I am reading a wonderful book on eduation titled; A Thomas Jefferson Education, teaching a generation of leaders for the twenty-first century by Oliver Van DeMille.
This has been such a fantastic read for me and I am really enjoying it. I would highly reccomend it to any parent but have to admit I have only read through Chapter 4 so far, so maybe I should hold off on my praise until I am finished.
As I began Chapter 5....there is an assignment for me, so honestly the book has sat for a whole day while I contemplated moving on without doing it. Then I realized that is central to the core of the book; how easy it is to move on without thinking about "it". Plus these words were very powerful..."I'll refer to these later, so please be sure to stop reading and answer these three questions in writing before continuing." Also, just a few pages before I was convicted by this passage...
"In our modern society, whenever education is the subject, we always want to talk about the kids. We care about them, and their education is important but we also find that it's easier to talk about their education than to improve our own."
Well, since my instructions say...in writing...here I go!!
1) What books are your companions through life?
mmmmm...I have to say that I love to read, so I don't understand why I have a hard time answering this, but I do. A few years ago I read a series of books by Francine Rivers called Mark of the Lion. They have been kind of a recent "companion" to me especially when I went through my move to Oregon a few years ago. This might sound silly...I know they are no literary classic, but Hadassah the main character has inspired me over and over and they are the only books that have stuck with me in the past few years!
2) If you were evacuated to another planet and could only take one book, upon which to base the whole teaching of your family and establishing right and wrong for your community, what would it be?
This one is easier because I really would take my bible, it is all in there;)
3) What is good? What is evil?
Good in itself is so hard to define for me because I use it to describe so many things! Good is good, right? I think good is something right, moral, pleasing to God. Good is pleasant, something to approve of and welcome. I am defining it with relation to evil though because of the question; because good can also mean yummy....like ice cream!
Evil to me is the absence of God, the lack of His moral direction; darkness, wicked and scary!
Now....back to my book! I'm sure I will be back with more assignments! It is kind of like summer school for mom!
3 comments:
I have this on my wish list on my Kindle. Maybe I will read it next????
Be wary of Thomas Jefferson education. Really do your homework as it were on it. The ideals of leadership education are great and I think most homeschool families are doing just that when they focus on the talents and interests of the particular child. The danger comes in the spiritual component within the methodology. Thomas Jefferson was not a Christian. He was a deist. This particular education model does not elevate Christ to His entitled position as the Alpha and Omega. He is instead pretty much regulated to an important teacher. This is what I gleaned from the materials I read on it. Your materials may differ- but be cautious.
Wow you put a lot more thought and reflection into your answers no wonder I skimmed right by it and you had to take days to ponder it.
My answers: #1 the Bible, #2 The Bible and #3 God is good, Satan is evil
The latest quote I like from the book is: "wisdom combines knowledge and understanding and the ability to apply them effectively."
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