Thomas Jefferson Education Phases of Learning

If you'd like to know more about Thomas Jefferson educational stages by age...here are some notes from the website. www.tjed.org

Foundational Phases

Core Phase (ages 0-8)

The Goal? "Inspire, not require."

A time for nuture and growth. Fearless, no-failure. Curiosity and confidence. Play and fun.

Lessons Taught? right vs. wrong, good vs. bad, true vs. false, relationships, family values, routines, responsibilities, accountability, value and love of work.

How to Teach? Best learned at home through daily home life experiences uncomplicated by secondary goals of academic achievement. Parents model active and spiritual scholarly life and nutring relationships. Instead of discipline, think "instruct and train."Focus on basics of family's faith, and how to recognize truth. Prepare children to make choices and heed conscience (know when heart is inspired).

Love of Learning Phase (ages 8-14)

The Goal? "Love above learning."

Dabble in subjects to get to know variety and options. If they enter their youth with a profound excitement for and love of learning, there is absolutely nothing that they can’t “catch up.”

Lessons Taught? Children learn accountability through family obligations, chores, personal grooming, attitude, etc.

How to Teach? School is simply fun, with no sense of obligation to be responsible or commited to a particular path. Essentially let them get what they came for, but set healthy limits. Support their love of learning (so they can enjoy experiencing many, but also excel in some). Project-learning and reading family classics together. Avoid trying to cover everything. Avoid committing to a curriculum or lesson structure that has external demands (financial commitments, practice schedules) you are not willing to compromise. In most cases, you can find a way to gain the value of that experience without the Scholar-level requirements. Be patient! The time for such demands and structure is coming soon. Near the end of this phase start the "practice scholar phase" (transition to scholar phase).

Educational Phases

Scholar Phase (ages 12-19--ofter older for boys than girls)

The Goal & Lessons Taught?

Transformational time, during puberty, where youth is able to comprehend fully that requirements are not reprimands, achievements are not affirmations, and acquisitions/deficits are not her.

How to Teach?

Peer involvement that supports her best self (including educational philosophy and goals) is important during Scholar Phase.

It is well for a parent to look ahead to this time and do some concerted community-building in order to facilitate the Scholar Projects that are so ideal to meet the needs of youth in Scholar Phase.

Four sub-phases:

Practice Scholar (transition to scholar phase, during love of learning stage)

During Practice Phase, allow them to move in and out of Scholar Phase with its adult-level privileges and love of learning liberties.

Apprentice Scholar

Self-Directed Scholar

Mentored Scholar

Depth Phase (18-24ish)

students submit to a mentor-guided program, whether privately or in a formal college setting or a "mission".

Applicational Phases

Mission Phase (age 25+)

The individual continues in self-education as he or she builds family and community through professional vocations, entrepreneurship, social leadership or some other focus.

Impact Phase (mature/older age)

The individual asserts leadership on a broader scale as an "elder" in society, acting as a mentor, philosopher, philanthropist, artist, community leader and generational elder in the family.

*notes also taken from wiki-pedia

Waldorf: Rudolph Steiner Quotes

“You will not be good teachers if you focus only on what you do and not upon who you are.”  



“for even the wisest can learn incalculably much from children.”  

“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.”  



“If we do not believe within ourselves this deeply rooted feeling that there is something higher than ourselves, we shall never find the strength to evolve into something higher.”



“All knowledge pursued merely for the enrichment of personal learning and the accumulation of personal treasure leads you away from the path; but all knowledge pursued for growth to ripeness within the process of human ennoblement and cosmic development brings you a step forward.” 


"The healthy social life is found when, in the mirror of each human soul, the whole community finds its reflection and when, in the community, the strength of each individual is living. "



“Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is? The children themselves are this book. We should not learn to teach out of any book other than the one lying open before us and consisting of the children themselves.”  



“The teacher, as we know, can confer upon the pupil no powers which are not already latent within him, and his sole function is to assist in the awakening of slumbering faculties. But what he imparts out of his own experience is a pillar of strength for the one wishing to penetrate through darkness to light.”  

“Just as in the body, eye and ear develop as organs of perception, as senses for bodily processes, so does a man develop in himself soul and spiritual organs of perception through which the soul and spiritual worlds are opened to him. For those who do not have such higher senses, these worlds are dark and silent, just as the bodily world is dark and silent for a being without eyes and ears.”  

"Today, we have knowledge of many, many things and the relations among human beings have multiplied ad infinitum. But we live in cities that are like deafening factories in awful Babels, with nothing to remind us of our inner world. Our communion with this inner world is not through contemplation but through books. We have passed from intuition into intellectualism.”  

Creating "Boat Discourse" Teaching Moments

Here's a new perspective on a familiar NT story about Peter and letting down his net:

We normally start the story with Christ telling Peter to let down his net. But woah...let's skip the general trend of jumping right into the meat of things and start with finding the beautiful context that adds such meaning to this invitation.

Luke chapter 5, verse 1: Christ stood by the lake, where people stood to hear Gods word. Christ had just finished preaching in the synagogue with great authority and power, and had just cast out an unclean spirit in someone--people marveled. And now they were waiting to hear him teach them more. 

Christ saw people at the shore already cleaning up their nets and putting them away. (I didn't know that, I thought they were still out in the boats.). 

So what does Christ do? (No, not ask them to put out their nets...yet.) He goes out in the boat with them and discourses. He teaches them! Then after he is done teaching he invites Peter to put his net out.

Peter then uses his logic to explain that they've already tried this. The responds "nevertheless, at thy word, I will put down my net." Peter defied his logic but placing faith in Christs teaching and word he just heard. He applies the spiritual truth and knowledge he heard and felt, acknowledging it as more powerful and lasting than his previous logical results from earlier.

Wow! What I gleaned from this, from a teacher's perspective...

1. EXPERIENCE: Sometime we have a tendency to rush into learning and teaching, forgetting that our children need context. They often need experiences in which to place their learning. Peter had his fishing experience (which sometimes means our students need to learn to fail first, before they can have success or desire to reach for something more). Are we willing to allow experience or failure? Christ knew he was a good and powerful teacher, but he also was aware that his role wasn't to teach exact details 24/7 for every subject and situation. His role was to guide and tailor experiences according to situation, and point out truths. This required patience and timing things well.

2. FOCUSED TEACHING MOMENT: After the experience Christ allowed for a focused, distraction-free teaching moment--in a boat. I mean, talk about a focused moment. There was no escaping that boat, so they had to focus on what Jesus was teaching. Do we take time after we give our kids experiences to reflect and delve deeper--do we find time for a "boat discourse" when it can make an event more meaningful and we can highlight truths and eternal principles we observed?

3: APPLICATION: after teaching, that is when Christ invited Peter to apply what he learned: an opportunity to defy his mortal logic (and past experience) and instead rely on The power of Christ's truth and teachings (and practice obedience by placing faith in His commands). Christ gave Peter a chance to learn more deeply from that experience and his teachings by encouraging Peter to step into the unknown and exercise his newly gained learning (thus creating a new experience--bringing him full-circle in his learning). Now Peter would be empowered to know Christs teachings even more profoundly. (Not to mention that Christ repeated this experience yet again, once he was resurrected and came back, creating an even more powerful experience for Peter to remember and act on his faith in the Savior.)

So...

Do we picture our learning in a cyclical pattern that goes deeper and deeper into simple eternal principles as we gain more experience and context? 

Do we see those eternal principles and Can we point them out to our children? 

Do we trust promptings and intuition over logic and facts? 

How do we turn our children's attention to things of the spirit and their learning over to the Lord and invite them to see eternal truths instead of just random pieces of world knowledge and facts? 

Do we take time to point things back to Christ and his eternal principles? ("All things testify of Christ")

Do we allow for a beginning, middle and end to the experiences we give our children, realizing that the end can be a new beginning on a deeper level?

These are important questions. And answers will come as you seek to have experiences, make time for focused teaching moments and act on promptings to tailor invitations for growth to your children. Then mentor them through those logic-defying moments and help them understand this is what the atonement and relying on Christ truly is about. This type of learning will become a strong foundation of learning and keep children focused on the real source of truth. And this will give them confidence to approach all other types of learning, knowing that they can't fail if they trust their promotings and place faith in the power of the Saviors eternal truths.

Art Discovery Stories

So...how do you teach your child art? And why is it important?
I think that art is extremely undervalued as a means for teaching our children and for helping them express themselves early on. Why do we wait so long to teach valuable principles that art can help instill...

Peter Reynolds Has great books, so I'll start with his...
- Letting go of Perfectionism
Ish Book

Teaching that drawing isn't about being perfect, but capturing the essence of the idea or object. I say ish to my son all the time now. And he just smiles and lets go of his perfect view...confirming to himself that it's ok...he's ok. Smiles all around.

- Exploring Deeply and Giving things a Try
The Dot

When Vashti gets frustrated and doesn't know where to start with drawing, the teacher has her sign her "marker-stab" dot and frames it. Vashti then challenges herself to do better. And her world expands into a gallery of dot-variety that inspires others. (my personal favorite!)

- Opportunities for trying new things & Observation
Sky Color

When faced with not having a blue and needing to paint the sky, she finds a new opportunity to tobserve, think and adapt in trying something new. She uses everything but blue! And it's beautiful.



More from Peter Reynolds
I'm Here (about noticing sounds, others and being present and being a friend)
North Star (about not following the path others take, just because...but taking your own path. Talk about homeschooling and entrepreneurship, eh?!)
I Am Yoga (i really want to read this one! but the library doesn't have it yet. anyone else want to request it from the library to help urge them to get it?)




There are so many other great stories by other people....
Harold and the Purple Crayon (love this simple crayon that the boy draws as he tells a little story)



Not a Box (using a box for a variety of things; sequel is Not A Stick)



The Pencil (about a boy and his pencil...then they color, then the erasers get in on the action. Pretty funny, but it leads you through the book as he draws more. Lind Harold and Purple Crayon, but supersized)


I Ain't gonna Paint No More

This one is fun for messy out-of-the-box painting. For some reason, it isn't one of my favorites though.

Art

This one takes the reader through the process of creating some art. I love that you see the pieces sepearately during the book, but then his master piece at the end incorporates lots of those original pieces that came together into one vision for him.

Look What I did With a Leaf 

Then you can get into Nature art...whole 'nother ball game, but super fun.

A Day With No Crayons

This is a good book about observing color and thinking outside the box of crayons.

Art & Max

This one is just a funny story about an artist...breaking from the still, exact portrait painting into a new world of color and exploration. I'm sure it has words, but I don't even recall them...so good to visually see the progression.

Mice

This book is all about mice who cut out paper and make portraits of themselves and the cat. Every page is their paper creations. It'd be cute to make a simple mouse with string arms. you can talk about shapes.
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Ed Emberley Books
Fingerpint or Thumbprint Books

I love Ed Emberly! This book (and a few other like it) uses simple fingerprints and then just adds dots or lines. And who can't draw those? So empowering to create! He has some holiday versions too. lots of themes within.

Picture Pie

We've been enjoying this one that is all based on a circle and cutting it into portions...



Other Books for real Art Principle Basics
Look, Look, Look

Walks you through a postcard of a famous painting and point out the basic art elements of color, shape, line, etc.

Mouse Shapes

Uses shapes for making pictures

Mouse Paint

introduces basic colors

Green

Exploring the various types of green (forest green, lime green, pea green, etc.). An award winning cute book with clever cut-outs!

Little Green

Great beginners introduction to representing movement and motion of animals and things through lines, squiggles, zigzags. Any level artist can do that! This book is particularly about a hummingbird and the boy just watches and watches it for a long time, from his window (with his paint brush). Great for pointing out the need for observation.

Color Zoo & Color Farm

These books just show you animals made from shapes, but they go shape by shape as the face changes into a new animal by changing one shape. We like just looking at it as a jumping off point to then cut out shapes and make animals, but there is no real story or anything.

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There are so many more! I have a long list of them I'm trying to get through in the next few years...but I hope to post a part two of the books that introduce you to both art and a famous artist, like "Noisy Paintbox" about Kandinsky who would create music because he saw it as color in his mind. That would be fun to create an art color project by listening to different music and trying to express self and sound.

So let me know if you know of any I can add to my list--running tab on Goodreads!