I am delighted to feature today’s interview! I personally find Mr. Daniel Sanders to be far from “normal!” I think that he is quite an extraordinary young man. He is intelligent, witty, a tremendous role model and friend, and quite humble. I have so enjoyed the privilege of knowing Daniel and his family. His mom and dad host a weekly youth gathering in their home for scholar age youth, and don’t even have family members that participate! They are an incredibly visionary family that definitely moves the cause of liberty and I thank all of them today! We need more people like the Sanders in this world…no doubt about it! XO, TommyMom
Hola, Daniel!
Hi, Mrs. Helms.
We finally connect! What’s up?
Um, not much, really. I’m sitting here on my bed!
How’s school going?
It’s going great so far! I love all of my classes and I’m having a really good time. So far, I’ve been involved in two simulations here and I have already gained some insights into things that I wouldn’t have considered just reading an article or a book.
You’re at BYU, Provo, correct?
Yes, I am.
May I inquire as to why you chose to go there?
Yes. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do for a major and this is a good school to attend for this type of contemplation. I like being around people of my own faith, and while not everyone here is, the majority are.
That’s great. Do you have any idea as to what you are possibly going to pursue?
I’m hoping to get into the music program here. I have auditioned and they said that I am on the wait list because of my high level of performance.
Daniel, your recital was nothing short of amazing! You should’ve considered charging all of us to attend! It was beautiful.
Thanks, Mrs. Helms.
The amount of work that went into that celebration is mind boggling, and I always appreciate what a tremendously humble young man you are. You are a great role model and never “toot your own horn.” It’s very refreshing. I’m proud to know you. In addition to all of these overly mushy accolades, it is a HUGE plus in my book that you are funny to boot!
You grew up in a Leadership Education environment, and there are a LOT of people that read TommyMom that would love to know that Leadership Education really works! I’ve had requests to have Sons #1 and #2 write a post…
I think I’ll start with you instead…scary stuff!
(Laughs at the above statement…a little too energetically, I might add!) How ARE the guys? I really really miss them.
I would be lying if I didn’t confess that your name comes up quite often, generally accompanied by bouts of hysterical laughter!
They really do miss having you around, Mr. Sanders. Now back to the question at hand, please.
Will you please tell them hello? ( Yes.)
I think that there are a couple of things that come to mind regarding a Leadership Education home…
The first would definitely be the freedom of scheduling; which is very helpful for me. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to go as far as I have with my music because I might have been “too busy” if it had been an “additional” piece of my day, rather than a natural part of it.
I have to constantly strive for balance, due to some health challenges that I have faced for quite some time. Busy work doesn’t always allow for that, but Leadership Education allows for adjustment when necessary based on the individual and what they can handle and prioritize. For example, if I needed more time with Math, I took it. English may need to be looked at tomorrow. I have always tried to look at what I HAD done. Sometimes you’re having an emotionally tough or mentally challenging day and it’s nice to adjust so that learning can be maximized.
What do you see as one of the biggest “myths” where home education is concerned?
When I’ve met people in different social settings, it is always humorous to hear that they think that I’m “normal!” I consider myself to be a pretty social individual and I laugh when people bring up the perceived lack of social skills associated with home education. I honestly think that in many cases, our social skills tend to be better! We’re not spending all day with one age group. We have to be diverse and work within every possible age range in order to get things done. For me, this has made it a lot easier to relate to and converse with most anyone.
What would you say you’ve appreciated most about your Dad and Mom where Leadership Education has been concerned?
I have appreciated my Mom and Dad’s support, understanding and willingness to personalize my education.
When I saw things that I thought that I was interested in, they would always try to help me pursue them by doing the necessary research and providing materials, skills, etc.
You are the youngest in your family. What did you glean by observing your siblings?
Well, my mom expected a lot from the older siblings. There were many things that we all did together as activities; but then I was secure in the fact that I could see what the next step in my educational process looked like and what would be expected of me as an individual when I reached a particular age.
Can you name three of your all time favorite classics for me?
Oh man! Do you mean books?
I mean classics. In literature, music, art, whatever you would like. Deep breaths..this is not a test, it is an interview.
Okay, this is really, really, tough, but I’m going to go with Ender’s Game as a book choice, Rochmananov’s Prelude in C# minor, and…The Book of Mormon.
Is this your final answer? If you’re stuck on an island with these three things, you’re good?
Yes, I’m good.
He wasn’t, really. He later e-mailed me, asking to “be the exception” and add ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens’ to this grouping. I told him I have the power to change all on this blog, to which he replied, ‘You have ALL POWER. I’ve known that for awhile now.’
See why I am especially fond of this kid?!?
In thinking about it some more, I think that ‘The Seven Habits for Teens’ is a simple ‘how to’ in applying principles that make you effective and it’s a really easy and pleasurable read, very entertaining.
Can you name for me, mentors outside of your immediate family that have had a real impact on you?
Well, several come to mind. Angela Ward, definitely.
She’s very inspiring and so enthusiastic! She takes raw talent and can refine that ability; showing me how to figure things out for myself as they apply to Shakespeare. Doing this and learning this skill, helped me to figure out a lot of other things.
There’s my piano teacher, Susan Jackson. She has also been very inspiring and has shown me the joy of piano musicianship; whether it be through pushing through and learning some classic pieces or messing around on blue’s scales. It’s all fun and it’s all good!
And then there’s Pun. That’s not his actual name, but I met him at a camp for kids with serious or life threatening illness, called the Painted Turtle. He volunteers regularly at the camp and works with the younger kids. Everyone loves him. He brings magic elements to camp in the form of card tricks, things up his sleeve, etc. He is virtually non-stop with the ability to come up with these great puns. His brain naturally comes up with things that others wouldn’t.
His servant leadership and heart are amazing; in that he chooses to give of his time and talents to others, in order to give them joy and happiness. He does this with excellence, regardless of the age bracket that he is working with. He makes everyone smile.
That’s beautiful, Daniel.
What are some of the things that you think you struggle with as a student and young man?
I struggle with being able to work with efficiency. I feel that it takes me longer to really “get” things sometimes. I remember when I was taking Calculus last year. I was spending hours in the math lab. It wasn’t just about understanding the material. It was working for speed as well. Sometimes I feel that this entails me working a little harder in order to keep up. When I get it, I get it, but sometimes it takes a little longer to get there!
Any idea what your life mission is? I’m referring to right now, based on your life experiences thus far; your gifts, your talents, even your weakesses?
That, Mrs. Helms, is a fabulous question! It’s what I’m struggling with somewhat right now. It is the process of actually figuring and finding that out. This whole music thing is looking 50/50 right now about acceptance and what not; so it has forced me to look at other things. I’ve looked into Math, the Sciences, and possibly teaching. I think that that lifestyle would suit me. I’m in a real self-discovery stage, being away from my parents and all, for an extended period of time. ( Well, more than, say, a couple of weeks!) I’m facing tough decisions and preparing to serve my mission for my church.
Do you have a principle or a philosophy that goes with your personal “make up” that you espouse to?
Yep! You always have a choice. I laugh when I hear people react to situations and become a victim by choice. It reminds me of a quote by Richard Bach:’Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours!’
And I’ve had to do that with myself. I have to check myself and kind of evaluate what I’m doing. Am I unhappy or can I make a choice? As soon as I evaluate that, I can change my perspective. Just being able to decide, regardless of what may be happening, that I’m going to “do this.” Once any one of us makes that decision, the capacity has increased exponentially. Often, I have to change my approach or thought process to something so that I’m no longer the victim. If I say it’s hard, I’m a victim. If I say that it’s challenging, then I’m in control of the situation to overcome whatever that obstacle is and conquer!
Well, guess what, my friend? You’ve definitely passed for today!
I did?
Sweet!
The pleasure, my dear, is certainly mine. I’m feeling pretty confident about the fact that the future is in so many stellar young people’s hands.
This has been fun, Mrs. Helms. Thank you.
I certainly plan, for the sake of encouraging all of you TommyMoms at home; to keep these scholar interviews going. Because, let’s face it…
these kids aren’t normal…
They’re extraordinary.
Until Wednesday…
In an effort to continue to challenge and inform, today TommyMom brings you an interview with yet another paradox…
Symbria Patterson. I first met Symbria and her husband, Lynn at a seminar in Cedar City, Utah at George Wythe. She was memorable from the start!
The Pattersons are wonderful people that possess more talent under one roof than should be allowed! There is pretty much nothing in the spectrum of needs or wants that these two can’t cover!
Tune in now, as we continue to consider different individuals that understand the paradox that exists in our society today.
I called their home yesterday afternoon…
within 3 minutes of when I had said that I would.
My, my, aren’t YOU Miss Punctual!
Hey, Symbria. You need to relax…
this is going to be fun.
Yeah, well, let’s hope that I don’t regret this!
You are kidding me, right? You are the perfect person to be interviewed and profiled!
Okay, okay…you talked me into it, so let’s get started …
Were you born and raised in Southern California?
I certainly was. I lived there my entire life, until we moved here to Cedar City.
Any difficult adjustments?
Well, it can be a bummer to not have a Trader Joe’s around the corner; and the drastic downsizing of population was a bit of a shock! We moved from an area with 6,000,000 people living in it to a town of 27,000!
I really wanted you to explain your upbringing, so that people can experience yet another individual that understands both urban and rural living.
I appreciate that. Seriously. There is such a void in society today and it’s so important for people wanting statesmanship in their lives to understand. Farming communities being ignorant of city dwellers and vice-versa is a real concern. As recently as 50 years ago, people dwelling in cities knew that they needed farmers, and farmers knew that they needed the people in cities. They lobbied for one another and considered one another’s needs. Now, there can be so much ignorance on both sides. I know that people in cities are actually poisoning themselves with toxic foods because they are so far removed from their food sources.
But you’ve admitted that you didn’t always live like this.
Heaven’s no!
My father was raised by a wealthy family in upstate New York and decided after WWII that he would settle in California.
My mother was a free spirit that served as a nanny for very wealthy individuals, traveled around a lot and decided that she wanted nothing to do with farm life ever again.
My father seemed to agree with this and they moved to Hollywood.
After a time, they wanted out, moved to the valley and bought an acre!
Which in Southern California, is practically a farm, thank you very much!
Exactly.
My parents have always been great, amazing people, but because of their life experiences and whatnot, we honestly grew up with very mixed messages.
For example, we were raised on a street with chickens, but went to military/prep schools growing up!
We visited family every summer. My mom’s family lived on a dairy farm, where they have farmed for five generations. We were immersed in farm practices the entire time we were there, and then would get in the car, go to a hotel, and clean up for two days. After this time, we would go to visit my dad’s family, where there was all of this wealth and children were to be seen and not heard. They mingled with household help.
I used to tell people that I lived in an estate that was a horse ranch near where we lived. I had the address memorized and everything. Really and truly I think that I was always confused growing up. My folks never talked about the “what” and the “why” of who we were and what we were doing as a family.
We were surrounded by the industry of Hollywood and my folks submerged us in it. I was rubbing shoulders with very famous kids who were equally confused.
I went through a time of being very peer dependent, and it wasn’t a pretty picture. I was really floundering.
My mom finally found a very tiny, private school on Laurel and Hardy’s estate. My family ended up begging for me to be able to attend there; and when I was accepted I made the decision to turn my life around.
So really, your experience in life and all of those schools have contributed greatly to your ability to throw the events that you and Lynn are now famous for.
Laughs….Well, yes, I guess that you could definitely say that.
You do incredible things, Symbria. And you and Lynn both do a great job of mentoring others along the way.
How many years did you do the Gala for George Wythe?
I did that event for six years.
It was definitely over the top and very successful.
Well, thank you.
So go on, please…
Well, I continued to work in the industry, and was actually in an office for talent agents, covering for someone that was out, due to a car accident.
Believe it or not, as hokey as this will sound, I realized when the television show FISH came out, that I would really like to work with youth.
Can you believe that that’s where I drew my inspiration?!
I went to a foster placement treatment facility and saw the conditions that those kids were living in. I went home to Lynn and asked if we could bring two kids home. They never left! Pretty soon, we added one child’s sister as well. Then we had our biological daughter, Sara.
I never wanted to raise my kids in the city. I think that it’s very easy for kids that have grown up on a farm to adapt to life in a city. In fact, I’m convinced that they “get it” in about 10 minutes.
However, it is much more difficult for people from a city to adapt to rural life.
We built a six foot block wall around our house, got chickens, took farm walks, etc.
In spite of these efforts, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t keep the influence of the big city away.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the city.
I love its culture, the opportunities, the ambiance. It’s great to travel and be exposed to the culture.
But you can always go into the city and the superficial side of things is quick to take hold.
Ideally, I wanted my kids to be immersed in a rural life with exposure to the city for advantageous things.
I think it’s a real shame that in many cases, both sides of the spectrum see one another as “wicked” or detrimental.
So when did you move to Cedar City?
When our son Michael was sixteen.
It is great to live in the elements, to grow food, to go through the hardship of harvesting something from the land.
It’s nice to be a part of growing something for the sake of community rather than a corporation.
Working the land teaches us something that we can’t get from anything else.
It’s a lot easier to show up for a play or to go to a cultural event, than it is to understand what it means to have a frost in June!
Having lived both sides of this coin, what types of reading material or resources do you suggest?
I really want to stress again, Teri, that I think that it’s a shame for our society to villify one lifestyle or another. In many cases, circumstances prevent us from the ideal geographical setting.
What is important is exposure to both sides, so that our kids glean an understanding of how others live.
Here are some resources that I think are especially helpful on the way to achieving this goal.
Core and Love of Learning:
Millie and Tillie or Country Mouse, City Mouse
Tops and Bottoms
Anything by Tasha Tudor, as she depicts a simpler more organic lifestyle
Little Britches
Laddie
Farmer Boy from the Little House series. This is actually my favorite of those books.
Scholar and above:
The Four Lost American Ideals by Oliver DeMille
Georgics by Virgil
Founders as Farmers by Thorton
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Farmer by Ludy
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Eleanor Pruitt
Cookbooks are for Core, Love of Learning, and Scholar.
Some of my favorites:
The Settlement Cookbook by Mrs. Simon Kander
The Complete American Housewife 1776 by Julianne Belote
The Pioneer Woman Cooks ( this is a recently published work that coincides with the fabulous blog the pioneerwoman.com)
I think that the following videos or television series are very beneficial…
Green Acres
The Waltons
Little House series
The Patriot. This movie is rough, but is a brilliant depiction of Georgics.
The Power of Community. This is a true story of what occurred in Cuba.
Food, Inc.
So do you think that you’ve accomplished your goal?
Of total immersion in a rural life? Yes, I honestly do.
Sara’s done it.
She grew her first garden in 2008 for saleable baskets. Now, she has a CSA and last year she had four shareholders.
And for the city -sided folk, this means?….
Well, big companies and corporations grow one crop. A community sustained agriculture project will grow, say, twenty varieties of crops. You buy into it, so that if I go down, you go down with me! But seriously, you are connected to your food source.
And I’m not certified by the government, I use no sprays or pesticides– nothing. Every week, you get a share. Sometimes you come out and plant, weed or harvest. You need to work with us. Your share can cost less, if you come and work more.
We’re moving to high tunnels next. ( That would be a greenhouse, folks.)
That’s our next step. We don’t desire huge, but we do desire to be authentic and community minded.
And by the way…
You know that I love DeDe, having met her. She’s another one that “gets it.” She can move very easily in both worlds.
Yes, I know that, Symbria. I can MOVE in both worlds, I just can’t DO things in both! I think I have a black thumb. Morticia Adams and I are friends!
But you’re going to try, right?
Yes, I’m going to try. I’ve been inspired.
And I can’t wait to come back for a visit!
You’re welcome any time. And this interview wasn’t so painful after all.
I’m leaving this interview with some images of “Green Acres”, okay? ( i.e. The Patterson’s house)
Thanks!
You’re welcome. We’ll see you next week!
It’s always a picnic with the Pattersons!…
You can learn more about Sara’s CSA by going to RedAcreCSA.org
What is one thing that you plan to implement to “bridge the gap” between urban and rural?
I’d love to know!
You’re going to have to trust me on this one. There is absolutely NOT ONE THING mundane, boring or run-of-the-mill where the name Angela Ward is concerned.
She is a fashion plate and a walking plethora of nearly extinct vocabulary, that is used in precisely the proper fashion…always.
She exudes energy and passion about life and…well, Shakespeare.
If you haven’t read him in years…or ever…
you simply can’t be around her for long without cracking open a volume of his complete works.
She joins us today for an interview about how to incorporate him into daily life from even the youngest age, why his works are so important to life, and to give us a “sneak peek” of her presentation at the upcoming FATJEF, April 24, 2010 in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Hel-lo, Mrs. Ward!…
Hello, Teri. It is so kind of you to feature me today.
Well, I can’t wait! You know how I adore you and appreciate your mentoring abilities. In my book you are simply A-MAZING! You could make a rock love Shakespeare!
I am curious to find out how you initially came to love him so.
I grew up in Florida, and began my acting career in high school; although it was a dream from childhood. At sixteen, I received a complete works of Shakespeare for Christmas and that was it. I read about the tragic heroine and lived and relived my life through her.
In my senior year of high school, I did a monologue of Lady MacBeth; and I won a contest that allowed me to go to Texas to perform at a college in Houston.
I enrolled at Auburn University where I double majored in theatre and communication.
I graduated early and began working professionally doing commercial and local theatre.
I then went to New York where I studied both at Playwrights Horizons off Broadway and Chekov Studios.
I got into the acting unions and I still belong.
That was very hard earned and I don’t intend to give it up.
I have a very understanding and supportive husband where this particular issue is concerned!
While in New York, I did dinner theatre, television, a cable television exercise program, and my all time favorite…
I danced in a turkey suit at La Guardia Airport while a brass band played on Thanksgiving Day!
I then went to graduate school at the University of Tennessee and acquired my MFA while there.
My post graduate work was done at the Royal National Theatre in London.
I had the privilege of working with some very high profile people in theatre while I was there and it was a lot of fun.
It was while I was a graduate student, that I developed an interest in theatre history and teaching; along with a love for scholarship and research.
My last “gig” before I decided that I needed to stay home and honor my call to motherhood, was with Mr. Bill Cosby on the 100th Anniversary of Jello!
You’re kidding, right?
No, I was the Champagne Jell-o girl ( that was the 100th Anniversary flavor), and Mr. Cosby, of course, was the spokesman.
Okay, I love him! How was he to work with?
He is a very genuinely nice man. A real pleasure to work with.
Recently, I had the privilege of doing some work at the University of Nebraska for doctoral credit with the Folger Shakespeare Library.
I am currently being mentored by the most prolific author and Renaissance expert in America today, which is a distinct privilege.
I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel to have been given this opportunity.
May I ask you why you feel so passionately that Shakespeare is relevant and must be a priority in every home?
Well, there are two reasons.
Shakespeare has just recently become very marginalized and misunderstood.
Historically speaking, you need to realize that Shakespeare has always been a vital part of the American bookshelf. Even in the colonies.
You could always find a volume of Shakespeare on the rudest pioneer shelf. (That is a reference from de Tocqueville, by the way.)
He was integral to Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson. John F. Kennedy’s wife, Jackie, quoted him right before his assassination.
The recent marginalization that I mentioned is due to the loss of ability on the part of individuals to use him for themselves.
Secondly, what we cognitively cloak our children in, affects their entire lives.
Shakespeare has been so perverted, that he is now used to promote agendas;
rather than allowing students to find the moral and cultural lessons that are there for the taking.
Can you share with us a little bit about what you will be offering at the FATJEF?
Well, this year I’m going to have some of the students perform so that parents and mentors can see what happens when the student is given the tools and the road map; and then is free to form opinions and ideas.
Shakespeare needs to use active methodologies in a hands on way.
I don’t mean to “whine”, but this can be difficult for parents and mentors who haven’t been taught the richness of Shakespeare themselves.
I know that you believe in total immersion very early on, and yet we could really benefit in a “how to” where this philosophy is concerned.
Care to share?
You know I would love to!
In Core and Love of Learning Phases, I really value exploration in a cross curriculum kind of way.
What does he say about honor, integrity, family, and friendships?
For my Core and Love of Learning Phases, I may start with a “Happy Birthday, Shakespeare!” party on April 23, which is his actual birthday.
Then, I would look in his plays for silly one liners and sayings, and we would practice those with one another.
I would play a game where everyone is given a highlighter and you’re to look for three words in a scene.
In this particular game, you’re actually reading and absorbing all of his words.
Dad and Mom can provide the commentary by reading aloud, while the kids act out what they are hearing.
You could fix and serve an Elizabethan treat of some kind and make a maypole.
I also highly recommend Charles and Mary Lamb’s Shakespearean Tales for Children.
It is a wonderful book, that is applicable for all ages.
Because it was written mid-19th century, it is a classic work in its own right. It isn’t fluff.
What you are aiming to do is to ignite passion and create a core desire for further study.
What about scholar age youth, or households with multiple phases present?
Well, I would definitely have scholar age youth participate in everything that I’ve already mentioned..
but now I would also have them begin to pull quotes line by line; to glean the understanding and also to search for application to life.
For example, in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was Shakespeare accurately quoting Athenian Law?
Was Eageus overbearing, or was he, as a father, protecting his daughter from what he knew to be inevitable?
We know historically that this play was performed in front of the Queen at a wedding, and that it’s about marriage, family, reconciliation and fidelity.
Where do you begin for “You, Not Them”?
First of all, don’t be intimidated by mis-teaching.
Get a good glossary/lexicon to explain the meanings of obscure words.
It is helpful to look at a timeline of world history so that you can see what inspired Shakespeare to write.
For example, the play “The Tempest” was written as he studied accounts of the founding of Jamestown.
These kinds of information are tremendously beneficial when studying his plays.
As you grow in your abilities, read other works and add criticisms.
He really is worthy of lifelong study…
and the more you study, the more you can add to that study.
It is an active methodology that should be in every home.
I can’t thank you enough for your commitment to the Leadership Education community, Angela.
I have worked with every form and level of education, and now with home educators for the last 9 years.
I dearly love working with and inspiring my students.
And inspire you do! I know that my sons feel privileged to just breathe your air!
Well, you’re very kind. I appreciate you and your time, Teri.
I can’t tell you how much I also appreciate your example of motherhood and willingness to serve individuals that the world often sees as unlovely.
Your fourth son has literally changed students lives. They adore him! You are a powerful example of mission and priorities and I thank you.
I feel very privileged to mentor my students and share insights with them.
One last thing…
Don’t use an ugly picture of me or Leadership Education goes out the window and I’m coming after you!
Mrs. Ward, this isn’t even an issue…
There ISN’T an ugly picture of you!
Passionate? Yes.
Ugly?
Never.
photos are courtesy of Angela Ward’s “MacBeth” and “King Lear” performances. Her troupe will be performing “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on May 13, 14, and 15th, 2010. The performances are free and a schedule of locations will be available at the FATJEF.
In part 1 of our interview with Dr. Shanon Brooks, which posted Wednesday, February 17, 2010, he explained what he felt were the most important elements of a Leadership Education model. Referencing this information and choosing to implement his suggestions can only further enhance your family’s Leadership Education experience. Dr. Brooks is also the owner of the seminar series Face to Face with Greatness, which teaches in depth seminars on Leadership Education and incorporating its methodologies into your life. One of the great things about them, is that they are geared towards all walks of life; and are dedicated to building a responsible American citizenry. If you click on the link above, you will be taken to his website where you can find a seminar near you. If there isn’t one near you, you can always contact Dr. Brooks at shanon@facetofacewithgreatness.com to host ! For those living in the Southern California area, if you click here, you will be able to see the details of the upcoming Face to Face With Greatness seminar series #1, that is being hosted in Temecula, CA on April 9-10, 2010.
Welcome back, Dr. Brooks. You know as much as I love to tease you, I can honestly say that I love to be mentored by you as well….well, most of the time! Your consistent, hard work over the years has certainly paid off. When you begin to talk about history, it is interesting, engaging and thought provoking. I know that many people ask, “Where do I begin?”
I also happen to know that the feeling of “overwhelm” is pretty daunting. You are offering classes right now that are geared to busy people that would like to begin “somewhere.” Would you mind telling us about them?
It used to be commonplace for a large portion of American households to own a set of Great Books. This way, people could read and at least comprehend the great works of history; based on segments that were found in this wonderful set of literature. Today, it is not at all uncommon, when you are fortunate to come upon a set, to be the first to actually crack the pages open. It has been proven over and over again, that when people know history they are very difficult to enslave.
What we do in the Great Books Courses, is take a three week period of time, where the students read and then we discuss what we’ve read. It really is beneficial because you have the opportunity to write a bit as well; but there isn’t the pressure of a full blown college commitment. I invite you to research the Great Books a bit, as they are amazing. They represent 3,000 years of continuous thought, took 8 years to produce and represent 400,000 man hours of research on each topic!
The idea is to take them volume by volume and study them together so that we all benefit from their wealth.
I know that for the $75.00 investment in each class, you simply can’t parallel the value. My family has benefitted tremendously from this opportunity and continues to do so. The non-threatening environment, group discussion and accessibility of you as the mentor, make them, in my personal opinion worth four or five times as much.
And you really don’t have the chance to get overwhelmed! They’re three weeks in duration. You can simply take the little break and move on to the next one! Also, the intimate class size of 15 people is really rare. You have a winner, that’s for sure.
Well, I appreciate that. I love what I do and enjoy walking this path and process with the students. It’s always beneficial to glean again and again from these works.
We so appreciate your willingness to do it. Liberty and Freedom are depending on it.
Will you talk for a minute about why you feel community is so vitally important?
I would love to. Right now, I’m covering the country on this very issue. Sadly, our nation is in a decline. No government agency or hall of government can fix this. The people residing there no longer have the capacity and the world knowledge that is needed to solve our problems. In fact, the only way to solve this problem, is to work on yourself, your marriage, your family, your community. When community, which is a vital microcosm can work and be strengthened, it becomes the saving grace of a nation. We, as a people, have got to stop looking to someone else to save us. From community, flow the qualified individuals to run our governments. Until we start stepping up, it’s unrealistic to expect something better than the people to represent them! After all, it’s from communities that these people come!
You simply can’t blame the people in government today for poor performance. They are nothing more than a reflection of us. We need to take the responsibility on ourselves and hold ourselves accountable for putting them in office.
Our communities have to to with everything. We think of our society as disconnected from the state and federal governments. When we feel that we are no longer responsible for keeping them from getting out of control, then that is ludicrous! If every man or woman, in later life , would prepare themselves to be qualified to run or prepare to run for office; we would, at the very least, have a responsible electorate.
That is certainly a lot to think about. Thank you.
Your keynote address at the Southern California Thomas Jefferson Education Forum, on April 24, 2010, is entitled Teens: Leaders of the New World.
Would you care to expound on this a bit? I mean, we always hear that “everyone is going to grow up and take their place in society.”
And that statement, Teri, is a bunch of bunk! Over the next 30 years, I believe that we’re going to be facing a world that none of us understand. It will be a world experiencing both a 4th and a 1st turning. That world has new rules, new requirements, and it will require completely different strategies.
I really firmly believe that the young people of today are the only ones that can lead in this new world.
The world that both we and our parents grew up in is fairly similar. The world that our kids are growing up in, is completely different.
Subsequently, kids today are very different. I am seeing 20-somethings getting married, shirking concerns for designer labels, money, and material possessions. They are embracing grounded value systems, family and quality relationships.
This new world to which I am referring, will be led by very specific young people that know who they are, and what they do as human beings.
Their focus is already geared that way rather than towards being some corporate robot.
I firmly believe that my job, for the rest of my life is to help these young people know how to lead into a 1st turning. In doing this, they will be able to give us what the Founders gave us during their first turning. It will be a unique opportunity within the next 30 years, to establish the liberty and abundance that the founders gave us over 200 years ago.
That opportunity only comes along every 10-15 generations….and here we are.
Thank you for taking the time to be here with us for the past two “days.” We are really looking forward to having you here again in Southern California.
I’m really looking forward to coming. And Teri?
Yes, Dr. Brooks?
About the alien picture…
I’m really grateful for your influence, Shanon, but don’t press me…
Good bye for now, then.
Dr. Brooks? I really don’t say this often enough…YOU HONESTLY “ROCK SOCKS”, my friend! Thank you for your time!
Filed under In the Spotlight..., Leadership Education | Comments (8)On April 24, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., The Fourth Annual Thomas Jefferson Education Forum will take place at The Goldy S. Lewis Center in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. You can register by downloading a form here on Tommymom.com, or you can go to www.fatjef.com.
Descriptions of breakouts are available there, and will also be available by the end of this week, here at Tommymom.com. Don’t hesitate to register, and also remember that there is a concurrent youth conference. The cost of a ticket includes lunch!
This is a great opportunity to hear Dr. Shanon Brooks, a pioneer in the Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education field.
We are privileged to begin a two part interview with him today, that will conclude on Friday.
No…I didn’t forget to announce the winners of the Valentine “Feel the Love” giveaway! Read to the bottom to find out who the lucky recipients are! And THANK YOU to each of you that took the time to leave comments…
Each and every one is read and appreciated.
Hey, Dr. Brooks!…Thanks so much for joining us here today. It is always a privilege. I promise…no alien shots.
Good! I hope that photo is gone forever.
Let’s not get carried away, okay? I don’t want to make promises that can’t be kept.
Great.
Seriously…( am I ever 100% serious with YOU, Dr. Brooks?!) I want to know what brought YOU to Leadership Education?
Man, Teri, that’s actually a great question. One that I’m not sure many people could answer.
It was an evolving process, actually. In the late 1980’s, I was a college student in Phoenix, Arizona. I had recently gotten out of the military and decided to go to school. I was 28 at the time. I was attending paralegal school and working for a law firm. It was a fairly new job.
I was actually the “juice boy.” I kept the refrigerator stocked, sharpened pencils, and was occasionally the receptionist.
In a pinch one day, they sent me downtown to the law library, loved what I brought back in the way of research, and this instantly became my new job! It was great…
I got paid $10.00 an hour and they billed it out at $200.00 an hour!
During this time, I had a chance meeting with destiny. I went to a meeting with Cleon Skousen. It was amazing.
He was doing multiple meetings in Phoenix; I heard him that one night, and called in sick for the rest of the week so that I could follow him around!
This is where I got exposed to “The Making of America” and “The 5,000 Year Leap”
I became a volunteer for him. The position was actually called a shire. I would go into homes, do adult education and cottage meetings on The 5,000 Year Leap. Then I attended a 7 day seminar on “The Majesty of God’s Law”, which is now out of print.
One thing led to another, and around 1989, Youth for America was underway and Oliver DeMille was the director. The next year, I became the director and Oliver became one of the top speakers.
It was at this time that I relocated and went to work for Cleon Skousen. I actually worked for Bill Doughty and Cleon was in charge. There was some great mentoring going on and I was very privileged at that time. Cleon, Bill, Glen Kimber and the Reverend Don Sills all became my mentors. We were working under Meadeau View Institute and the Center for Constitutional Studies. (ICE)
During this time, I was teaching like crazy and on the road all of the time. I’m getting intense training, going to SUU full time, holding down a full time job, and working up at the conference center.
Bill offered to take me on the road, so I was going to school full time and on the road 15 days a month.
Oliver and I continued to do YFA together, and in 1992 made the decision to start a university. The semester we started, I was teaching at George Wythe and in my senior year at SUU!
This was 20 years ago.
Can you tell me what your favorite aspect of Leadership Education is?
That’s easy. The Four Phases. Any mentor equipped with the Four Phases, that knows them backwards and forwards, has permission to spend their time being inspired themselves. In turn, this inspires the student, which allows you to then practice what Leadership Education is all about.
The Four Phases help you to know where a person is, and you can go from there.
If you don’t know the Phases and The Seven Keys, you don’t know what to do.
It is manipulative arts vs. cooperative arts as discussed by Mortimer Adler.
Will you give us an example?
Sure.
The manipulative arts are like a cobbler. You need materials. You take a hide, you cut it, you sew it, polish it…
you took natural resources and created a product that is a shoe.
The problem occurs when we take the manipulative arts and try to use them on people, when the purpose of education is for a person to reach their full potential.
The cooperative arts (those are The Seven Keys); can be likened to a farmer or a midwife.
They don’t mess with the nature of what is going on.
They spend all of their time fully understanding the nature and then they cooperate with it.
When kernels of corn are thrown into a hostile environment, some will die, some will be stomped into less than optimum soil, etc.
However, give those same kernels warmth, optimum light and water, a possible greenhouse, and nuture of a natural process…
The corn plant will naturally reach its full potential.
Our job is to understand the Phases and the Keys so well, that we can take whatever gets thrown at us and turn it into lemonade.
We are here to encourage and inspire, not to meddle and fix.
You need to know the phases and keys, so that you can know what the truth really is.
Wow. You always have such a knack for bringing Leadership Education down to what really matters in a very organic, focused way. This, in turn, leaves so much room for inspiration and epiphanies. Thanks.
On Friday, we’re going to hear more from Dr. Brooks about his keynote address for the FATJEF, “Teens: Leaders of the New World”, his classes tailored for busy, sometimes overwhelmed people, why the Great Books are…well, “Great” and why community is so vitally important.
I hope you’ll join us. ~You’ll be glad you did!
The WINNERS of the Valentine’s “Feel The Love” contest are (drum roll, please…) Amy Maus and Tammie Blackmore! (profuse applause!)
Amy is receiving a copy of TJEd for Teens, autographed by Dr. Brooks,( a noteworthy prize for any fortunate winner), and Tammie is receiving a three flower design couture headband, created by Lisa of Modbaby. This great contributor will be spotlighted next month in yet another giveaway, so stay tuned! Keep those comments comin’!
Indulge me, if you will for a moment over my worldview…
I believe in a God who is loving, caring and the hand of Providence in all things.
He alone designs the course of men’s lives…
and knows what they need for the mission and tasks that they will be called to undertake.
Men, in turn, have a free will and choice in the matters that are before them…
how they respond determines the course of history…
of nations…
of free peoples.
Today, I am most grateful for this man.
He withstood tremendous adversity and failure…
in preparation for the greatest weight that has ever rested on a standing President in the history of our country.
His beginnings were most humble…
His relationship to his father estranged.
He was tenacious, creative, industrious, successful…
As a young trial lawyer he won unprecedented cases.
As our president, he took freedom to a whole new level for millions to come.
And while the effects of the Civil War still resonate with pain, tension and unresolved issues…
He honestly did the best he could.
And because he was faithful in both little and much…
the Union was preserved.
Today, on this your birthday, I want to thank you, Mr. President.
There are millions of us that owe you a portion of our freedom…
because you practiced leadership in the form of laying your life down.
So that others could live.
Thank you, Mr. Lincoln.
And Happy, Happy Birthday.
Love,
Dan Ralphs mentors at Williamsburg Academy in Cedar City, Utah. Here, they follow the Oxford/St.John’s model of education where the students become not only learners, but teachers as well. Dan will be mentoring the Youth Conference at the FATJEF in Rancho Cucamonga, April 24, 2010. You can go to the registration tab here on Tommymom, download the form and register today! It’s $35.00/student and this includes lunch! Register early to reserve your space.
Hey, Dan!…It’s always such a pleasure to talk with you. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to do this.
Well, I feel really honored to be featured on Tommymom. You know that I recently became a subscriber, so I’m “in.” I can’t believe that the powers that be, saw fit to feature me.
What can I say? I know people. And I happen to live with Sons #1-#5 that think that you are nothing short of amazing! They love you, the three older ones love attending your workshops, and feel privileged to call you a friend. Actually…can I confess something? They call you “A Modern Day Ghandi.” And it’s usually followed by hysterical peals of laughter. They all need to get a life!
Actually, it’s funny that you would say that. My mom was a telephone operator in Southeast Los Angeles during the Watt’s riots in the 1960’s. She was in a pretty precarious position answering the phones in those days, because she would pick up, hear people yelling and carrying on, and asking for help; then she would have to connect them to their parties. So she heard everything that was going on. At one point in particular, they decided that the racial tensions were running so high, my mom needed an armed escort to bring her home from work! She was honored that they felt that way, but honestly for her personally, there was probably very little danger. Her family was the one family on the block where every race and creed came to play and fellowship in the front yard. My grandfather wouldn’t accept anything less. That’s where I get the “Ghandi” trait from…both my grandfather and my mother.
We feel really privileged that you are going to be running the youth forum for the FATJEF here in California.
I have be honest. I love youth, so the pleasure and privilege are mine. For the past 12-13 years, I’ve been working with them on one level or another. I’ve coordinated groups of 1200 for student conferences and I’ve also mentored one-on-one in the classroom. I believe that one of the most real, vulnerable straightforward times of our lives is that window of time between 12-14 years of age. We develop paradigms and perceptions of who we are and what our lives are about between 14-18 years of age. I think this age window has more times of epiphany and impact than 18-22. Working with youth and guiding them to figure things out has become my mission and my life on this planet.
Is there any particular reason that you enjoy coming to California for this forum? This will be your third year.
Kids are different all over the country and the dynamics are very different wherever you go; but Southern California kids are a blast! Perhaps it’s because I’m from California, but they are a true joy and a lot of fun to work with. They are engaging and possess great thought processes. There is a great cross section of diversity and culture to blend with as well. I have a great time every time I’m here.
Can you share with us what you will be doing for the youth forum?
The topic of our workshop for that day is “Leadership Education for Teens.”
Here’s what it comes down to for high school aged students. If they don’t have purpose in their studies, they become very hollow. One of the huge mistakes that is commonly made in conventional educational models is the statement that high school education exists so that we can go on to college. Coupled with this statement is often the assumption that ALL high school aged individuals are going to accept that and want nothing more. What I am hoping to convey to the students and the message that I hope they embrace is how we can all connect purpose to education and how we choose to perform within that purpose. For example, I had a student that was passionate about music. Yet, she really struggled to find the relevance in history and her need to know it. Once she understood that knowing history would enhance her passion and understanding of music; she knew that it was her responsibility to transfer from “duty” to “love.” It totally clicked. The question that we will be considering and discussing is, “How do we become leadership education students that aren’t just basing our studies on a model?”
This sounds amazing, as always. Are you going to have required readings in order to prepare?
Not for this particular workshop. I want people to feel like they could bring a friend at the last minute or just “show up” the day of the event. It’s an important concept to grasp, so I want as many kids as possible to be able to come.
Isn’t Tim Driver working with you and presenting as well?
Yes, he is. I’m really excited about this. He will be presenting to the older kids after lunch about “Leaving an Integrity Footprint in the Drug and Alcohol Culture.” This is such an important message for youth to hear from a solid mentor. Everyone is affected by this culture, whether families think so or not.
What’s happening with your personal interests/hobbies these days, Mr. Ralphs?
Well, as you know, I am an avid sports fan in general, and I consistently play basketball and volleyball weekly. I’m learning to love the outdoors, rock climbing and repelling, and canyoneering. Honestly? My true passion is teaching. I’ve decided that even if it wasn’t my profession, I would do it.
Care to share your “latest reads” with us?
I recently read Uncle Tom’s Cabin and that was completely transformational for me. It honestly taught me what it means to be a true Christian.
Les Miserables has always been a favorite of mine…
I’m a huge biography fan, and I really really enjoyed Ghandi’s biography. A lot of people didn’t, but I did.
( Gee, what a shocker!…)
I’m also really getting back into C.S. Lewis these days.
Would you like to close with a principle that you live by?
“Give everyone the benefit of the doubt.”
As always, it’s been a real pleasure, Dan.
Oh totally for me too, Teri. I always love talking with you.
Will you please tell the “too-cute-for-words” wife, Allison, “hello” for me?
I certainly will. She’s in the other room trying to corral the “in-the-upper-percentile-of-cute” kids into doing something constructive! Something tells me that she’s probably not enjoying herself quite as much as we are right now.
Okay, over and out, Ghandiji!
You are in for a real treat today, my friends! I could sit at the feet of Angela Baker for days and still come away wanting more. Her grasp of Organic TJEd through faithful application of The Seven Keys and The Four Phases is amazing! We in Southern California are privileged, in that she will be speaking at the FATJEF April 24, 2010. If you have not yet registered for this event, why not click on the FATJEF registration tab above , download your registration information and send it in today? ~ You’ll be so glad you did! And even if you don’t live here…read on! This lady is amazing!
Angela, it is such a privilege for me to “interview” you on Tommymom today! Are you ready?… Shoot!
My name is Angela Baker, and I live in rural Utah. Pigs and chickens come and go, but the children are the crop that is in focus.
I have seven of them (children) and have been married to my husband, Roger for 21 years.
I know that when I heard you speak at The Forum in Salt Lake City, I was amazed, humbled and inspired to grasp the Seven Keys and Four Phases the way that you do. I think that everyone would like to know what led you to Leadership Education.
Well, I had been home educating my three oldest children for roughly 3 years, based on a strictly intuitive type of Leadership Education. When my oldest son reached the 3rd grade, I felt that it was time for me to “get serious” about education; so I went out, purchased workbooks, and “got busy.” I noticed that my children started asking, “What do I have to do before I can do what I want to do?” I started searching for answers and praying, and then had an opportunity to hear Oliver DeMille. I was hooked! I went home and told my kids to “go for it.” They thought I had lost my mind.
After I heard Oliver speak a second time, I went and got what was The Five Pillars list at the time, went to a Face to Face With Greatness Seminar Series, and eventually got a Masters Degree in Education from George Wythe University.
I have done a lot of things in my own community that were pioneering efforts. I’ve taught a lot of Mom Schools.
I stepped out of the community when I was pregnant with my last child.
Looking back, what do you think the attraction to TJEd was for you?
I excelled in school as a student, but I always felt that something was missing. I think now that what was missing was the ability to excel at my greatness. TJEd showed me how to do this…how to use my genius to do greater things in the world.
I have a great deal of faith that if I teach my children the principles of TJEd and give them a Love of Learning to come through the process, their “holes” will take care of themselves.
So, would you like to share what new and exciting things you’re up to these days?
This year, I started my own Academy, Erda Academy. There are 25 students. Erda is the town where we meet and teach, but it’s also German for Earth. Hopefully, our efforts are planting, fertilizing and producing mighty oaks.
Our youth motto is: “Do Hard Things” taken from the book by the Harris twins. I had this idea to take my students on a hike to the top of Timpanogas Mountain. I thought that it was a 9 mile hike and it turned out I was mistaken. It was 19 miles! People tried to talk me out of taking them, saying it would be too hard. They wanted me to consider something shorter.
I hiked it 2 weeks earlier, and I couldn’t walk for 4 days. The second time it was a lot easier.
I felt like Moses! I was taking 25 people on this hike, 11 of us summitted, others got to the saddle, and still others reached another area.
For each of them, it was an amazing experience! My deepest passion is about people, their genius and their greatness. I so badly want to see people live their greatness; and in doing this, I’m learning how to create an environment where this can happen.
We left at 4:30 a.m. and when I stepped outside my front door, one of my biggest surprises was that all of my students were there!
When we finished, we came back to a family dinner and we had a friend of mine that is a quadrapalegic speak to us about choosing to do hard things from that perspective. It was amazing!
In teaching this youth class, I remember this quest that Oliver gave me as my mentor. I believe that I am supposed to inspire parents, especially mothers to raise their hero generation. These mothers also have a mission of their own, but know that they are to raise their children in a certain way to stand and serve humanity in their place.
As a part of this mission, I believe that I am now including youth. I think that I need to be funnier to better reach them, though. ;0)
May I ask what you’ve been reading lately? I, for one, always want to know.
We have been having some amazingly profound discussions in my youth classes lately. Some of them have been so pivotal. You can learn so much from the students you mentor. The older kids are “cool” but have great insights. The 11-14 year olds are dynamite!
One of the most profound books recently read, mainly because of our discussion in class together, was Johnny Tremaine.
To really process the reality that it’s our hardships and trials that help us become who we are; was very thought provoking. We need to embrace them.
I recently also read and discussed Man of the Family from the Little Britches series.
Left to Tell is a book about a woman who survived the genocide in Rwanda. It is an amazing book about the power of faith and believing. She survived 90 days in a 3 x 7 foot bathroom with seven other women.
Three Cups of Tea this is a great book. It’s been around awhile.
My Grandfather’s Blessing, which is written by a Jewish woman that is a doctor and becomes a medical counselor, counseling people with fatal illnesses.
Can you share with us a couple of the concepts that you will be speaking on at the upcoming FATJEF?
Certainly. I will be teaching on Secure, Not Stressed. I am teaching on the 7 Keys all day, but there is an 8th one, I believe.
Because TJEd is so different from other forms of educating, and we’re not used to it, we can become stressed. But like a seed, you need to be secure that if you plant it, water and nuture it, it will grow. Because we can’t see something right away, we can get anxious. We need to exercise faith, go back to the principles and measure what is actually going on in our homes. If we take the time to do this and measure the template of the situation against what is going on, we can always find what we’re missing or failing to use. It gives you an anchor and something to hold on to; as well as teaching the key of self leadership and how to really mentor your children.
I’ve heard you do this particular talk and it is amazing. What else?
I’m really excited about “But How Do I Do It?” This class will cover 4 of the 7 Keys that I think answer that best. I’m excited because as I’ve taught it, I’ve noticed that people aren’t really familiar with the Keys, so they aren’t understanding what makes TJEd work. I tell stories about what these 4 Keys mean and what makes them work, so that people can see how they work.
I know that you are also teaching “Putting It Together Day by Day and Through the Years” and it addresses adding more children, changing a life profile, what happens after you’ve done this for 2 or 3 years, etc.? Your situations and solutions to the scenarios presented through example are amazing and enlightening every time.
Well, I can’t tell you how many times “Structure Time Not Content” has saved me. I get up, see everything that needs to be done and can become completely overwhelmed. But when I structure when I’m going to clean the house, or when I’m going to teach a certain principle or lesson; it is not only very freeing, but then everyone is free to figure things out for themselves. I can relax, because I know when I’m going to do things.
Anything else, Miss Mary Poppins of Leadership Education? Hobbies, free time activities?
I really want people to know me for who I am. I struggle just like everyone else. I don’t want anything to do with an image of perfection. I just get up and try again after the days where I feel like crying! I blunder, I make mistakes, but I keep asking questions and keep trusting the process.
I want to blow the myth of perfection to pieces, because it simply doesn’t exist. Even if it doesn’t look like people are “in a phase” that you can pinpoint, it’s okay. There are great things going on inside of them that are helping them to become the person that they are meant to be.
Hobbies?! Free Time?! Do I have those?
I love to run because it’s quiet and peaceful, and I’m about to turn 46 and am getting my black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
See, I just knew that there was more! I can’t thank you enough for being here today.
It was my pleasure, Teri. You make me laugh. I’m so looking forward to coming to California.
Glad to be of service, Miss Angela! We couldn’t be more excited to have you come!
I love, love, love Debbie Hardesty!
I first met her on the phone, when she called to ask some questions about Leadership Education. When we had finished, she had made the decision to attend a #2 in the Face to Face With Greatness Series here in Southern California; and flew here from Arkansas. That’s commitment!
I am well aware that this post is longer than what you’re normally used to. However, it is wonderful and full of things that people attempting to practice Leadership Education can identify with and relate to quite well. You’ll be glad you invested the time to read it. And besides…you have until Friday to “Get-Er-Done!”
I currently reside in West Fork, AR which has a population of about 2000, not including chickens or cows.
West Fork lies about 10 miles south of Fayetteville in the northwest corner of the state.
My wonderful husband, Brian, and I met at church in Fayetteville.
Four months prior to our meeting, I had just moved to Fayetteville to work on my Masters at the University of Arkansas. Brian and I dated for six weeks before we were engaged, married about 4 months after that time, and currently have been happily married for over 17 years. No need to waste time.
Before having children, I was on a career path. My goal was to earn my PhD in something in order to teach at the college level. I didn’t really care which subject area my doctorate focused on, the bottom line was the degree so I could teach. Furthermore, I had an issue that I wanted to prove I was somebody and thought a title would do that. Approximately two and half years into my doctorate everything changed.
In the book A Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens, it states “that when God wants to change the world, he sends a baby…” That is exactly what God did to change my world, he sent me a son. Against popular opinion, I left being in charge of a lab, cultivating cow pituitary cells in an incubator, and the once coveted three letters (PhD.) for a different set of three letters and the title—M-O-M. I still get to teach, just not in front of a classroom of college students. Instead, it is the realm of multiple arenas—living room, kitchen, van, grocery store, or park and to only four students—three boys, ages 14, 10, & 9 and one daughter, age 2.
We always held to several goals as we began the process of home education. First, we want our children to understand themselves—their own strengths and weaknesses. Also, we try to help our children understand others from many angles—gender, temperament type, love language, situations and culture. Serving and loving others takes on a deeper meaning where there is understanding. Furthermore, we hope our children will grow up to be leaders and to love to learn. Last, yet most important, we are trying to cultivate a heart that loves God with all their heart, soul, and mind.
So many times I could see the purpose or target in home educating our children, but my aim was totally off.
I would shoot at the target, but the arrow would veer off course. Instead of my children saying they loved to learn, they complained. Instead of thinking learning was a privilege; they thought it was a punishment. One child even stated he was stupid and would never “get it”. Those words would ALWAYS rip my heart! I knew that sending them to a typical public school was not the answer and would not achieve the desired goals. So, I did what any mother would do in that situation. I got down on my knees, tears in my eyes, and begged God for answers. Have you been there?
I have always searched for answers. So when I ran across a package on Andrew Pudewa’s site, The Institute in Excellence in Writing, concerning leadership education, I stopped, explored, and bought. In the mail came two CDs (The Seven Keys of Great Teaching and A Classical Approach to Art, Math, and Science) and two booklets (Core and Love of Learning: A recipe for Success and Scholar Phase). I had them all read, listened to, and notes scratched in the margins before the end of the week. Was what I read and listened to possible? Was this the answer? Two months later, I ordered and read A Thomas Jefferson Education by DeMille I wanted my children to have a leadership education! This is what I had been looking for.
Yet, the simplicity did not resonate within my mind—I did not get the “how to”. It is extremely difficult to change over 22 years of conveyor belt and professional educational thinking. Plus, my temperament type tends to be goal orientated. It was always about the bottom line and not the process. I was going to have them from diapers to college in record time. I was trying to force and pour into my kids what I thought they should learn, instead of drawing out their interests and what they wanted to learn. It wasn’t working. This is exactly why I was missing the target! (Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding as bells go off.) Now what?—More books!!!
In the mail came A Thomas Jefferson Home Companion and Leadership Education: the Phases of Learning. Now I had it—55 steps to a leadership education. Here we go…I had a walk-in closet upstairs full of “school books”. These were MY school books that I would take down one at a time to force to let my kids read grade by grade, book by book, according to the curriculum design. I had the books arranged in the upstairs closet accordingly. Deep Breath…I was going to take the books from upstairs, place them on bookshelves downstairs according to Ingredient #19 in The Phases of Learning. During the entire process, I was fighting with myself. I felt this sense of panic come over me as I took everything out of “sequential” order.
One part exclaimed, “Trust the process?”
The other part interjected, “What is the process that I’m supposed to trust?”
“You’re doing this for your kids.”
“Now, you won’t be able to find anything. It will take you forever to find a book.”
“This is supposed to help inspire your kids. Trust the process.”
“What are those Lamaze breathing techniques—Hee, Hee, Who! I think I’m getting dizzy. Is it the taking the books out of order or the walking up and down the stairs?”
(I know. I needed help. “Hi, my name is Debbie, and I’m a conveyor belt junkie.”)
In the mean time, my boys are watching me walk up and down the stairs. About the third time down, they stop me. “Mom, who are you talking to?”
“No one, why?”
“You keep shaking your head yes and no and getting funny looks on your face.” If only they knew the battle going on inside.
After the last trip down the stairs, the boys start pulling out and looking at all these books. Sitting down, flipping through the pages, reminiscing over some we had read and exploring others we hadn’t. I sat back with tears trickling down my face. “Trust the process!!”
I did figure out that I did not need all 55 ingredients to implement a leadership education. They are very helpful as shown with the above story; but after 10 TJEd books or booklets later, and a trip to CA to a Face to Face with Greatness Seminar the process is as easy as read, discuss, write, and apply. Simplicity, not complexity. (I did say I was trying to break over 22 years of bad conveyor belt habits!)
I think “inspire, instead of require” will always be the hardest key for me. But I’m getting better! My kids already knew I spoke to myself. Well, I have also begun to read out loud to myself. I had been so tired of trying to get everyone into the living room to read to them—driving them by force. So instead, I sat in the living and began to read a story to myself—laughing and throwing out comments as “wow”, “cool”. Within minutes, I had one son sitting on my lap; another son pulling a chair up beside me; a third son, who was surfing ESPN on the internet, making comments about the book; and my husband engaged in another project but grinning as I read. It was easy and SOOO much less stress. I wonder what will be the next book I will read “to myself”.
Teri asked me what my favorite thing was about TJEd. It is the fact I know what I’m doing is right! If Teri or Dr. Brooks lost their mind…okay, any more than they have…and decided to shun leadership education, I would still pursue it wholeheartedly. (But, Teri and Dr. Brooks, PLEEEEEASE don’t abandon me now!!) I know this is right for the individual, the family, and for our nation to maintain its freedoms.
I told you I have a two year old daughter.
What I did not tell yet is that we adopted her from Vietnam when she was 8 months old. It was one of the hardest and most rewarding things we have ever done. We fought over 2 years of bureaucracy from two countries and mounds of paper work; we have been child abuse checked, FBI checked, local and county police records checked; we flew one way over 23 hours with me spending 16 hours of those in an airplane bathroom because of airsickness. (Oh, the stories I could tell.) Our reason for doing this was to bring freedom, especially religious freedom, to a child who would not otherwise have it. We did not fly halfway around the world to bring a child home for her to lose her freedom here on American soil!!! TJEd is right because it is the type of education that will save our Republic! I’m moving forward and not looking back! I’m fighting for my kids’ freedom!
Right before we adopted our daughter I wrote the following:
THE TAPESTRY
I believe that God has been creating a tapestry since the beginning of time, and He is still weaving His plan today. In this tapestry is the life of every person that lived, is living, and will live. Each of those people is represented as one string. There are strings from people like the pharaoh during Moses time whose heart was hardened so God showed his power through the ten plagues. Or the people of Babylon or Assyria, who were wicked themselves, but God used them to destroy a rebellious people. Then there is the string of Abraham who went from being scared to claim Sarah as his wife in Egypt to a man who was willing to sacrifice Isaac because God told him to do it, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Weaved also is the string of Esther, an orphan once herself, who put her life on the line and saved her people. My prayer is that someday when I get to look at this tapestry that I see two strings, Brian’s and mine, running from my home to Vietnam. Then three strings coming back across the ocean. Then a little later I hope to see one of those strings heading back to Vietnam, taking a nation the Word of God. Furthermore, God only knows what other strings we will see wrapped around this process of us trying to bring God to a child and possibly others within a nation. Individually we are only a string. Together, even if we are for God or against Him, we make a tapestry. I hope God sees us working for Him.
I would march forward by myself on this road of a leadership education, but I’m thankful I do not have to! I’m thankful Teri has created this blog to weave us together to hopefully make a tapestry that screams again that America is a land of virtue, courage, and liberty for us and especially for our children!
A side note: Make sure to get a copy of A Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens.
WOW, what a book! Dr. DeMille and Dr. Brooks took a lot of resources and made them applicable to daily life. Every sentence has a nugget of gold wrapped in it. So, do not casually skim by the text. I wish that I had this book at a younger age! Then maybe I would have realized sooner the process is just as important as, or more so than the bottom line. Furthermore, maybe I would have learned quicker that the mission is more important than the title. Just because I couldn’t read by the time I was in 3rd grade did not mean I had to spend a big chunk of the rest of my life proving I was somebody. So, I highly encourage everyone to read this book!
Filed under In the Spotlight... | Comments (9)Fifty years ago today, a hero was born…
In the middle of a blizzard in Glasgow, Montana.
There really wasn’t anything super-hero-like at the time…
But he was definitely into emulating heroes of his own.
There was no doubt about the fact that he was a cute kid.
And a great older brother.
He grew in stature and began to get an education.
Dead center, in the front row, of the kindergarten class.
As he grew up in this organization…
The size of his family grew right along with him, until he had three brothers.
He played a little football…
and did a bit of fishin’…
He acquired friendships…
and served others, while loving God and country.
Eventually, he began to date a girl…
(well he actually dated far more than one, but for the sake of this tribute, bear with me here.)
At the time, she apparently thought that looking like Laura Ingalls Wilder was “chic.”
He didn’t care.
Because the appearance of style wasn’t paramount…
evidenced by this hair.
The boy and the girl hung out a lot…
decided to get married…
and eventually had this kid.
Incidentally, mocking another’s personal sense of style…
nearly guarantees that you are bound to lose your own.
This truth would be evidenced in the above photo by HER hair.
This is better…
but could still use help.
Along with the birth of this child…
they decided that perhaps it was time to start focusing on the really important things.
Like ever strengthening faith.
Family.
Core values.
Personal growth.
Fast forward to this past Saturday evening…
Lots of years, lots of growth, coupled with the inevitable hard times and struggles…
and five sons later.
A surprise party.
that involved a lot of planning… (and strategic packing)
Effort and reliance upon family and a community of dear friends…
But in the end it produced this…
and this
Which eventually led to THE SURPRISE…
A gathering of nearly 200 family and close friends…
It was an evening of fun…
timeless memories…
and powerful tributes.
It was an evening to be treasured…
and will most definitely be remembered.
Would you care to read a sampling of the things that were said?
“He is a great older brother.”
“As kids, he never “ratted” us out, but became one of us. We were a brotherhood…
He’s carried that same ethic into adulthood and would do anything for me…in fact he has.”
“He has a tremendous work ethic.”
“He is always there for me whenever I need him.”
“He practices servant leadership.”
“He models his faith without saying a word.”
“He loves unconditionally.”
Then the rubber really met the road.
Son #1
“Most kids growing up think that their dad is the greatest…
Today, at 21, mine still is. I couldn’t have picked a better one if I had been allowed.’
“He has never given me a reason to be ashamed of him.”
“He doesn’t quit. Ever.”
Son #2
“My dad practices servant leadership.”
“He inspires not only this present generation, but the future one.”
“He leads by being the example, which produces inspiration, not requirement.”
“We could never express to you how much we admire and love our dad.”
Followed by a toast…
Yep…there were lots of tears…
tons of laughs.
Joyous reunitings.
You know…
the stuff that life is made of.
There was clean up…
highlighted and demonstrated here by the dear friends previously pictured…
don’t they look nice?
There is always an opportunity to practice servant leadership…
regardless of how you’ve just been honored.
But make no mistake…
Honored you will be.
If you pay the price.
Trust in a good and gracious God.
Do the work.
Run the race.
It takes a lot to make a family, a legacy, a life.
Proof that heros are made, not born.
Happy 50th, to my #1 Hero! XO,
Filed under In the Spotlight..., Leadership Education, Real Life | Comments (5)
