5 Pillar Certification

LEVEL I
An introduction to the Five Pillars and the Classics/Mentors model of education.

1. Read the following books and discuss them with a friend.
   
   
   
   • Potok, The Chosen
   
   
   • Bronte, Jane Eyre
   
   
   • L’Amour, Walking Drum
   
   
   • Moody, Little Britches
   
   
   • Stratton-Porter, Laddie
   
   
   • Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew
   
   
   • DeMille, Thomas Jefferson Education
   
   
2. Attend the seminar “Face to Face with Greatness: A Thomas Jefferson Education.”

LEVEL II
A comprehensive study of additional classics.

1. Complete Level I and enroll in Level II.


2. Choose twelve of the following books. Write a one page summary for each and submit via email:


• Austen, Pride and Prejudice


• Bastiat, What is Seen and What is Not Seen*


• Johnson & Johnson, The One Minute Teacher


• Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People


• DeMille, Leadership Education


• Dickens, Great Expectations


• Frank, Alas Babylon


• Gardner, Multiple Intelligences


• Gatto, The 7 Lesson School Teacher*


• Harward, Market-Based Education


• Holt, How Children Learn


• Hugo, Les Miserables


• Kavanaugh, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers


• Lewis, The Abolition of Man


• Noebel, Understanding the Times


• Shakespeare, five plays


• Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin


• Strauss and Howe, The Fourth Turning


• Thoreau, Walden


• Wister, The Virginian




3. Attend the seminar “Face to Face with Greatness: The Power of Mentoring the Classics.”

(* = articles found in the books Bastiat, Essays on Political Economy & Gatto, Dumbing Us Down)

LEVEL III
Practical application of the five pillars in an educational setting.

1. Complete level II and enroll in Level III.


2. Administer or teach in a public, private or home school or class and apply the 5 Pillar™ system for a minimum of six months. Keep a journal of the entire project. Write a project summary when the project is complete. Pass an oral board discussing your findings.


3. Attend either of the following seminars*:


• Face to Face with Greatness: World Views and the Emerging State


• Statesman Retreat: Rethinking Leadership

For seminar dates and locations please visit www.gw.edu/seminars.

Four Phases of Learning

The Four Phases of Learning represent approximate ages or time periods in a person's life that certain types of learning take place. This does not mean that all people will fit into the ages listed, quite the opposite is true! We firmly believe that all people, especially children, learn at a precise pace and order specifically for them and that no amount of pressure will bring about life-long education. The opposite is true, pressure leads to immediate results while the long-term effects of pressured learning disappear with time.

Foundational Phases

• Core Phase - Ages 0-8
• Love of Learning Phase - Ages 8-12

Educational Phases

• Scholar Phase - Ages 12-16
• Depth Phase - Ages 16-22

Applicational Phases

• Mission Phase
• Impact Phase

Check out the following visual representations of the phases - Four Phases and Seven Keys and the TJED Continuum.

Key #7 - You, Not Them

One of the areas that I've had the hardest time getting off the conveyor-belt is in the concept of "You, not Them." I tend to want to focus on what they (the children) need, what they are doing, how much they are learning, etc. In implementing TJED in our home, I struggled with focusing on me and not the kids.

Some helps that I found are the 1 - Education Self-Assesment, 2 - Family Vision worksheets, and 3 - Master Actualization Plan (MAP) by Donna Goff at Moor House Academy. These worksheets helped me to plan what I am going to do for my education, what I envision for our family, what I can do as the mentor of each person, etc. This turned the focus to me and what I can do in our family to bring about the end results that I hope to bring about.

Another area these worksheets helped me was to get down to the basic elements each child needs from me. Things like learning style, temperament, social needs, etc. can be addressed as I take the time to ponder each person's needs and then assess my own education to see if I have what it takes to meet those needs.

This process is an ongoing project. It is not for the faint of heart! I am still working on this and find it rewarding to see my progress and the progress of our family as we all work towards a Love of Learning and Scholarship together.

NOTE: It is important to do them in the following order: 1) Education Self-Assessment, 2) Family Vision, and then 3) MAP.

Key #4 - Time, Not Content

Structuring TIME and not the CONTENT is hard in any education setting. It is difficult to let go of preconceived ideas from my conveyor belt education and let my children truly gain a lasting education by choosing what they want to learn, when they want to learn it, and how they want to learn it. For me, I have to constantly remind myself to let go and allow the children to explore subjects and freely determine for themselves that a subject is needful. Once they truly feel it is needful, nothing can stop them!

Our schedule is loose and easy. I spend the majority of my time trying to inspire my children to education by allowing them to see examples of myself in my Scholar Phase. This is harder to do some days than others.

Recently, Marly has been transitioning into Scholar Phase and I find her reading most of the day. It amazes me that her determination to learn and grow is coming from her...not me. If I resorted to requiring and choosing the content, I would need to stand over her all day (like a teacher at public school) and make sure she is doing everything I wanted her to do. Instead, I am seeing HER take the lead and show me all that she is learning. Amazing, but true! We have a 14 year old girl who loves learning, has a plan, and follows through without much prompting from anyone else.

Key #3 - Quality, Not Conformity

Conformity is what the Conveyor Belt education plan is all about. Children are taught the same things at the same age in their lives regardless of if they have mastered the topics before, their learning styles, or if they are emotional ready. This is a great tragedy for many students.

In the Leadership Education model, quality is the focus. Quality materials, the classics, are used in place of watered down textbooks. Quality in time replaces meaningless busywork. Mastery of topics is the key regardless of how long it takes.

How We Use This Key

We pick reading materials from the Classics for Youth list for almost all of our literature and English studies. Mathematicians are People Too (Vol. 1 & 2) are fantastic stories of famous mathematicians to study how they came to their conclusions. Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers in addition to CD's of the classic music pieces add to a rich study of music. My children can now recognize certain composer's music in movies and TV. So can I!

Real world experiences in fieldtrips and hands-on projects replace the stale classroom environment. My children can engage in projects based upon both their education goals and the topics we are studying together. This year we have also added the Four-Year Plan in which we are studying Genealogy. This year-long project will teach us more about our ancestors while we progress the Lord's work here on earth. We are so excited to include our own memory books and personal time lines as part of our education.

Key #2 - Mentors, Not Professors

One of the greatest examples of a mentor is our Savior, Jesus Christ. He modeled what He taught and was the highest example of a great mentor. His words are repeated and revered throughout the generations as He taught all of us with love and patience.

Professors

A professor or teacher is often presented with several students in which to teach. In the public school system, this is often 30 or more students. A central curriculum is followed regardless of ability or interest and each student is taught in the same way, at the same time.

Mentors

A mentor is an educated person, or one strongly seeking an education, who provides guidance as to a student's individual needs, education goals, and abilities. Special attention is given to the learning styles of each student, giving the student a specialized and highly motivational educational path. Challenging as this may seem, my children seem to find this more exciting and easier than a standardized curriculum. They "own" their education as it is specific to them.

How We Apply This Key

We started with having each person make their Education Goals list. This list changes throughout the year and I evaluate each person's list during my Six Month Inventory time. During my education in education (I went to school to be a teacher but did not complete the degree) I learned about learning styles and multiple intelligences (See Multiple Intellegences by Dr. Howard Gardner). I believe that children and adults have specific ways that they learn best. I have spent time determining how each of my children learn best and work to provide ways to model and teach the subjects as needed.

In learning to be a mentor I think the hardest thing for me is what we call "staying off of the Conveyor Belt". Since I was educated using the Conveyor Belt method, it is hard for me to apply a different way of educating my family. Yet I find that as I continue to study the Leadership Education book by Dr. Oliver DeMille, I am able to find ways to apply this method and find it easier and easier to stay on the right path.

Key #1 - Classics, Not Textbooks

Public School Curriculum

Curriculum is chosen by a school board in the form of a list of textbooks and basic outline or "scope" of what is to be taught. Each grade at a school is presented with this information. Some schools have a standardized curriculum handed to each teacher that they must teach, including the tests. Others allow the teachers more leeway into how they will use the textbook and scope provided. Many good teachers supplement materials and follow the scope in a way that will best suit their students in any given year. I have witnessed other schools that make it very difficult for teachers to supplement, add, or take away from the given curriculum.

Textbooks are changed virtually every year. Why? To make money. The writers are looking for a way to continue to force schools to spend money on the "new edition" of the same information. The school then spends tax dollars on this supposedly "new" information which is not new at all, just simply reformatted with maybe a new chapter here or there. Not only is this an enormous waste of resources, but the textbooks are boring and many "pure and precious truths" are often removed, paraphrased, or just plain changed from their original context.

Leadership Education Curriculum

The curriculum for a Leadership Education is much simpler and costs much less than the public school curriculum model. The curriculum standard is to read the classics. I have posted pages with lists for Classics for Young Children, Classics for Youth, and Classics for Adults. Many of the classics can be found at your local library, which is where we get most of ours except the more hard to find versions. It is a tragedy that the libraries cater more to the modern idea of entertainment rather than stocking up on the truly classic works.

What is a Classic?

Quoted from "Leadership Education" by Oliver and Rachel DeMille:

A "classic" is a work worth studying over and over again, because the student learns more each time. There are classics in each and every field from history, science and literature to computer design, gene-mapping and the digital age, and even surfing, cycling, gardening, and so forth.

Why Classics?

Classics are the original works of the great minds of history and modern times. Why read someone else's interpretation of the great books? The classics are considered classics for a reason. They are time honored works of greatness that generation after generation returns to read, quote, and make movies about.

How We Apply This Key

As I looked over the classics lists provided in "A Thomas Jefferson Education" by Oliver DeMille, I realized that I had read most of the classics for Young Children and Youth and only a few from the Adult list. I believe this had to do with the fact that once I became a teenager I turned largely to entertainment reading. How sad is that? I could have filled my time with classics rather than the romantic drivel I read as a late teen and early adult. None of that had any value, just a big time waster.

My first classic that I read after reading Oliver's book was Emma by Jane Austen. I have loved many of the movies based on her books and decided to start there. My next challenge was to begin the 5 Pillars Certification list (suggested reading for adults starting on a Leadership Education path). I have since read Laddie, Little Britches, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Great Expectations, etc. have you noticed I have not said anything about my children yet? That is because I started by focusing on Me, not Them (another key). If I want to model a great education, I better GET a great education first.

I have felt strongly that I am starting late with my kids. They are currently 16, 13, and 11 years old. There is a bit of work, or should I say work to undo in my kids. There are several misconceptions they have about education that we are trying to overcome. So we started with teaching them the Leadership Education model. They know the Four Phases of Learning and what the phases mean. They can tell you they are a Love of Learner or a Practicing Scholar.