TJED/A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille -- A Rotten Educational Philosophy!!

A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille, sounds interesting and rigorous, right? Thomas Jefferson was a smart guy, he wrote the Declaration of Independence after all and he was the 3 rd president of the USA, so A Thomas Jefferson Education also known as TJED or a Leadership Education should be a pretty good thing, right?

You would think so, but unfortunately, A Thomas Jefferson Education is anything but the kind of education Thomas Jefferson actually had. It's more of a modern educational philosophy disguised under a name that describes something totally different. It got big here in Utah, and I really hope it dies out, because it can't work. Here are the 7 Keys of Great Teaching:

Classics, not Textbooks -- Learn math by reading Archimedes instead of filling out mindless workbooks --- Excuse me, my goal is to learn and if that is best done through a textbook and so called busywork, then so be it!!!

Mentors, not Professors -- I don't think mentors are a bad thing, but I think they need to give advice and guidance which is not encouraged by DeMille, he says they should stay back and allow the student to figure things out on their own. Hello!!! Teach me what you know, then I can add to that, don't make me reinvent the wheel!!

Inspire, not Require -- This is one of the WORST keys in the philosophy!! Don't require your child to read, do homework, or chores, instead, trick them into doing it through whatever passive aggressive tactics you can get to make them do what you want them to without them realizing your manipulation call it inspiration!! Please!!!!!!

Structure Time, not Content -- Isn't this one of the problems we face in the public schools? The kids are doing their time for example in math, just waiting to get through to the next grade and the next teacher. Content is by far more important, some things will take longer than others, the important thing is that the content is mastered!!!

Quality, not Conformity -- I'm not sure what this one means. Quality is a good thing, and conformity is not always a bad thing.

Simplicity, not Complexity -- When you put many simple things together such as notes on a piano in a certain sequence, doesn't it often come out sounding very complex?

You, not Them -- This is the one that makes me the most upset!!! The "mentor" or homeschool parent is supposed to concentrate on themselves and then the students will follow their example and be just as educated as the parent even though they haven't been required to do anything. This is an excuse for parents to ignore or neglect their child's education and pursue their own goals and ambitions. Here is my response: It is all about the child, the parent's turn or chance is past.

Now there is a new key in addition to these original 7:

Secure, not Stressed -- why did DeMille have to add this one? Because the other keys don't work and they cause the parent stress, but now with this new key, you can ignore your stress and promptings that TJED doesn't work and keep doing it anyway!!!

My thoughts on TJED? Run away, run far far away!!! It is a very bad educational and parenting philosophy. I think we will see a great many disappointed future leaders and parents of future leaders who have given their all to TJED. These keys I have listed are just a small part of the philosophy. They've got books and seminars and classes and groups. I could go on and on, but I think that is enough to see that the philosophy is erroneous. There are a couple blogs that already go into more detail if you search.

TJED reflects very poorly on the homeschool community and I try to distance myself as much as possible from these people. If I were given the choice between TJED and public school, I would choose public school hands down. I am very disappointed in the people who have embraced TJED and I hope I can distance myself from them as much as possible as an academic homeschooler. There are some very nice people who have gotten caught up in it, and I feel sorry for them. I hope they don't really do all the things DeMille recommends and don't feel like failures. I think the nicest ones are the ones who feel failure because they can't do everything DeMille says, but in reality they will be much better off. That's all I'm going to say on the subject for now. I feel better getting that off my chest. I want to spend my energy finding the best ways to teach my kids the things I want them to know and focusing on the positive. But sometimes, I have to point out the bad. Glad that's over!!!