpetuate freedom by preparing people who know what freedom is, what is required to maintain it and who will do what is required. The third is to teach students how to think, which allows the first two goals to be achieved.

There are three important keys to Leadership education; it is individualized, it takes structure, and it uses the classics and mentors. During the core and love of learning phases the principle mentor is the parent.

One of my favorite quotes from this book is this, “The only person who can fix education is the student.” This puts education squarely on the shoulders of the person responsible, the child. We as parents mentor and guide and let the child learn. We do not mandate that he learn. We structure time not content and trust that our child can and will learn. As Oliver DeMille reminds us, great teaching inspires students to educate themselves. From their earliest years The Spark Station helps parents to help their children do just that.

For those who would like a further study on the details of the Jefferson education model I would recommend that you read: Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning and A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century both by Rachel and Oliver DeMille; A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion by Oliver DeMille, Rachel DeMille and Diann Jeppson.

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The SPARK STATION Phases

by Mary Ann on May 6, 2010

The key to a successful Core phase is constant interaction with parents.

The Spark Station is a fabulous tool to provide an interesting array of topics, educational products, toys and play for your Core and Love ofLearning children to engage with. It is also a dynamic tool that allows parents great latitude with the “inspire not require” concept.

Let’s take a look at the two phases that The Spark Station is designed to inspire: Core and Love of Learning. Core covers ages 0-8 and love of learning 9-12. Of course these are approximations as every child is different. Remember that one of the keys of great teaching is individualization.

The Core Phase serves as the foundation for all the rest of a child’s life. It is during this time that parents nurture their children and provide a safe and loving atmosphere. A good Core Phase provides a foundation for a good life. The “curriculum” in core is right and wrong, good and bad, true and false, relationships, family values, family identity, family routines and responsibilities, accountability and the value and love of work and play. During this time a child is exposed to inspiring music, great art, good books and an atmosphere of learning through their own family culture.

During core parents should inspire curiosity and then move back. This is their whole role.“Incite interest and then leave the child to the wonder of experimentation and self discovery.”Leadership Education, Oliver and Rachel DeMille, p. 26 This is a time to “inspire not require”. During this phase it is vital that parents remember that play is a child’s work (Marie Montessori). That is what they do to learn about the world. This is a time when they learn about relationships by interacting, for the most part, with parents and siblings. It is also a time when they learn responsibility by mimicking adult skills, by tagging along with parents and older siblings to practice what they do. Maria Montessori taught, a child “learns everything without knowing he is learning it, and in doing so passes little from the unconscious to the conscious, treading always in the paths of joy and love.”

During Core children learn to work through daily chores. Valuable lessons are learned as children learn to obey and work. These lessons will be used in many circumstances in their lives. The key to a successful Core phase is constant interaction with parents. Too many lessons, clubs and classes can derail a solid core experience.

Love of Learning sets the stage for later scholarly pursuits. This is a time when their play sometimes looks like study but is, in reality, still play. They are playing at being scholars. This is a time to encourage your child to study anything that excites them. If theychoose it they will be excited about it. They move from one “love” to the next. Today they may be enamored with horses and next week it is how crystals are made and the next, how to sew an apron or fix a lawn mower. The most noticeable thing about this phase, educationally, is that they move from one subject to the next, learning a bit about everything that interests them. During this time they may choose to do more reading, writing, discussing, drawing, sculpting, and building, cooking, and cleaning. “The parent’s job during this phase is to keep the home stocked with “educational products, and model to the child that learning is one of the funnest things she can possibly do.” Oliver DeMille

This example was taken from a discussion forum on Oliver and Rachel DeMille’s site. It is an example of an 11 year old that is in the Love of learning phase:

“In a 6 month period he-
• Read alone in his room about 2 hours a day on average-some days no time
was spent reading, other days the time was much longer. Books read:
“Fablehaven” series, “Edge Chronicles” series, “Here There Be Dragons”
series, “Eragon” series
• Caught spiders, crickets, lizards, etc
• Raised 30 tadpoles to frogs
• Practiced sword fighting with his 13 year old brother
• Took his turn cooking all meals in a day a couple of times a week
• Practiced pestering his siblings pretty much 24/7.
• Attended 11 year old Scout meetings and camp-outs
• Drew lots of pictures
• Watched movies and looked at random books from the library
• Played strategy computer games for ½ hour on Saturdays only

He is not required to do anything but his chores, to attend family scripture and prayer time, and go to church and Scouts. He says he loves to learn. So far, so good! Children in this phase study whatever they are interested in—and most of the time, it does NOT LOOK like “study!”

The Spark Station is a fabulous tool just perfect for these two pivotal phases.

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The Spark Station Experiment With Real Families

by Mary Ann on May 5, 2010

When I first heard the concept of The Spark Station I was so excited. I immediately saw the tremendous possibilities for inspiring children to explore and learn. I was all over that idea like a wet blanket. I felt a bit badly that all of my children were grown and that I had found out about it “too late”.

As I began talking with my daughter who is a homeschooling mom using the Thomas Jefferson Education model, or TJEd, she helped me see that I had actually used this concept in one form or another my whole parenting life. WOW! That was an amazing revelation because she was absolutely right. As my vision about The Spark Station began to transform I started talking to other people about it. I was amazed to find out that this incredible tool wasn’t working for a lot of families and I determined to find out why.

This is NOT special!

As I talked with them I could clearly see that these parents were lacking a vision of the real power and influence potential of The Spark Station.

First of all The Spark Station has to be a really special place for children, one that isn’t available every day, a bit like Christmas. The Spark Station is also the perfect tool for introducing your children to things that you hope they will engage with. The Spark Station increases your ability to inspire not require—meaning the inspiring nature of The Spark Station increases the likelihood that your children will engage with these things without your requirement that they do.

Who could engage with this!

I saw  the need for a book that spelled out the process of creating, managing and stocking The Spark Station so parents would have more success and children would be more inspired. I knew that I could do that.

The Palmer Family

That’s where the great experiment came in. I began to write the book, but then realized that it would be good to test out what  I knew was workable with real families. I could see that experimenting with real families would clarify what information parents really needed, what problems they had to overcome and misconceptions they had. I chose five families to work with over a period of 2 months. The results have been enlightening to say the least, and exciting too.

The Garrett Family

The families were very different from each other. One family had three children ranging in age from brand new to 3 ½, with the 3 ½ year old having severe cerebral palsy. They intend to home school all their children.

Annette Jones Family

Another family had 3 children, 6, 10, and 12. They had been homeschooling for 7 years.

One of the families had five children from 10 months to 8 years old. The 8 year old went to a co-op in the afternoon and the 5 year old attended public kindergarten and then would transfer to the co-op at age 6.

Rachel Jones Family

Another family had four children ages 5 to 16. The 16 year old had never been home schooled. The youngest had never been in public school. The rest have been home schooling for 3 years.

The last family had 5 children ranging in age from brand new to 10. Their two oldest children went to public kindergarten and the oldest attended 2 weeks of first grade. At that point, they saw that their oldest was losing his love of learning and they made the jump to home schooling.

I’m going to share the problems that I saw, the questions that arose and the solutions that helped these families begin to see major transformations in their efforts to inspire their children to love learning.

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The Five Rules Of Engagement/What Makes The Spark Station Work

by Mary Ann on May 5, 2010

By now you have a pretty good idea of what the Spark Station is and how it is put together, as well as what goes into it. But I keep saying that the contents aren’t the most important thing. So what is? What makes the Spark Station work? Why can you have a fabulous closet, have the most costly and fascinating things in it and it still doesn’t work? What is it that really engages children, draws them in and makes this a magical space which inspires a love of learning?

Let’s talk about what I call the Five Rules of Engagement. They apply in two ways. When you use them your children will engage with the contents of the Spark Station. You have to engage in order for the station to be effective and these five tools help you engage. Hence, the Five Rules of Engagement. In order to have a true success with the station as an educational tool which can create a magical learning space you need to understand the five keys that make it work.

Here is a quick rundown of each one:

1. Structure time not content. You choose a set time to have family learning time and then hold it consistently. Honor that commitment. It isn’t as important how much time you choose as that you have it consistently. During that structured time children are able to choose what to engage with.

2. Be present. Being present means that you are engaging with your children, you are in the same space with them physically, emotionally and mentally. No phone, computer.

3. Make it special. The Spark Station is only available during the structured time. Period! It isn’t used by your children any other time.

4. Keep it simple. If you put something in take something out. This rule keeps the station from becoming a mess so that it isn’t usable. It keeps the closet exciting.

5. Weekly planning. That simply means thinking about what your children are saying, looking at, asking about or seem interested in. Then follow through.

The Five Rules of Engagement are not negotiable. If you pick and choose those you like and those you don’t you will not have the success that you hope for. Remember the question I posed at the beginning of this blog? What is it that really engages children, draws them in and makes this a magical space which inspires a love of learning? Well in my experience with all types of children and families it is structured time together with their family, consistency and parents being present. These things win out over whatever you do for or give to your children. They win hands down every time!

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