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The TJEd Times | Volume 1, Issue 1

The TJEd Times

October 27, 2007

A Publication of The Thomas Jefferson Education Consortium

Welcome to the very first issue of the TJEd Times! Please take your time, look around, and enjoy yourself. We hope you’ll find something you can take away to help inspire the education in your home.

In This Issue

Message from the Editors

We are happy to present to you the inaugural issue of the TJEd Times! Our purpose in creating this newsletter (as with all of TJEd.org) is to support parents, unify families, promote the principles of TJEd, and nurture those families who are striving to implement them. If you think of ways in which we can better accomplish this, please let us know.

To always make sure you look forward to each newsletter, we will be offering you a new free gift each month. It’s just our way of saying “Thank You” for subscribing and trusting us with your E-mail address. We appreciate that trust, and you can rest assured that we will never share your personal information with any third party. You'll find more information about this issue’s free gift later in this issue.

Thanks for being a part of the TJEd community. We need each other to make these principles work, and the more of us there are, the easier it becomes. We look forward to serving your family with lots of TJEd resources and ideas, and as always, please send any suggestions or comments to newsletter@tjed.org. We look forward to hearing from you.

Russell & Rachel Keppner

The Thomas Jefferson Education Consortium

Calendar of Events

Building a Village, Not an Ivory Tower

By Rachel Keppner

Since I have immersed myself in the TJEd “lifestyle,” and abandoned the “conveyor belt,” I have been doing my best to travel along the path to scholarship and freedom of thought. Yet, at times I have found myself moving toward lofty heights that confuse my mission/goals and side-track my priorities.

With all of the knowledge I am getting, what am I gaining? As I ask myself this question, a proverb comes to mind, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

I have heard these “lofty heights” described as an “Ivory Tower,” and though I have felt its appeal, I have come to see it as more of a temptation, rather than a goal. One source describes it as such: “The term Ivory Tower designates a world or atmosphere where intellectuals engage in pursuits that are disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday life. As such, it has a pejorative connotation , denoting a willful disconnect from the everyday world ...and academic elitism, if not outright condescension by those inhabiting the proverbial ivory tower.”

How does an “ivory tower,” such as the one described above, fit into my own mission? That’s not where I want to be! We are seeking greatness, but once we find it, what do we use it for? I am studying and learning to help my family, to fulfill my mission, and to help others, not to place myself above anyone else!

“...with all thy getting, get understanding...”

Finish reading this article at TJEd.org

Thomas Jefferson Education Basic Training™ Course

The number one question asked by parents after being introduced to the TJEd principles is “But how do I do it?” I’ve heard it dozens of times, but I’ve never had a really good answer to give the person who asked. Especially since every home is different, and therefore TJEd will look somewhat different in each home. It’s really hard to give helpful advice to someone new. Truthfully, I think creating an environment of leadership education in your home is as much a process of personal discovery as education, but how are you supposed to begin that journey?

Well, Diann Jeppson and Jodie Palmer saw this glaring need in the TJEd community, and then they went to work. (That’s statesmanship in action!) What they have created is, in my opinion, the best thing since Dr. DeMille’s A Thomas Jefferson Education. Here is a course that walks you step-by-step through the process of beginning your own education, but doesn’t make the mistake of telling you what to think. That’s a hard line to walk, but TJEd Basic Training™ does an excellent job of it. TJEd Basic Training™ is the perfect jump-start for new homeschoolers and excellent for re-inspiring the veteran.

NEW! For the first time ever, the comprehensive parents guide and 14 CD’s worth of audio are available exclusively from the TJEd Consortium in a digital subscription format—you can pay for the program as you go along, making installments every two weeks, rather than having to come up with the total price up front. Best of all, there is no waiting, and there are no shipping costs.

Read more about TJEd Basic Training™ at TJEd.org

The Writer’s Road to Finding Mission

By Russell Keppner

The one TJEd concept that has most intrigued me is that of mission. I have a unique mission that I am on earth to fulfill, and that is the purpose of my life. Everything else I’ve studied falls into place under that single overarching idea. My life has meaning, and I have a work to perform. That’s both truly comforting and terribly disturbing, carrying a message of inspiration and huge responsibility. I have a work to do that is mine alone, and if it dies with me, it goes undone. Of course, the same is true of you. Have you personally begun to uncover the meaning of your life? But more important, are you taking the steps necessary to accomplish that mission? I tend to think that most of us have a long way to go on this path called mission. I certainly do! But just knowing that I have a mission and that it’s my job to discover it and accomplish it gives a great deal of focus and power to the things I choose to do.

I recently attended a talk given by Dr. Shannon Brooks to our group here in Arizona, where he spent some time discussing the nature of mission. In it he paraphrased Aristotle’s definition of virtue: something is virtuous when it does the thing for which it was created (e.g. a pair of scissors is virtuous when they cut a clean straight line). If we apply that definition to ourselves, we are presented with the question, “Am I accomplishing the purpose for which I was created?” And that question leads straight to another question. “What was I created to do?” That is the quest, to find the answer to what is both the most personal and yet most universal of questions. Answer that question and you find your mission. Find your mission, and everything else falls into place.

So how do you find your mission? I’m not sure I can really answer that question, at least not for anyone other than myself. For me, the answer came through writing. When I first climbed out of the box (you know, the one everyone always tells you to think outside of), I discovered so many possible courses of action that I was completely overwhelmed. Where before I saw only a few options, now there were too many to choose from. It’s like coming to the world’s biggest buffet, but you only get one plate. There are so many incredible-looking options, but you can only try so much. I was stuck, not wanting to continue the way I had been going, but afraid to pick the wrong thing. (That conveyor belt training sure does a good job of instilling a fear of failure, doesn’t it?) Over the course of four or five years, I probably came up with fifteen or twenty different ideas of what I should be doing with my life. However, I only acted on about two of them, and even then I quit pretty quickly.

I finally got some advice from my mentor. She suggested that I go someplace where I could be alone for a few days, just to mull things over. She also gave me a technique I have used a number of times since then: write at least three pages, and by the end you’ll have your answer. Even if you have to start by writing something like “I’m sitting here on this uncomfortable camp chair writing about nothing, and I don’t even know why,” by the time you get to the end of the third page, you’ll have your answer. Oddly, it’s worked for me every time.

Finish reading this article at TJEd.org

Currently In Discussion

Each month we highlight one of the conversations taking place on the discussion forums at TJEd.org. Over the past four years, a great many questions have been asked, and the community at large has offered a wealth of great answers, which now serve as an excellent resource for those just starting out.

If you have a question you’re trying to answer, please take a look through the archives, or just jump right in and post it so that others can give you feedback. Part of leadership education is joining the Great Conversation, so just think of this as the first step.

kemi13 wrote:

I spent this past summer reading about TJEd. I found it fascinating and also realized that we are already using this method in many ways.

I am struggling with the idea of having my children study what they are interested in. Here is an example. My nine-year-old son and I just spent almost an hour practicing his violin. He loves to play. I also love working with him because before I became a stay-at-home mom, I was an accomplished musician and music teacher.

I know how beneficial playing an instrument is to the student’s overall development. We had so much fun, I was excited, he was excited. It was great!

I am struggling with spending such a large amount of time on music when he is not very good at reading, spelling and handwriting. Do I trust that developing his skills as a musician will spill over into improving his reading/spelling/handwriting skills? I won’t totally ignore his reading/writing/handwriting skills, but how much do I push him since he wouldn’t choose to do them on his own? Or better stated, how do I inspire him in these areas that are so difficult for him?

Read the rest of this question and its answers at TJEd.org

Our Free Gift to You

Every month we like to show our subscribers how much we appreciate them by offering a small token of our affection. It’s just our way of giving back and encouraging you to keep reading the TJEd Times. We hope you enjoy it.

This month we’d like to give you a copy of the talk we (Rachel & Russell) gave at the last Salt Lake City TJEd Forum, put on by AYLI, titled Your TJEd Home is Unique: Build on Your Strengths! We originally gave this address in Salt Lake in March, but this recording was made on September 22 in Pima, Arizona, to a much smaller audience. Here’s the description:

A Thomas Jefferson Education looks different in every home—and yours is no exception! Each family, whether large or small, has unique needs, ideas, and traditions, but sometimes, as parents, we try so hard to follow the “right way to do TJEd,” that we lose sight of those things in our homes that work! You have to develop our own style of TJEd—one designed specifically for your home. In this workshop we explore ways of creating a unique family culture, and do our best to convince you that you are the expert in your home and the only one capable of determining the best way to inspire your children. However, we share our own ideas, as well as those of others, to really get your creative juices flowing. Whether you are new to TJEd, or whether it’s just time for a little rejuvenation, this workshop will help you set realistic goals and make plans that will nurture and enhance the leadership education in your home.

We hope this presentation helps you in your efforts to adapt TJEd principles to your individual home. Remember, as Dr. DeMille likes to say so often, “You are the expert in your own home.” Use this and all the other great TJEd materials out there to build the unique family culture you want for your home. Just click on the following link to download it now.

Download MP3 Audio File

There is one minor catch, though—you need a password to download your gift, and the password is “hidden” somewhere in the content of this issue, and you may have to actually click through to the complete articles to find what you’re looking for.

Here’s the clue to this issue’s password. What was the name of the family helped by the Woodlawns in Magical Melons? When you go to download your gift, you’ll need the answer to that question. It’s pretty easy to find, however. Good hunting.

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Copyright © 2007 Thomas Jefferson Education Consortium. All Rights Reserved.