This book really opened my eyes and basically changed my entire thinking on education. It is not a long book, but I had to read it a couple times because it is so insightful to me.

Okay, so I have been reading a lot of reviews about this book. It seems that either you hate it or love it. Well let me say that on a very deep level this book has changed my life. I am a twenty-three year old woman, and I was home schooled using this method. If it is done properly I think it is the best way to raise a child. From the freedom I experienced when I was young to the long hours of study that I did when I was a teen, I loved it all. This book is a jewel and anyone who tells you different hasn't actually tried implementing the principles.

I have personally meet Dr. Demille, and he has got to be one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. If you have doubts about his credibility, just listen to him lecture for an hour, all doubts will be chased from your mind.

Don't just read this book, do what's in it. It will change your life.

Everyone should read this book. Many will agree our education system is messed up and this goes into the best way to fix it. But it's not only for those still in school, it's for everyone. Life is about learning new things, constantly, everyday, and when we're not learning wearing really failing. Our entire lives should be spent learning more and more. So let's get to it!

I've read some of the critical comments about this book from readers who didn't like it and all I can really say is they totally missed the entire point.

But if I were to expound on that I say if the writer could sum up the book in just a few words it would be: read often, read most everything, holding on to the good stuff, and do it for the rest of your life. He never said George Wythe college is the "end all be all" of education. He said the method they use there (and that he said can be found in some other schools, actually) is the best way for learning because it's not just about parroting the answers back to the teacher to get a good great. It's about actually learning. You do something, make mistakes, see what those mistakes are, correct them and do it all over again until you get it right and understand not only that it IS correct but understand HOW you got there so you can use that knowledge when and where it's applicable again.

And he never said this was the only school to go to. He said search out those schools that desire to truly education and not just train.

I agree with another reviewer, it's amazing how two people can read the exact same book and get polar opposite ideas from it.

Reread: July 2012.

Reread: May 2012. I think I got more out of this book this time around than any time so far. I absolutely love this book!


Reread: July 2011

Reread again: 11/26/2010. This book continues to empower and inspire me.

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I just finished rereading this book for the fifteenth... thirtieth time? I don't know.

I first read it about five years ago. It all started then. This book has had a profound affect on my life. The first thing it did for me was to introduce me to the classics. Before that point I had never had a good experience with school or a classic. I knew that I should want to read Shakespeare but believed that would never happen. I did just what DeMille suggested in his book. First I read Lonesome Gods, then I read Laddie, then I read the Chosen, then I read Jane Eyre. That's when I got it. The first three were really cool (okay I don't love Laddie let me interject) and I was happy I'd read something besides a Christian romance. I was making progress. But Jane Eyre. Wow! I knew then that a good classic makes all the difference. I loved it. I thought about it over and over. I had to have more. That was the beginning of the end. This book became the reason I even have a goodreads account. I bet 99% of all the books listed here on goodreads have all been read after this book. I actually had books to put on somewhere, to make a list somewhere. Since then there have been many Shakespeare's read several times, there's been Les Miserables, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Iliad, Ivanhoe, A Tale of Two Cities, etc. Wow. Wow. Wow! That's all I can say.

The second thing this book does for me is that it articulates a deep feeling inside of me that screams that I need to be a leader and so do my children. Ever since I was little I felt the need to do great things and to lead others. Maybe it's because I'm Type-A, a "red" personality, and bossy? This book gives me direction to something that is rooted so deep down inside of me.

I love that my husband and I are both on board with this powerful book. We've discussed this book at length for years now. He's read probably more classics than me now. He'd only ever even read a handful of books before this book. I'm so grateful we are on the same page.

A last powerful concept (for now) is regarding the principle of mentors. I didn't know what a mentor was before. I do now. I understand why I need one and how I can mentor my children.

There are many "how to" Thomas Jefferson books on the market now, but none have been has motivating and insightful as this original book. This book stands alone for me. It's filled with treasures. The other books are just nice for ideas.

I know many homeschooling moms don't connect with this book. I know some people are offended that it attacks professionalism. It appeals to me though because I never had a real education. Perhaps my views would be different if I'd had a real education.

Reread: 2/27/10

I read this book when I was considering alternative education for my kids. It gave me a vision and inspiration for the educational experience I wanted my children to have, one that they love. DeMille stresses the importance of an individualized education, of teaching children to think for themselves and question things, and the importance of mentoring your child in a way that inspires them. He also stresses the importance of reading the classics, and notes that there are "classics" in every field and interest. He presents the key stages of learning in this type of education: The Core Phase (ages 0-8) which focuses primarily on values and family life, the Love of Learning Phase (around 8-12) which focuses on exposure and exploration of a variety of subjects and natural skill-building based on the childs interests, the Scholar Phase (around 12-16) which gives the child both more responsibility and priveleges to study for long hours anything and everything with a passion(reading, essays, discussion groups, etc), and the Depth Phase (around 16-22) which is characterized by a drive to excell and refine their knowledge and skills by finding mentors who will help them to accomplish their life goals (college or individual mentoring with masters of certain fields). I really appreciated learning about this approach to education.

I bought this book earlier this week, and initially I was excited to read it. The early chapters were interesting to read as they explained his foundational ideas for what he would call a "leadership education" but his subsequent chapters on the application of his ideas were, in my opinion, lacking.
One disclaimer for this review, I faithfully read chapters 1-7 and all of the end materials, but skimmed chapters 8-9 because I was rather annoyed with the author by that point. Here are my take aways.

My positive take aways:
*I appreciated his emphasis on the idea that obtaining an education rests in the hands of the hands of the student. Teachers help facilitate, but ultimately it's up to the student to decide how to handle his or her education.
*His reminder to teachers (mentors) to engage in reading the classics with your student.
*His end notes and appendix lists have a small treasure trove of other books and authors which I'll be pursuing later.

My negative take aways:
*His tone and ideas about education seem, to me, both overly opinionated and half baked.
*He regularly contradicts himself
*He tells you that he is going to elaborate on an idea, then doesn't (chapter 5 was especially bad)
*He attempts to say what others have already said better. (See anything by Susan Wise Bauer or Mortimer Adler.)

But, the thing that bothered me the most was this: he never fully explained the context of Thomas Jefferson's education. I kept reading and expecting it to be just around the corner, but it never came. He certainly alluded to George Wythe and his tutoring of Jefferson and told us how great it was because it produced Jefferson the Statesman, but he never gave us the full context of this situation. If you're going to use this historical event as the basis of your educational platform, at least share the history that inspired you to do so. I guess the benefit of this deficit is that I'm off to read my husband's book of original writing by Thomas Jefferson.

This book has changed my life and improved the way I see parenting and gave me a conviction on the importance of homeschooling. It was so inspiring and good I bought it for my brother-in-law and best friend. Guess what the rest of my family will be getting for their next gifts? I recommend it to EVERY parent and future parent!

This book has changed the course of my life!

This book describes the foundation of the education I am trying to provide for my children (and myself as I prepare for the children).
I studied for a master's degree in public education and spent two years as a substitute teacher of grades K-4 in 48 different schools. From this I learned what I did NOT want for my children.

One of the questions I get asked about homeschooling is "what about their social life?" DeMille's response on page 28 gives voice to what I have felt but didn't know how to describe ... "What are you socializing them FOR?" I certainly did not want to socialize my children to be like the masses I encountered in those 48 public schools.

A few of my favorite quotes:
"Every person you have ever met is a genius. Everyone. Some of us have chosen not to develop it, but it is there." p.8

"The myth is that it is possible for one human being to educate another ... the fact is that the only person who can fix education is the student ... teachers teach and students educate. Students are the only true educators" p. 12

"The mentor must lead the way, by reading what the student reads, discussing it with him and requiring quality work." p. 53

"America cannot remain free, prosperous or moral unless the overall culture adopts a central text of the caliber of the Bible." p. 61

"The most challenging struggles of life are internal ... the classics deal with the real questions of life, our deepest concerns: joy, pain, fear, love, hate ... these issues are reality; they are eternal and more lasting than jobs, school, material things" p. 63

Author DeMille has identified the limits of current public education, and the unnecessary expense involved. He promotes the importance to the world of a return to the classic educations that 'great' men and women of the past received. They were mentored in the classic works written by the great men and women of all generations previous to them. He makes the point that we need to return to this tried-and-tested formula to continue into the future with more great men and women. His thinking is sound in some respects but flawed in others. Not every 'great' man or woman did receive an education of this sort (example: George Washington). And of course, as a public school teacher, I agree wholeheartedly with the premise that too much emphasis is on the assembly line mentality, wherein test scores are all that matters; however, also as a teacher, I disagree with his argument that home schooling is the answer in most situations. A provocative read, to be sure.

I give this three starts, instead of two, because the first chapters of the book are inspiring. As a veteran home schooling parent, reading it motivated me to take a look at the classics with more commitment than I have before. For years I've used literature-based unit studies in our home school but haven't really thought about the education the Founding Fathers received. I liked the springboard to thought DeMille offered, though I thought the book could have been an essay for a lot cheaper--it went on and on, and I don't buy the section on college at all. I think the college viewpoint is completely naive and would derail a person to the point of being a popper if followed. Being an autodidact is the key, no matter what you want to call it. The term 'statesman' didn't set well with me and I'd like a better synonym for the concept--one that didn't exclude half the population by current definitions and one that didn't have such a political undercurrent. But reading this book would certainly put a new homeschooler onto some valuable paths, especially if they didn't buy into the whole package.

I wanted to love this book, but the more I read it, the more uncomfortable I felt with some of the ideas. It has some points and suggestions that I felt were positive, such as giving kids real-world experience, encouraging them to pursue their passions with positive mentors, and the importance of reading from classics. The rest of it felt a little too extreme for me. As a parent, I will take some of those suggestions that I felt good about and let go of the opinions that my own instincts didn't agree with. I think there should be a healthy balance between letting students map their own learning (as the author advocates) and giving them some structure and direction (which is something I believe all children need).