A recent TEdx talk was given by 11 year old homeschooler Logan LaPlante. He argues (among many, many other wonderful points) that "education" too often asks kids to define "what they want be when they grow up," without abilifying them to be happy. Logan likens [...]
The longer Rachel and I apply the 7 Keys and other principles of TJEd, the clearer it becomes to us that modern society has made four dangerous mistakes. Since I prefer to emphasize the positive, I consider them four opportunities to do things better than [...]
Mortimer Adler, who assembled the Great Books of the Western World collection, wrote a great deal about education. One of his most important contributions is his discussion about the three kinds of teaching. Three Systems of Teaching 1) First is what he calls “Didactic Instruction.” [...]
by Oliver DeMille The subtitle to our book A Thomas Jefferson Education is: “Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century.” I really believe in this. It matters. The leaders of the 21st Century live in our homes. And we can truly help them [...]
By Oliver DeMille There is an excellent book by John F. Heath entitled, When Bright Kids Can’t Learn: How New Brain Research Can Help Your Child. I highly recommend it. Perhaps the most significant contribution of the book, at least for me, is the idea [...]
by Oliver DeMille Bestselling author Grant Cardone taught a very important principle that applies to parents and teachers. He wrote that you “need new problems. They’re signs that you’re making progress and heading in the right direction. “If you’re not creating new problems for yourself, [...]
(Reading, Writing, and Rich-matic) by Oliver DeMille “When am I ever going to use this math in real life?” the student asks. The teacher hems and haws, and when the bell rings the whole class leaves with a sense of frustration about math. We’ve all [...]
by Oliver DeMille “Oh, no, you’re one of THOSE!” the man groaned. “One of what?” I asked. “One of those people who thinks classics are important in modern education,” he said. “I deal with people like you all the time. It’s really frustrating.” The man, [...]
By Oliver DeMille Some lessons are more difficult than others. Any parent or teacher can attest to this reality. Math is a little harder to learn than reading for some kids (and vice versa for others) and music and art are often easier to start [...]
By Oliver DeMille Today I read a sentence that really impacted me. It made me pause and really consider. I mean, I’ve read a lot of books about the American founding fathers and mothers, but I’ve never read this before. It’s incredibly deep and important. [...]
