The following is an excerpt from The Phases of Learning by Oliver and Rachel DeMille “... a mentor insisted that the most important lessons of Western Civilization were to be found in its stories, literature, poetry and art. "At first Oliver resisted, even to such [...]
Allan Bloom wrote in The Closing of the American Mind: “People sup together, play together, travel together, but they do not think together. Hardly any homes have any intellectual life whatsoever, let alone one that informs the vital interests of life. Educational TV marks the [...]
There is a widespread myth that feminism came about in the 20th Century, that—along with Civil Rights and Environmentalism—feminism is one of our great modern advances. The truth is that feminism has a much earlier origin. In the Beginning... Adam and Eve left the Garden [...]
by Shiloah Baker “I cannot live without books,” Thomas Jefferson once said. No one should live without books! Books uplift. Books inspire. Books teach. The teaching done through books encompasses many areas: vocabulary, life experiences, knowledge, learning, and the list goes on and on. There [...]
by Shanalei Anderson For those of you who love and embrace the educational philosophy taught in Oliver DeMille's A Thomas Jefferson Education, here are some ideas for homeschooling children in the "Core Phase" (up to around age 8 or so)--the years in which children [...]
Returning again to the discussion I had with a friend who runs a book discussion group. We agreed that we had both learned a great deal because of the courage of one woman to not walk in lock-step with the others in the group and [...]
I had a strange experience a few months ago. I’ve pondered on it many times since. A friend of mine, who participates in an adult book discussion group, was having some difficulty with discussing a book. One of the group members found the subject matter [...]
I love poetry! It is so amazing to me the way that art so seemingly effortlessly communicates on so many levels, with precision, economy and beauty! When my family and I learn poetry together, several things take place...
