The Key Classics of Thomas Jefferson Education
If you really want to understand Leadership Education—to figure
out what this TJEd thing is all about—you really have to go to the
source. Dr. DeMille and his co-authors have distilled their research and
experience into three books, and when taken together, they comprise the
core of what we call a “Thomas Jefferson Education.”
A Thomas Jefferson Education:
Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the
Twenty-First Century
“Is the education our children are receiving on par with their potential?”
Dr. DeMille’s first book, A Thomas Jefferson Education, not
only dares to ask this question (on page 7), but is bold enough to offer
an alternative solution to the failure of 20th Century education.
That solution is to go back to the methods espoused when America was still an
educational success.
How were the brilliant men and women who founded the United States of
America educated? Dr. DeMille has done extensive research that takes us
back to the days of mentors, classics, and parents who nurtured and guided
students through academics and beyond. This book is about nurturing,
rather than forcing; inspiring, rather than demanding; and the desire to
give a children more than dry facts and figures to regurgitate back to
teachers. It is about learning how, not what to think, and the ideas
presented here give parents and teachers the inspiration needed to help
their children and students fulfill their potential to become great.
If you are a homeschooling parent, or a teacher of any kind, your
understanding of education will be enriched and enhanced by this insightful
book!
A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion
As the second book in the TJEd trio, this book brings new perspective
and breathes new life into the philosophies presented in the original
A Thomas Jefferson Education. Not only is this book co-written
by Oliver DeMille and his wife, Rachel, it also includes additional ideas
from Diann Jeppson, a major leader in the TJEd community.
While it’s clear that the DeMilles and Mrs. Jeppson have differing
teaching styles, each collaborator shows how TJEd principles can, and
should, be implemented in a customized manner that best serves the unique
home culture of different families. If parents aren’t careful with
the ideas behind TJEd, they can soon create a “TJEd Conveyor Belt” in
their homes, and the true principles of Leadership Education are lost.
This work is a reminder that parents are the only true experts in their
homes, and that TJEd does not look the same for every family. This idea
empowers parents in the decisions they make for their children, and
strengthens the creative spirit that TJEd engenders, if parents trust the
process and their own inspiration.
Home Companion also gives very concrete ideas and directions
for teaching life skills, building TJEd communities, and starting
children’s clubs. All the ideas are easily customizable and provide
a terrific “jumping off point” for parents who aren’t sure what to
do next. This is truly an essential book in the TJEd library!
Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning
If you read A Thomas Jefferson Education and you wondered what
to do next or how to do it, Leadership Education has the answers!
This is the third book in the TJEd “trilogy” and is an essential
addition to any home school or educational library.
Written by Dr. Oliver DeMille, along with his wife, Rachel (who is the
one in the trenches, after all), this book gives day to day examples of
what a Thomas Jefferson Education looks like in a modern home. It expands
on the concept of the Phases of Education, and gives parents and educators
the nuts and bolts of how to implement TJEd ideas in schools and homes.
This book has a real “can do” attitude about it, as it tries
to answer all the questions we conveyor-belt-educated parents asked after
reading the first book. Read this book to round out your understanding of how
Leadership Education really works!
