by Oliver DeMille “As Father had taught him, he did not believe the first explanation his mind leapt to. ‘It will often be right, and as you get more experience of life is will usually be right. But it will never be reliably right, and [...]
by Oliver and Rachel DeMille Roses are red, violets are blue; getting a great education is fun for you. It… tastes like chicken. It… [fill in your favorite cliché here…] But seriously, some areas of success hinge on one set of skills or [...]
by Rachel DeMille Beginning Again A favorite movie has a scene where one of the characters has lost his way, and, following the counsel of a trusted advisor, he goes "back to the beginning." It is there, he knows, that he will find his guide [...]
When you're right, you're right. Out of the mouths of babes...
by Oliver DeMille Inspire Recently our married daughter got involved in a discussion we were having online with some friends about the meaning of "Inspire". She commented that in her experience (and being raised in the heart of TJEd, she has a really unique and [...]
A recent TEdx talk was given by 11 year old homeschooler Logan LaPlante. He argues (among many, many other wonderful points) that "education" too often asks kids to define "what they want be when they grow up," without abilifying them to be happy. Logan likens [...]
The longer Rachel and I apply the 7 Keys and other principles of TJEd, the clearer it becomes to us that modern society has made four dangerous mistakes. Since I prefer to emphasize the positive, I consider them four opportunities to do things better than [...]
Mortimer Adler, who assembled the Great Books of the Western World collection, wrote a great deal about education. One of his most important contributions is his discussion about the three kinds of teaching. Three Systems of Teaching 1) First is what he calls “Didactic Instruction.” [...]
By Oliver DeMille There is an excellent book by John F. Heath entitled, When Bright Kids Can’t Learn: How New Brain Research Can Help Your Child. I highly recommend it. Perhaps the most significant contribution of the book, at least for me, is the idea [...]
By Oliver DeMille During the last decade a number of books on education have promoted the need to put freedom back into our schools. I have long called this the Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd) approach to learning, and I have enjoyed the many books and [...]
