Teaching by Example
Teaching the kids a thing and then telling them to use it was less effective than just letting them watch an adult do it—and then being left to act as they choose.
Where is Wisdom?
The great classics are the Western world’s repository of wisdom, and the application of wisdom to governance, art, science, business and all fields has resulted in success and progress. Over time these two children of wisdom (progress and success) started their own traditions and today they are competing schools of thought replete with their own unique literature, institutions and promoters. Unfortunately, both have largely lost touch with their original connection to Wisdom.
Attention Span: Our National Education Crisis
On October 16, 1854, in Peoria, Illinois, Stephen Douglas finished his 3-hour address and sat down. Abraham Lincoln stood. He “reminded the audience that it was already 5 pm,” and then told them that it would take him at least as long as Mr. Douglas [...]
Shakespeare on Socialization
To download a pdf version of this article, click here. The Scottish Enlightenment philosopher George Turnbull wrote in the eighteenth century that the debate between home education and formal schooling has raged since ancient (Greek) times. Shakespeare took up the same theme in The Two [...]
The 5 Environments of Mentoring
Taken together, The 5 Environments of Mentoring empower a teacher to do his/her job, which is to inspire self-education and help students follow through. Tutorial Tutorials consist of a teacher and 1-6 students discussing something they have all read. Tutoring is not, as conveyor-belt education [...]
A Quick Educational History
Greece provides us with the history of two very different kinds of education, that of Athens versus Sparta. In Athens parents taught their kids directly until about age 7, when they were enrolled according to parental choice in various free enterprise schools and academies. Anyone [...]
Family Roles
Nothing will have more impact on the future of the world than the future of families. This truism is sobering as we watch the decline of the family. As we consider the industrialized world, it is disturbing to note that even amongst those who espouse, [...]
Is it Time for the Talk?
Society in general is in touch with the need to help prepare our children for the physical changes that come with adolescence. But what of the emotional, social, intellectual and academic ones? Time to Talk to an Emerging Scholar Do you have a child or [...]
Homeschooling Insights: Grandparents in Training
Start Thinking About Being a Superb Grandparent An excerpt from Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning... The true test of leadership is grandparenting. Everything else falls short. And it is not enough to grand-parent just your posterity. Grandchildren get married; superb grandparents know that they [...]
Homeschooling Insights: The Phases of Learning
Some of the greatest researchers in childhood behavior (Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore) agree that children pushed academically at an early age tend to burn out early in adulthood, or long before. Young children do soak up learning like a [...]