What is Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd)?
Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd)
Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd), also known as Leadership Education, is a philosophy of education based off the book A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille. It's purpose is to build leaders. Leadership Ed is based on principles and tools that empower a life-long love of learning, healthy relationships, and a powerful personal mission. It consists of helping every person to discover, develop, and polish their unique genius. TJEd seeks to accomplish these goals by teaching through the Phases of Learning and the 7 Keys of Great Teaching.
Phases of Learning
TJEd is based off of the idea of Phases of Learning. These phases of learning, or stages of development, are phases that everyone naturally experiences throughout their lives. A core principle of TJEd philosophy is that learning best happens when we honor the natural phase of learning a student is currently developing.
Core Phase
Core phase is the first of the Foundational Phases, and serves as the foundation for all the rest of a child’s life. This stage typically happens between birth and age 8. Core phase consists mainly of parents nurturing their children in the safe, cozy atmosphere of home and family life. Core lessons include:
- Learning what is right and wrong/good and bad
- Learning how to make choices
- Learning how to work and be responsible
Core phase is about building family relationships, family work, love and nurturing, and learning through play! Those beginning core phase are exposed to inspiring music, good books, and an atmosphere of learning through the family culture. While academics can be included in Core Phase, they are not the main or most important focus in a child’s life. While Core Phase is mainly experienced in early childhood, it is a phase that never ends. It needs to be strengthened and nurtured throughout life. Having a strong core phase is crucial to experiencing healthy Love of Learning and Scholar phases.
Love of Learning
The Love of Learning Phase is the second of the two Foundational Phases, and it sets the stage for the child’s later scholarly pursuits. This stage typically happens between ages 8-12, when a child begins to play in new ways. This sometimes begins to look like study, but it’s not; it’s still play. If this phase is successfully nurtured, scholar phase will come naturally as a child develops. Love of learning begins when children begin to explore new ideas and become interested in everything around them. This is the asking WHY stage. Students are excited to learn anything and everything, and jump quickly from one subject to the next. If they choose it, they will be excited about it. Play will include things that sometimes do and sometimes don’t look like work: reading, writing, discussing, drawing, sculpting, 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.
Scholar
As the student nears the end of a successful Love of Learning phase, he naturally begins to transition towards more scholarly pursuits, until he enters the Scholar Phase, the first of the more serious and grown up Educational Phases. Scholar phase typically happens between ages 13-18. Within Scholar Phase, there are a number of different levels built one upon another. During the Scholar phase years, the student develops and changes quickly. What works for a child in the beginning of Practice Scholar will not necessarily work for the serious Self-Directed Scholar. This begins as students mature and become ready to focus longer and go deeper into their studies and development of “Scholar Skills.” They also need the support and guidance of outside mentors (not mom) and positive peer influence. (see Scholar Phase Details Below)
Depth/Mission
This phase is a life-long phase, and is more self directed. A person takes all that they have learned, seeks out their unique personal “mission,” and works towards goals that will help them find their way of blessing and serving the world.
Scholar Phases
The YLA Scholar Day focuses on the Scholar phase of learning. This includes students who are ready to choose their own education, who want to be there, and are ready to do the work. Typically this begins between ages 12-14 but can happen a little sooner or much later. There is no exact age requirement for Scholar class, but each class will have a recommended age or appropriate scholar phase.
There are several different levels of Scholar Phase, beginning with Practice Scholar Phase and ending with Self-Directed Scholar Phase, as outlined below.
Practice Scholar
This is the time of life when children relearn everything they’ve been taught, but now as their own person, rather than as an extension of their parents. They are coming to the realization that they have a unique mission for their life, even though they do not yet know what that mission is. They are beginning to spend real time studying, their attention span is increasing, and they are learning to be more responsible. They “practice” scholar skills; reading, writing, group discussion, argumentation, critical thinking, etc. Students in this phase often desire to be “studious,” but still often oscillate back to Love of Learning and want to be free to “play” and remain young.
Apprentice Scholar
Apprentice scholars are taking the next step needed to move forward in their education. They realize that they truly do have something unique to offer the world, and have a greater desire to find out what that entails. They are more committed to, and have more self-initiative in, their studies. They can more easily inspire themselves, and begin to lead out more among their peers and siblings. They have a greater capacity to study for long hours, follow through with commitments, and do the work required for real growth.
Self-Directed Scholar
These scholars have experienced personal change from exposure to many classics, and are ready to have real impact in the world. These students begin to feel a strong pull in one direction of study, and realize that they want to sink deeper in this chosen subject. They are creating their own plans for their studies, and have solid self-discipline to follow through and answer to their own plans. They begin seeking a mentor outside the home, and are ready to make the full commitment needed for a full mentorial experience.
7 Keys of Great Teaching
There are seven keys to successful leadership education, as outlined by Oliver Demille in the TJED book. Throughout history, great leaders, thinkers, and statesmen were educated utilizing these keys. When they are applied, learning occurs. When they are ignored or rejected, the quantity and quality of education decreases. Whatever the student’s individual interests or learning styles, these principles can apply. And whatever your role in education—home, public, private, higher education or corporate training—the application of any and eventually all of the 7 Keys will significantly improve your effectiveness and success.
Classics, not textbooks
Great ideas are most effectively learned directly from the greatest thinkers, historians, artists, philosophers,, prophets, and their original works. Great works inspire greatness!
Mentors, not teachers or professors
Mentoring is different than just standing in front of a class and presenting a lecture. A mentor finds out the student’s goals, interests, talents, weaknesses, strengths, and purpose, and then helps him/her develop and carry out a plan to prepare for his/her unique mission. Mentors are passionate about what they share with their students, and care about the student more than the student's work. A kind, loving individual who is passionate about a specific subject and loves their students can be the perfect mentor, because they willingly and lovingly help guide their students through the learning process.
Simple, not complex
Learning and mentoring is not complex. It is challenging, but not complicated. The more complex the curriculum, the more reliant the student becomes on experts rather than their own skills and abilities.
Structure Time, not Content
Great mentors help their students establish and follow a consistent schedule, but they don’t micromanage the content. Of course, great mentors will have a structure and expectations for their class. However, they are willing and able to adjust their class to their students, as needed.
Inspire and then require
There are really only two ways to teach—you can inspire the student to voluntarily and enthusiastically choose to do the hard work necessary to get a great education, or you can attempt to require it of them. It's much more effective and enjoyable for everyone when mentors choose to inspire.
Quality
Great teachers reward quality–quality work and quality performance. In late Scholar Phase and Depth Phase, anything less than high quality is not accepted by the mentor as a completed work; instead, the student is coached on how to improve it and sent back to work on it—over and over again until excellence is achieved.
You
Give serious focus to YOUR education, create an environment where curiosity is activated, learning is facilitated, and excellence is modeled, then nvite them along for the ride. A mentor's teaching becomes much more effective when that mentor has put in the time and effort into their own learning, because they are more easily able to share their knowledge and thoughts with others.