To be read over and over and over. These are true educational principles to be applied to any method of education.
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TJEd Review June 2011

WARNING, CONTENTS HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE!



Despite the fact that nobody could possibly live by, let alone remember all the trendy numbers people use these days to name their ideas (the Seven Keys, the 5 Pillars, the 7 Habits, 5 things……..and on and on to about 1,234,569,873)—okay, okay, I actually do remember the Seven Keys and the 5 Pillars, but you get what I’m saying. Or, at least, back to what I was saying, despite the gimmicky number thingy, this is still, far and away, the best book elucidating WHY to consider a different sort of education for your children (and yourself).

Some highlights and comments:

Hands-down my favorite statement of all time (concerning education):

-“Is the education our children are receiving on par with their potential?” (7) And I add to that, or with their need?

And if not, why not do something about it?

-“Greatness isn’t the work of a few geniuses, it is the purpose of each of us. It is why we were born. Every person is a genius. Everyone. Some of us have chosen not to develop, but it is there. It is in us. All of us…How can we settle for less than the best education?” (8)

Why am I contentedly mediocre? I ask myself that in all seriousness. Why am I? Well, really I’m not all the way (contented, I mean to say), but often I’m too lazy to do too much about it. I’m too tired. I have to cook dinner. I have to put kids to bed. I have to blah blah blah. C.S. Lewis said (In “Learning in Wartime” that if we always put things off until a better time—like, after the war—we’d never do anything worth doing. I remind myself of that bit of wisdom quite often and still I don’t always follow through.) I’m trying to get back into the habit and renew the effort and get a move on (and surely other clichés as well) this summer.

At any rate, back to the book. I can see the genius in my children and rather than let it be stamped out, I want to foster it and watch it ignite. Sometimes I so wish I could see the future, because I’m just certain they will be so far from mediocre!

-“Myth: It is possible for one person to educate another.” (12)

Nope. Sadly, it’s up to us as individuals. Teachers are to teach and inspire, but students have to choose to learn. Dang, can’t someone else just dump it in? And force me to retain it? No fair.

-“Application to the real world is essential; no education is complete, or even particularly valuable, unless the student uses what he or she has learned to serve the community, family, society & God.” (38)

From the time I can remember, sitting in my public school classrooms, I thought, on many subjects: “what in the world does this have to do with real life?” Or, “Why would I ever need this information?” Or, “I just don’t believe you that I’ll need to know (xyz) to survive.” Sound familiar? I was never taught application or the answers to most of those questions. Sure, some of those things I retained have come in handy here and there, but unless I really care about the inhabitants of Mozambique or the health of the rivers in Ecuador, it makes no difference if I know the capital city of said former country or even where on the map said latter country is. The goal of education perhaps ought not to be “stuff as much, well, stuff, in so we can get passing test scores, get into college and get a good managerial job” but a sense of humanity, a sense of unity and a sense of citizenship in the world. Not only a sense of those things, but a willingness to serve and make the place better.

-“Leadership is a choice.” (117) Not an inborn gift. It takes willingness to get out and do. (Instead of stay in and watch!)

“…it is hard to study the classics and find mentors. We are busy…but if we are too busy to study….& to apply…we are too busy to stay free, too busy to secure the blessings of liberty.” (134—emphasis added)

As I’ve pondered the statement above I’ve had a few thoughts. How many people out there need to be well-educated (as opposed to highly trained), coupled with a drive to serve and do good, in order to maintain the freedoms (ever-diminishing) that we yet enjoy? Sadly, more than there are—as we can see by how politicos, the media, scientists, and rock/movie stars can get us to believe anything they want. It’s not enough to ask our better informed friends and neighbors who or what to vote for (although perhaps as a start that’s better than not voting if we don’t understand the issue anyway). It’s not enough for me to rely solely on my husband’s feelings about worldly matters, no matter how much I wish I could. The thought makes me almost gag, I hate politics. But I love freedom and I have to know what I need to know to be a force for liberty instead of a herded, genetically modified, force-fed, heavily-medicated (and overweight) cow.

One of the most significant points in this book is a quotation by someone who wonders what happened to the type of education that produced “great souls” instead of drones. When I can see it in their eyes—my children and the children (and adults) I come across daily—those fledgling souls, destined, pre-mortally prepared for greatness, I get all excited inside and the possibilities and then I cringe at the thought of what we do to them to squash that potential so flat. I do it every day. Sick! But I’m trying. I’m working on becoming what I’m meant to be. I’m trying to be inspiring and my family gets to watch me fail and win, and repent and get up again. And I hope that they’ll be willing to do the same. I want my great soul, and theirs, to SHINE so brightly, that none question that we are indeed, different—but GOOD. And to ask us how and why….

BTW, this is not directed to anyone real or historical, just at ME. Call it a self-appraising review. As Tony Horton sort of says, “[take out] the best, and forget the rest.”

This book is the ramblings of a man without actual data to back it up. I try to find one positive takeaway from every book. The overall premise that reading the classics, having open deep discussions with a mentor, and being held to high academic standards is good. Using this as the sole way to educate someone is where I disagree. His example about learning Spanish by reading Don Quixote it it’s original format will not make someone fluent in Spanish. They’ll likely get good at translating from Spanish to English though. Languages need to be heard, preferably from native speakers, otherwise you’ll internalize improper pronunciation. How is someone who has never heard Spanish supposed to learn it like a native from translation? They’ll likely pronounce the words in the way of their native tongue. This is only one example of the points that make little sense after you apply a modicum of critical thinking. Nevermind the fact that Thomas Jefferson wasn’t educated in the manner the author is suggesting until he was in his teens. His early years filled with private tutors.

After deciding that I would begin homeschooling my children this fall, I bought this book and several others as to better understand various educational/homeschooling styles. This one resonates with me the most. It defines several characteristics of my "conveyor belt" education that I hadn't before put a finger on as bothersome but now agree that they needn't have been a part of my education. I still consider myself an educated person, but I definitely learned to do the bare minimum for the A (or B) grade and not necessarily learn the subject unless I felt like it. I didn't really understand my learning style until I was struggling in college. And I didn't pursue reading for pleasure until I was already married and on bedrest with my first child (I had some time on my hands). Now, with the help of the principles in the Thomas Jefferson Education system, I hope to instill a love of learning in my children. They already love reading, so we should be able to work together to focus on the classics. I can tell there will be a strong learning curve in some things (like scheduling time, not content), but I believe that by homeschooling with good mentors and good books and basing our school on our family's "national book" (the Holy Bible), I can better facilitate these goals. I agree with the author that it is up to us to prepare our children to be the future leaders our country needs. I may not subscribe to this method 100% and forsake all other means of education, but I do think TJed will be our foundation.

With the emphasis on STEM and the abandonment of a proper liberal arts education, we, as a nation, have become the most highly trained, but least educated. This has come at a great disservice to our culture and the next generation in our care. What if children were instead inspired to greatness like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were inspired by their mentors? What if we emphasized virtue and statesmanship when educating the young? The reading of classics and a robust mentorship program serve as the foundation of a Thomas Jefferson education. This is a guide I hope to emulate in my own home - for my betterment and the education of my four children. At the very least this book provides a helpful list of classics for children, youth, and adults to read and discuss.

Well damn, I've been doing it all wrong. I've always envied those at book discussions that appeared to be so into the book like they were there. They knew the author personally. They lived with each character. They became the characters. I want my children to be educated because they are inspired to be. I want my children to take any information and be able to apply without instruction. I want my children to work well in communities and in groups to solve whatever, regardless of size, that needs to be solved. Thomas Jefferson Education method speaks volumes and makes complete sense. When starting this book, I was like, how in the world am I to simply study classics. I read all day everyday. It's one of my favorite pass times bit I've never picked up on how to read, study, and learn from the classics. Even though I had to wait till the appendix to learn how to put "Thomas Jefferson Education to Work", the light bulb went off and the path illuminated of how I can do this. Only thing I'm left wondering is how the early years work. Planning re-read very soon. Very soon.

I really liked this book - I agree so much with his assessment of the current education system. However, I am very guarded against people who claim they have found "THE" way to educate. I don't believe there is only one way - I believe that each child is different and can learn and be taught in different ways. I do really like his idea for using the mentoring style, and I think I will use it quite a bit. I also really like the classics and I agree we can gain so much from them, however, I don't think the classics are the end-all. But it has sure sparked an interest in me to pick up the classics again. So, I definitely recommend reading this book, it is very enlightening and has some good ideas for teaching.

Recommended to me by a friend, I was intrigued by the title. I understood the concepts taught therein, but it was harder for me to think how to implement an education style like that for younger children. I stuck with Well Trained Mind, but may go more toward that direction of teaching as they get a little older. I loved the concept though of Leadership training and the importance of statesmanship and am now a student of George Wythe College.

Highly recommend. One of, if not the best book I've read on education.

I had no idea what to expect with this book except that I knew I wanted to learn more about its homeschool “commonwealth” program that partners with its education methods. That being said I really enjoyed it! The idea that classic books and mentoring can add such depth and meaning to the soul was so refreshing. Especially because I struggle to read “old” books thanks to the bad habit my brain has gotten into by being quickly entertained by social media, etc. I love the overall ideas in this book and can’t wait to dive into some great classic book discussions and have my integrity muscles strengthened!

Highly motivating to study the classics for myself so that I can then mentor my children. I found it especially helpful to redefine what the classics are to me. I loved the chapter on national books/reasons to study the classics.

I read "A Thomas Jefferson Education" for a book club. I had never heard of the book and didn't really know what to expect...except that when I got it from the library I was surprised at how short it was - for some reason I had expected it to be longer.

I was immediately turned off by the first chapter - the story about the child that goes to kindergarten and has all this creativity and then it is sucked out of him by the merciless kindergarten teacher, leaving him colorless and un-creative. I nearly stopped reading altogether. I suppose the author intended for it to be an attention grabber, however I felt it was overly dramatic and a harsh representation of kindergarten teachers. I have known many marvelous public school teachers, and I immediately felt defensive.

I agree with what could be considered the author's main philosophies. I think that mentoring is one (but not the only) great way to learn. I believe that there is much truth to be found in classics. However I disagreed with many other statements and conclusions that he makes in this book.

First, the author states many times that if you want to use this method, this book is the only resource you need. But I think that if I really wanted to use the TJE method to teach my children, I would need much more than this. A friend uses the supplemental materials, and she seemed to have a much deeper understanding of the process. And I felt that after her explanations, I understood his method much better. So he should state, "This book and the supplemental workbooks are all you need to implement this method."

One of the author's theories is that this private mentoring education was used by aristocrats in past centuries as educational method of choice, and so we should continue to use this method because it was used by the elite, and it produced some great leaders such as Thomas Jefferson. However, I am not sure that it was purely this educational method that produced the great mind of Thomas Jefferson and others. I think that in great leaders there is already a lot of innate genius. And I also think that the argument "this is the way the aristocrats were taught" is an extremely poor argument - it seems to me that aristocrats were historically out of touch with the common man's plight, making them poor leaders.

I was quite disturbed by what I felt was an overgeneralization the author made in regards to learning to read. He states that "late readers are life long readers", and gives the example of his son who didn't learn to read until quite late, but now is an avid reader. Marc Fey of University of Kansas has done multiple literacy studies, and has found that there is a literacy window (that closes around age 5), and that children that do not gain age appropriate literacy skills by then almost never catch up. I am sure that because the author and his wife are educators, his son was provided with the most nurturing of literacy environments for his entire life. My concern is that people reading this book will only remember "late readers are life long readers" and not provide necessary literacy opportunities, leaving kids who never really learn to read.

When I finished this book, I searched for some reviews on this book to see what other professional educators thought about these theories. I was concerned about the lack of peer review on this book. What I did find was a review from a reader on Amazon.com that seriously discredited the author. I don't immediately believe anything I find posted on the internet, but it did raise questions in my mind.

I would like to see more studies done on the effectiveness of his methods, or at least some peer review of his work, before I would consider it a valid method for education.

There are a lot of problems with this book unfortunately, especially since the author put Thomas Jefferson's name on it. It was a bit disappointing to find this book so lacking. It doesn't actually advocate what Jefferson actually did for education neither what he called a good education.

Learn science by reading Isaac Newton, his original works? Well, not a real good idea since it would take so long to get to the point where you read modern science and learn about all the ideas that were wrong about his thoughts - don't get me wrong, my favorite books in college had snippets of history in them, but they didn't require me to know all the vast history of science and start me out where the understanding of science is as good as it is today.

I don't recall all my objections at the moment while I'm writing this. But some more thorough objections can be found here and here.

Here is some of the hoopla that went down with the author who is apparently not all that honest himself.

Some better sources to learn from for education (I haven't heard about all of those below so I can't endorse them myself):

Beyond that, I recommend the book The Well-Trained Mind. However, there are many other good approaches to homeschooling and good curricula to use, so some googling is definitely in order (start with Sonlight, Charlotte Mason, unit studies, Montessori, Horizons, and the Rainbow Resource catalog and work from there).