My Week in Special Ed.

I spent the early part of this week (and will be there tomorrow as well) substituting in a special education pre-K class for autistic children. Needless to say, it has been very interesting. Early intervention is for some parents a saving grace, but I wonder how parents would feel if they knew what was really going on in the classrooms.

I've seen children forced to play with shaving cream while they are screaming, "No, please! Too sticky!" or forced to lay on their tummy rather than sit on their bum to read a book. Some of it is so excessive for silly reasons that I just can't imagine why it happens. What is the purpose? So, I decided to ask a few questions about why the children have to lay on their tummy rather than sit on their bum. I got an explanation of how the child's muscles need to be built in their necks and lower jaw.

But still, I'm wondering why force them? Why not inspire them to follow our lead to lay on their tummy and play a fun game to strengthen those muscles? Do we have to practically sit on kids (yes, I've seen this) and make them do what we want just because they are autistic? Now, I have not spent a lot of time with autistic kids and I KNOW they all have behavior issues (this is part of how they are diagnosed).

My question is...can the Leadership Education model work with autistic children? I believe it can and will even be better for the children. The problem then becomes an issue of wanting results NOW rather than taking the time to inspire the kids. So it seems to be a matter of quick results over allowing time to make the changes in a more loving and respectful way.

I was reminded by a friend about how Helen Keller needed to be forced somewhat in order to learn to communicate. I observed, however, that the conformity was in behavior mostly...eating with utensils instead of hands, eating from her own plate, not being rewarded candy for bad behavior, etc. The people around Helen had created these bad behaviors in the first place. Ann Sulivan only reversed these bad behaviors and replaced them with good ones.

Also, Helen Keller was not autistic and had the ability to learn these behaviors. I don't believe that the comparison is a good one, but still I can see that sometimes force is a matter of getting the child's attention long enough to inspire them. For the children in the class I'm working in they do have "mainstream" kids coming in to be an example, which I think is excellent in teaching them to communicate and model preferred behaviors. I just don't agree with the extreme force some of these kids are put through at times.

The Beauty of Core Phase

I did not learn about Leadership Education (TJED) until my children were 13, 10, and 8 respectively. It took me another 2 years to fully get "off the conveyor belt" and begin getting myself in the right mindset to make sure we all had a solid Core Phase. I knew my youngest needed Core Phase for sure, and my other children had things to improve as well. The most difficult realization I came to was that I needed Core Phase work as well, yet I wanted a Scholar Phase. Now!

The Phases are Like A Planet
We often think of the phases of learning in a linear fashion. Our linear thinking would place the phases like this:

Core Phase ---> Love of Learning--> Scholar Phase-->Depth Phase--->Mission Phase--->Impact Phase

Phases of Learning like Earth

It looks as though you complete one phase and then move on to another. This model, however, is not correct. A more correct model is to think in a more "whole picture" fashion. I like to think of the phases as the planet Earth. In the center is the Core, then we add a layer of Love of Learning, then Scholar Phase, then Depth Phase, etc. The Core is still there. The Love of Learning is still there. We are just building upon prior knowledge and skills, adding each new layer to fulfill our creation as an educated person.

Without a strong Core, our planet-self would be hollow, or maybe only have half a core. If we continue our planet model, we know that Earth needs a strong core in order to have gravity work. It also needs the core in order to cycle around the Sun. With an out-of-balance or partially formed core, our Earth would wobble and make a very unstable effort to cycle around the Sun.

My Adult Core Phase (Work and Play)
I needed to correct some "damage" from my past, you know, the things we often call "baggage". Yes, I had some, most of us do. I heard a fantastic speaker, Julie Early, who talked about Adults in Core. I found that her talk was very correct in that I handled my Core Phase in much the same way as she describes it. I focused on figuring out what I needed to repair from the lessons of Core Phase in "Right and Wrong", "Good and Bad", "True and False". I read a few self-help books and applied them in my life (this was work). I put my focus more towards my family in organizing our home life (this was work). I tried to create wholesome family time to nurture relationships (this was play). I studied my central canon and applied the principles of my faith in my life (this was work and play).

The result: a happier life! 

Core Phase - Going Back or Moving Forward?

As my children were already "past" Core Phase ages, I would often refer to "going back to Core Phase" for them, when really we were working on both Core Phase and Love of Learning at the same time. You see, our linear model would make it seem as though only one phase can take place at any given time. This is a fallacy in our conveyor belt thinking. If we embrace the "whole picture" model, we realize that we are always working on the various phases, only adding new layers as we become more mature and ready for the next one. As infants we start out as small planets with only the need to build a strong core, then we add the following layers as our planet grows and matures.

If we are adults and just now learning about the four phases of learning, we have some of those layers already, but we can go inside and fill those layers with the right knowledge and skills while still building our Scholar and Depth phases. At some time we may have lost our Love of Learning, yet we can regain it! We gained some knowledge from our conveyor belt education, but we can round out our Scholar Phase and build upon what we retained by adding more of the classics.

The Beauty Revealed
Being an Adult working on Core Phase is nothing to feel ashamed about. Having youth in Core Phase is nothing to hide or worry about. It is part of the normal progression of life. Leadership Education is not about making sure you are in the "right phase" at the "right age". That is conveyor belt thinking! Rather, we only need to look at the "whole picture", making our main priority to fulfill the measure of our creation.

Cross-posted from In the TJED Trenches.

What Makes a Scholar, Academic Ability or Maturity Level?

Reference: Leadership Education by Oliver and Rachel DeMille pages 153-189

I've noticed in several Yahoo Groups that are geared towards TJED, that there are still a lot of misconceptions about what makes a Scholar student. I know it was a confusing topic for me when I first read A Thomas Jefferson Education. Then I went on to study everything I could about the subject; CD's, MP3 downloads, Forums, and books (See Leadership Education). I think I'm finally beginning to understand what Rachel and Oliver mean when they said children need to BEG to be in Scholar Phase.

Academic Ability
It is my observation that the conveyor belt focuses on academic ability as the sign that a student has completed the necessary tasks to be a completed project and receive a diploma. They answered enough questions correctly to get a 60% or higher in every class and they can now move on to adulthood. Even high achieving students are marked by their above 90% average with "honorable mention" graduation status and scholarships to college.

This focus on academic ability ingrained in our first 18 years of life is a hard thing to unlearn! It was planted and cemented into our psyche in the formative years of our life. It is almost as hard to break away from as re-learning how to walk. It is that much a part of our being that we have to literally stop and re-learn how to think about education.

What I see happening is that parents read the TJED books and they become awakened with a deep desire to learn. They always wanted to know how to think. They know that the education they received in nothing like what they want. Then they go about applying the principles of Leadership Education, but the expectations are still a conveyor belt set of expectations. When we see a child excel and read "Hamlet" we think, "AH! They are ready for Scholar Phase!"

Why does that happen? Well, most of us never read much Shakespeare and if we did it was probably a dumbed-down version which we hated being forced to read. So, in our minds this is a phenomenal feat! Our child reads Shakespeare and loves it! They must be a Scholar. (not!)

Maturity Level
Another facet of a person's full well-rounded education that the conveyor belt system completely ignores is becoming a mature young adult. I believe this is an under-valued part of determining if our child is ready for Scholar Phase. Just because my child reads for 6 hours a day does not make them ready for Scholar Phase. My daughter at age 10 was very ill and she stayed home and read all day long! Yet, she was not a Scholar, but a Love of Learner. As she grew and became more mature, she eventually and gradually became a Scholar student.

When a young adult reaches the point of wanting a Scholar Phase, they need to BEG for it! They have to really want it or they will loose their momentum and fall back into a Hate of Learning. I say this, because we lived it here in our home.

"So much of conveyor belt education is fear-based - worrying that the child will not measure up. In contrast, Leadership Education assumes that the child will not only meet but exceed basic levels of learning, and more importantly, totally exceed in certain chosen areas." ~ Leadership Education, page 161

Maturity Level Brings a Higher Academic Ability
What I learned to focus on was maturity level first, which naturally brings a higher academic ability along with it. It is nearly impossible to have a mature 15 year old who does not want to learn, grow, and be successful at life. I mean it, nearly impossible! So, if you have a youth who is struggling in their education, focus on how to help them mature first, the academics will come.

One area I also see is young adults with behavior problems, yet the parent insists they are a Scholar, probably because of their age or reading level or some other academic ability. Mature young adults do not have problems with obedience to basic household rules, they do not torture a younger sibling, they do not lie, steal and sneak things. I'm sorry, but that is not what a Scholar Phase young adult looks like. When a young person acts in ways that are contrary to the lessons of Core Phase, they need more core work! If a young person cannot choose right from wrong, good from bad, and truth from falsehood....guess what?...they need to go back and work on some Core Phase values before they will ever be a successful Scholar.

This is not to say that any one is perfect, I'm not by any means. What I am saying is that major behavior problems need to be corrected before Scholar Phase can be successful.

Conclusion
When we unlearn the conveyor belt expectations and let go of our fears, turning our focus to fully "Trust the Process", our families succeed in Leadership Education. Suddenly, teenagers mature into young adults and mentoring parents get more questions about what they should study (the begging starts!). I've seen my youth turn more to my mentoring suggestions as they mature. Our family has seen a burst of energy and learning that seriously brings tears to my eyes...it is so wonderful and beautiful to see them studying so much and learning so fast.

Mistake #2 - Start Them Too Early

Oliver DeMille in Leadership Education stated that starting kids too early in any phase of learning "is committed the most frequently of all the mistakes." I have found this to be one of the mistakes I have made the most often as well. Why? I think it is because we are so used to Conveyor-belt testing, grade levels, and "norms" that we find ourselves easily thinking, "my child should be doing ___________ by now". Mentoring parents can easily make this mistake at ALL of the transitions between phases, especially between Core and Love of Learning, and Love of Learning and Scholar. It's kind of like putting the cart before the horse.

Even the prodigy who reads and plays piano at age three needs a full and wonderful Core Phase. Part of Core is discovery and play, so your brilliant son can discover and play at caluculus or physics or literary analysis at age five if he wants, but do not put him in Scholar until the Core Lessons are fully and clearly learned. Right and wrong, good and bad, true and false are lessons that exceptionally intelligent and gifted people often struggle with, so if your child is a prodigy he likely needs a longer, fuller Core Phase than anyone else. In play time he can study whatever he wants. - Leadership Education, pages 213-214

I am not sure any of my children are prodigies per se, they are all very talented human beings with abilities that stretch far beyond anything I have ever taught them. I have found that once a child has shown a certain level of genius about a topic I seem to want to expect that same level of genius every time they engage in that topic. I believe that is the folly here, expecting brilliance every time a child shows interest or genius in a subject, talent, or project. Much of the Core and Love of Learning phase is spent exploring...trying things out...and yes, occasionally knocking our socks off with what they can do.

The concern is expectation. It seems to me that our expectations are what push us to want to start children too early in a phase rather than allowing them to want to be in that phase all the time. It is easy to tell when we are pushing...a time of "Hate of Learning" seems to come creeping in. I heard things like, "you take all the fun out of everything" or "I don't want to read __________" or "I hate math". It was time to back off and evaluate what I was doing and why. Sometimes swallowing my pride and expectations is what I needed to do. Sometimes I just needed to switch things up with more hands-on activities or fieldtrips.

Has this ever happened to you?