Southwest TJEd Forum 2010 - Part 3

Breakout Sessions

The conference had two break-out sessions in the afternoon so that attendees could choose which classes to attend. There were a lot of great classes and it was hard to choose. But, alas, I did manage to choose. :-)

Dan Ralphs - "Three Types of Students"

Many of you are probably familiar with the Three Types of Education, those of us who have read the books about Leadership Education have heard about them many times. Dan Ralphs expanded the chart that I have below to add what type of student is created in each type of learning. I truly enjoyed expanding my understanding of these concepts. I know that I had heard this before in a talk by Oliver DeMille at the first Southwest TJEd Forum two years ago, but I NEEDED to hear this again, and specifically, at this time.

Three Types of Education

Education	Goal	Methodology	Curriculum
Conveyor Belt	1 - Job Training 2 - What to Think	Soviet Conveyor Belt Same Education at the same age Educate the poor	75% Social 25% Textbooks Comfortable for factory jobs
Professional	1 - Train Experts 2 - When to Think	Elite Conveyor Belt	Case Studies Ethics Solve Problems
Leadership Education	1 - Train Entrepenuers 2 - How to Think	Mentoring	Define Problems Classics

Three Types of Students

Education	Study Habits	Learning	Teacher/Student	Motivation
Conveyor-Belt	Entitlement Min/Max	Teacherbased	Fear/Obey	Fear based
Pressional	Memorizers/Test Based	Expert Centered	Competitive	Utility
Leadership Education	Purposeful Depth	Wisdom Centered	Submissive	Love

Epiphanies during this speech:

• Christian is still somewhat of a conveyor-belt student. He spent the first 3 1/2 years following the conveyor-belt at public school and I have worked very hard to help him get off. I can see now that he has one foot on and one foot off. As hard as this is for me to admit, it is IMPORTANT that as his mentor I stop ignoring this fact and focus on how to help him instead. My pride was getting in the way (not wanting to admit that he is still a conveyor-belt student at times). But, how many of us adults are still conveyor-belt students? How hard is it for US to get off? Why should I be afraid of admitting this and doing what needs to be done to help him?
• Leadership happens when the student chooses a mentor. I think applies to what I wrote above. In my personal realm of application, I can see that I need to inspire Christian to choose me as his "mentor" and stop looking at me as his "teacher".

Dr. Andrew Groft's Closing Remarks

Education is...

• expanding definitions.
• making connections.
• considering applications.

People without good family are searching for the government to make them happy.

The way that you see the government is the way that you see education.

I learned a great deal more, but it is so hard to put it all into words. He discussed Plato's "Republic" and Montesquieu's views on government. I really need to read these works before I will understand it all, or be able to explain it.

And finally...he left us with this quote.

The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. - Abraham Lincoln

Part 1 - Carol Shippy and Dr. Andrew Groft
Part 2 - Julie Early

Southwest TJEd Forum 2010 - Part 2

Julie Early - "Adult Phases of Leadership Education"

I think I learned the most immediately applicable information from Julie Early. She describes the Phases of Learning for Adults as "skill sets". I realized as she spoke that I really have gone through Core and Love of Learning, placing me now where I want to be in Scholar Phase. I had tried to PUSH myself out of Love of Learning and into Scholar a little too early. Now, I look back and realize that was acceptable in some ways, as long as I learned the skills needed in each phase.

Core Phase:

1. Set a spectrum of Truth - usually at the extremes - Right and Wrong, True and False, Good and Bad. Many adults have this, but it is important to go back periodically to make sure our core skills are in place. Should adults go back to core? Of course! Starting off in extremes is normal.
2. Work and Play - Adults learn more from work than play. We should work on relationships and not engage in "selfish play". Self-help books are often a part of this phase. Roles are distinguished and building self-worth through work is important.

Love of Learning - it's about discovery:

Signs that you are in Love of Learning as an Adult:

1.  Bounce around in books.
2. Don't finish all the books you start.
3. "Flitting" from thing to thing (can get expensive).
4. Love of Learners LOVE rules - ("But 'how' do I do it?" - looking for specific how-to steps)

Things to focus on:

1. Structure Time, not Content
2. Keep a Commonplace Book - Notebook with notes on readings, observations in nature, etc. (I keep several actually for rough draft essays on the books I'm reading, personal mission discovery, and daily to do notes.)
3. Groups are more important in this phase. Join a book discussion or mentored class.
4. Focus on Reading, Writing, and Discussing.

Scholar Phase - study deeply:

1. Work is part of their education - think about your studies while you work.
2. Learn through study and discussion.
3. Focus on Principles instead of Plots or Rules.
4. They begin to see the middle ground of grey and stop thinking so much in absolutes.
5. Fill in the holes of your education.
6. Begin to have a sense of mission.

One other KEY that I learned from her speech was this:

Crisis will come and it will shake up our education - that is normal and expected.

Part 1 - Carol Shippy and Dr. Andrew Groft

Part 3 - Dan Ralphs

Feb. '10 - Week 4

OK - I really stink right now at keeping up with posting what we are doing for our education. I missed the last couple of weeks. Sorry, I don't have time to go back and log it in.


We attended a conference last weekend that was truly inspiring and uplifting. Please see my other posts about what we learned.

:: Daily Lessons ::

• Devotional: "Preach My Gospel" - Finished Lesson 4 and Started Lesson 5- a section a day.
  
• Read A-Loud Book: Finished "The Long Winter" book #6 of Little House on the Prairie series and started "The Little Town on the Prairie" - book #7.
• Math: Chris - Math-U-See: Delta (he is studying for the final test next week) - Marly - Math-U-See: Zeta - Celeste - Math-U-See: Algebra (review for mom...again!)
• Exercise - We are using the Wii Fit Plus while "the weather outside is frightful". It is harder than it looks!
  
• Writing - Chris - daily journal entries. Marly - writing her own book and Transformational Writing class assignments. 
  
• Guitar Practice
• New Era and Ensign Reading, Scripture Reading, and Individual Reading - See each person below for their readings.
  

:: Weekly Lessons ::

• Monday: Government Lesson - "The 5,000 Year Leap" - Principle 14
• Tuesday: Guitar Lessons, Weekly Library Trip, Grammar Lesson - Chris - "Winston Grammar" - Review for the Unit test - Marly - "Transformational Writing" class and "Grammatically Correct"
• Wednesday: History Lesson - Chris: "Story of the World", Vol. 2, Chapter 11 - Marly: "Story of the World", Vol. 3, Chapter 8.
  
• Thursday: Friend Outing was Canceled - "The Fallacy Detective", Lesson 4 
• Friday: Science Lessons - "Concepts and Challenges of Physical Science" - Chapter 6.3 - NEW -"150 Captivating Chemistry Experiments" - Gases, Liquids, and Solids - Exp. #6
  

:: Individual Readings ::

• Chris (Practice Scholar) - "Jubal Sackett", Scriptures, and New Era magazine.
  
• Marly (Project Scholar) - "The Fellowship of the Ring", Scriptures - "Book of Mormon", and New Era magazine.
  
• Celeste (Mentored Scholar - back to looking for a mentor) - "TJEd for Teens", "Plutarch's Lives", "The Professor", Ensign and New Era magazines, Scriptures, and Primary Lesson.
  

:: Projects ::

• Chris- Chemistry Labs - Exploding water bottles with #1 baking soda and vinegar, #2 Alka-Seltzer and water.
• Marly - Transformational Writing class at TJED Academy and Prep School and Seminary. Latin - Latina Christiana I - Lessons 8.
• Celeste - More packing.
• Family - Selling items to prepare for move, packing, packing, and more packing.

Post by Chris the coolest person you will ever know.

My mom made me go to this Home School thing that I didn't want to go to, but it was Better than I thought. My best friends where there, the talks where entertaining but I already heard everything they told me. Except for the stories they told me there was a snack machine there and my skittles got stuck and the janitor got it out and gave it to 4 little boys and the 4 little boys knew it was mine but they ate it anyway.

Chris

Southwest TJEd Forum 2010 - Part 1

Marly, Chris, and I attended the 2010 Southwest TJEd Forum. All I can say is "WOW! Fantastic!" Chris was not very thrilled about going. This is the first year that I registered him to go to the Youth Forum, but when the day was done he said he was very glad he went. I was on the committee this year and felt like the entire thing was such a great experience that I might be up for doing it again. Maybe I'll have to look into that when we get settled in our new place.

My overall feelings are that this was well worth the money and effort to attend. The speakers were fabulous and I hung on every word for many of them. My pen could not write fast enough to record my thoughts and feelings. Here are some very basic personal perspectives that I am sharing. There is really no way to record it all, and it so individualized that what I learned will not be the same as the person next to me.

Carol Shippy - Arizona Families for Home Education (AFHE) - "Update on Laws in Arizona"

Now, some of you may know that I have not always had the best relations with some of the board members at AFHE. I will say here that I do greatly appreciate ALL that they have done to keep the freedom to homeschool in Arizona (even though they are a bit anti-Mormon at times). Her speech on educational freedom and all the work they are doing was wonderful. I am very thankful for their organization and all that they do.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Andrew Groft - President of George Wythe University - "The Renaissance of Kings"

This speech really resonated within me. I had several epiphanies during his charismatic presentation.

1. There are many dangers awaiting to keep us from getting a liberal arts education - distractions, sin, addictions, and apathy. 
2. The masses (general population) have always had the heart, strength, and might to overpower tyrannical governments, they just have not had the MIND. Thus we need to become truly educated so that we have ALL the powers. 
3. Virtue means to become what your creator intended for you to become. 
4. Education today = job training. The original meaning of the word education in Latin (ex ducare) is "to draw out that which is already there" or "to cause to be expressed" or "to draw out meaning".
5. I can make a difference in ANY career.

Powerful stuff to me.

He also spoke about that the right kind of education is:

• Biological - the quest to understand life within the mind.
• Biopathical - the quest to understand life within the heart.

Part 2 - Julie Early
Part 3 - Coming Soon!

It's Official...We Are Moving to Missouri

I started this post over a week ago and I'm just now getting it finished. I guess that speaks for itself on how busy we are.

Mike is transferring to Springfield, MO with his job at Schwan's. Mike had three offers for a transfer and we chose the one we feel is the best for our family. When we told the kids, we asked each of them (including Sam) to pray about if the move was right for our family. They each came back with the same answer Mike and I received. This has been a fabulous experience in having faith in our Lord and Savior, that He will provide a way when the time is right. We have known that some day we would move to Missouri and now is the time.

We do not have a home yet. As time gets closer I'm sure we will find just the right place like we always do. We will continue to rent for awhile. We have decided to down-size in order to pay off all our debt (student loans) and gather a larger nest egg of savings. The kids are on-board with downsizing and are happy to comply with the financial plan. I have such great kids who truly "get it".

We have made wonderful friends here in Flagstaff, whom we will miss dearly. Our time here has been a time of growth and experience. For Chris and Marly, it was a stepping stone to learning that they can move and make friends quickly. They have been accepted here and their confidence in themselves has grown. They are a little nervous, which is to be expected, but have great attitudes about this next adventure in our lives.

I am super excited to move away from Arizona. I enjoyed Sacramento, CA and the Houston, TX area when I lived in those places. Although, Texas had an area that we lived in that I hated, so not all my experiences were positive. I have always wanted to move to different areas of the US and experience living in areas different from where I grew up. We are finally getting the chance now that Sam is grown. (For those that do not know, my ex-husband had a court order that I could not live more than 100 miles from him. Which, now that Sam is 18, no longer applies. I'm free! I can't tell you how happy I am to be free...finally!)

Feb. 2010 - Week 1

:: Daily Lessons ::

• Devotional: "Preach My Gospel" - Lesson 4 - a section a day.
  
• Read A-Loud Book: "The Long Winter" book #6 of Little House on the Prairie series.
• Math: Chris - Math-U-See: Delta - Marly - Math-U-See: Zeta - Celeste - Math-U-See: Algebra (review for mom...again!)
• Exercise - We are using the Wii Fit Plus while "the weather outside is frightful". It is harder than it looks!
  
• Writing - Chris - daily journal entries. Marly - writing her own book and Transformational Writing class assignments (see Marly's projects for more info.)
  
• Guitar Practice
• New Era and Ensign Reading, Scripture Reading, and Individual Reading - See each person below for their readings.
  

:: Weekly Lessons ::

• Monday: Government Lesson - "The 5,000 Year Leap" - Principle 12
• Tuesday: Guitar Lessons, Weekly Library Trip, Grammar Lesson - Chris - "Winston Grammar" - Adverbs - Marly - "Transformational Writing" class and "Grammatically Correct"
• Wednesday: History Lesson - Chris: "Story of the World", Vol. 2, Chapter 10 - Marly: "Story of the World", Vol. 3, Chapter 2.
  
• Thursday: Friend Outing was Canceled - "The Fallacy Detective", Lesson 2 
• Friday: Science Lessons - "Concepts and Challenges of Physical Science" - Chapter 6.1 - Experiments crystals and solutions.
  

:: Individual Readings ::

• Chris (Practice Scholar) - "Jubal Sackett", Scriptures, and New Era magazine.
  
• Marly (Project Scholar) - "The Fellowship of the Ring", Scriptures - "Book of Mormon", and New Era magazine.
  
• Celeste (Mentored Scholar - back to looking for a mentor) - "Plutarch's Lives" Ensign and New Era magazines, Scriptures, and Primary Lesson.
  

:: Projects ::

• Chris- Chemistry Labs - Crystals and learning about Chemical Formulas
• Marly - Transformational Writing class at TJED Academy and Prep School and Seminary. Latin - Latina Christiana I - Lessons 5-6.
• Celeste - Crazy week with a lot of drama. Trying to sell items and get ready to move.
• Family - Selling items to prepare for move.

Is It Too Late to Change My Mind?

Women are allowed to change their mind...right? I would meet the stereotype for once I guess. LOL! Well, I'm beginning to feel like a lot of my decisions lately are not working out. So...should I change my mind and back out...or stick to it...or admit defeat and say, "I'm sorry, but this was a mistake and I'd like to bow out gracefully." I'm not sure what to do at this point.

Decision #1 - Moving to Flagstaff

Mike loves Flagstaff, the kids like it here, and I tolerate it. Not because of the snow or beautiful trees, but because of the people and the cost of living. I have made MANY good friends here, but the majority of people are complete wackos! I am sick of seeing "I Love OBAMA" and "Obama/Biden" bumper stickers. I'm sick of hearing liberals talk about being open minded and then actually turning out to be unable to listen to any point of view but their own. I'm tired of being called a "Phoenician" and being made fun of because I'm wearing gloves and a heavy coat when they are wearing a sweatshirt.

Don't even get me started on the cost of living here...

I really want to move out of Arizona all together. My biggest problem is that Sam wants to stay in Mesa with her dad, which is where she lives now. It breaks my heart to think of living so far away from her, but she is an adult now and will continue to move towards her own life and away from parents being influential on a daily basis. Letting go has been VERY hard, but I know it is part of parenting, just like potty training and weaning. This is just another major step (the last step really) towards complete independence.

Decision #2 - Foster Parenting

This is probably not a surprise for many of you, but I don't think we are cut out to be a foster family. Not because of the kids, but because of CPS and other agencies that SAY they are about the children and really do not advocate for the children they represent. They are either cynical or accept the status quo of dealing with children as a number rather than a human being. I wanted to help children, but I'm finding that it is so stressful for me to fight for the children that it is causing me to have difficulty dealing with my anxiety problems.

Most of the children we have had in our home have been really good kids with rotten parents. We have had a couple that are so messed up by their parents that I do not see how they will ever live a normal life. It is so tragic that my heart hurts for them, but I cannot save them. No matter how hard I try. They have needs that our family cannot fix and the agencies refuse to get them what they really need. It is so sad.

Decision #3 - Living on Acreage

I have always dreamed of living on a large lot or on acreage....until we had to mow it and shovel it! If we had the money to truly maintain it as it should be maintained, then I can see how it would be advantageous to have at least 1 acre. As it stands now, the land drains our money and energy. Just shoveling the driveway takes all day. We just need the income to buy all the things to make living here easier. When we move we plan on downsizing to a manageable house/lot size.

The only thing I love is not hearing my neighbors. In Queen Creek we could hear our neighbor swearing and beating his kids. So this is definitely an improvement, although a little freaky sometimes because at night it seems like there is nobody around. Spooky!