I was reading the articles for the George Wythe Radio Hour and was especially affected by the one entitled, “Seven Reasons to Study the Classics”, by Oliver DeMille.

In the article he quotes extensively from Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind. In analyzing American education, Bloom’s book has three major points. First, societies are successful when people choose to be good. Second, people choose to be good when they are taught and believe in good. And third, the thing which determines how well they are taught is their national books.

A national book is something that almost everyone in the nation accepts as a central truth. This raises the question; does America today have a national book? Dr. DeMille concurs with Bloom that while America once held the Declaration of Independence and the Bible as national books this is no longer true.

“In fact, there is no true national book in America today. No national books means no culture; and this is very ominous for the future. Any society which loses its national book declines and collapses in ignorance, dwindles and perishes in unbelief. In Bloom’s own words: ‘The loss of the gripping inner life vouchsafed those who were nurtured by the Bible must be primarily attributed not to our schools or political life, but to the family, which, with all its rights to privacy, has proved unable to maintain any content of its own…The delicate fabric of the civilization into which the successive generations are woven has unraveled, and children are raised, not educated…

‘People sup together, play together, travel together, but they do not think together. Hardly any homes have any intellectual life whatsoever, let alone one that informs the vital interests of life. Educational TV marks the high tide for family intellectual life.

‘The cause of this decay of the family’s traditional role as the transmitter of tradition is the same as that of the decay of the humanities: nobody believes that the old books do, or even could, contain the truth…In the United States, practically speaking, the Bible was the only common culture, one that united simple and sophisticated, rich and poor, young and old, and provided access to the seriousness of books. With its gradual and inevitable disappearance, the very idea of such a total book and the possibility and necessity of world-explanation is disappearing. And fathers and mothers have lost the idea that the highest aspiration they might have for their children is for them to be wise – as priest, prophets or philosophers are wise. Specialized competence and success are all that they can imagine.”

These paragraphs were a shocking wake up call for me. I realized that my family has fallen into this trap. We eat together, play and travel together but we don’t think together. In my efforts to teach my children I am still holding specialized competence and success as my goal.
This past weekend I attended the Advanced TJEd Conference. At this conference I heard Dr. Andrew Groft speak on the Liberal Arts and the difference between Education and Training. He spoke of Education being related to Freedom and Specialization being related to Wealth. He emphasized that both are important and good. With Education we are Free to pursue Specialization and Wealth. With Wealth comes Security. You can have one without the other but he cautioned us to be careful not to give up Freedom for Security. As I struggle to find the way to use the Leadership Education model in my home I need to remember the difference between Education and Training. I need to help my children become educated rather than settling for “raising them right”.

This is the first reason Dr DeMille gives for studying classics, “We need a national book to maintain our morality and civilization; and a nation that doesn’t regularly read good books, think about important ideas, or consider the big picture, is not capable of adopting or following a national book.” While I am reading good books to my children we need to get to the point that we think about them and the important ideas that they introduce and consider how these ideas affect our big picture. “First we are caused to think about the characters in the story, then about ourselves, then about people we know and finally about humanity in general. At first reading the classics can be a chore, an assignment. If we persist, it eventually becomes entertainment. Then one day (after a few weeks for some, perhaps years for another) something clicks; all the exposure to greatness reaches critical mass. And you, the reader, awaken. Your exposure to greatness changes you: Your ideas are bigger, your dreams wilder, your plans more challenging, your faith more powerful.”

I’m excited to begin this new school year with a new goal, one that requires me to stretch and grow again. I will do my best to set the example for my family and lead out. It will take more time, more effort on my part to instigate the conversations, to find ways to get my family thinking together. But it is important, essential, if our family is to enjoy both Freedom and Security that we learn from good books, this in turn helping us make good choices, leading eventually to being part of a good society.

“I fear that modernity has come to mean ignoring what is important because we are too busy with what is immediate. Nietzsche said that the difference between modern and ancient times is that modern man substitutes that morning newspaper for morning prayer. Bloom adds that now we have replaced the newspaper with the television. Too often we focus on the mortal rather than the eternal: this is a disease of modern times.

“The classics are a remedy and can be a cure. They force us to turn off the TV and computer, to quietly study for hours and hours and hours-reading, pondering, thinking, asking, crying, laughing, struggling, and above all, feeling, changing, becoming. And then, because we are better, we must go out and serve.”

Tammy Smith

Seven Reasons to Study the Classics, Oliver DeMille, The Statesman, Volume 4, Issue 3, July 2000 http://newsletter.gw.edu/pre/july2000.pdf

My Mission

I found it interesting, and several of my family members commented on the fact, that I stood for a different mission than I had the first time I heard Dr. DeMille give the lecture on missions.

I've recently spent a lot of time working toward my midwifery degree only to find that right now it no longer has the pull it used to have. I still plan on finishing, I'm so close and have spent so much time, but I'm not sure that my mission really lies in that direction.

As time goes by and we learn new things we gain a new perspective on our missions. I'm sure that my midwifery experience and education will influence who I become over time but I don't know that it is the end of my journey.

For now I'm still searching and pondering what my mission might be. I feel like the third type of student in the article from The Statesman:

"Type 3 is the What Should I Do? student. Should I read this book? Should
I write this paper, should I change mentors? Should I study or work or
play today? The "what should I do" student will choose to submit to a
mentor one day and the next go back to the drawing board. They are unfocused and
noncommittal, making it difficult to get a quality education, because they
constantly vacillate back and forth."

My son, Christopher, was reading The Great Divorce, by CS Lewis. I haven't read it and was asking him about it and discussing his thoughts. He said that it is about heaven and hell and that it is more painful to face who you really are and start changing than to just pretend all is well and return to life as normal. But that as we change and walk forward it gets easier and less painful.

Realizing that I have qualities of the Type 3 Student is the first painful step of self evaluation and hopefully a step toward becoming a Type 1 Student. I am becoming a real believer in the principle of "you not them". If I don't have a purpose, a mission, how can I set that example for my children?

The best news is that as we muddle through, trying is better than not. Christopher is thriving at GWC, he's sought out a mentor relationship this summer and is reading and writing things that I
couldn't have gotten him to at home. I've done something right and it gives me hope that I'm on the right track.

I'm grateful for those of you who are joining me in the journey to build leaders here in Alaska. Thank you for being my friends and my examples.

Tammy

Who Are You?

When considering the principle of “You- Not Them” it’s easy to get overwhelmed since most of our plates are already very full. Most of us are already juggling the roles of parent, spouse, provider, sibling, friend, and teacher. The list goes on and on. Now we're supposed to add passionate student? How and where do we fit that in?

Might I suggest that we stop and ask not how to apply the principle “You – Not Them”, but who are “You”?

“You – Not Them” implies that you know who “You” are. Do you? If you’ve read the basics of the 7 Keys of Great Teaching you know that when discussing the principle of “You – Not them” Oliver DeMille says things like, “Focus on your education, and invite them along for the ride” and “A parent or teacher does not have to be an expert to inspire great education, but he does have to be setting the example”.

If you read further in Dr. DeMille’s new book, Leadership Education you will read what this education you’re supposed to be getting actually is.

“The very essence of education is to learn of one’s mission and pursue it. Buddha reportedly said: ‘Your purpose in life is to find your purpose in life, and then to give your whole heart and soul to it’.
Mission is the reason we need education, the goal for which we learn, and the place where we apply what we have learned. A vision, a direction, a mission, a purpose – these are education. Everything else is a footnote.”

So to do “You – Not Them” you need to know who “You” are. What is your Vision, your Mission, your Purpose? Dr. DeMille continues by saying, “When we tap into the power of our unique mission and purpose, we will discover ‘wind beneath our wings’ that propels, sustains and directs us through our life.”

I submit that as we find a vision, discover our mission, truly come to understand who the “You” is in “You – Not Them” this principle will become easier and the how will become clear.

Tammy Smith

Purpose, Meaning, Mission

Each of us has a life mission. We are led on this mission usually not fully understanding what it is. And how are we led? I believe we are led by our interests and our good desires. Things that really bring us joy (not just fleeting happiness) are in line with our life mission. But how does this fit in with the "You Not Them" principle?

Concerning education; as YOU learn what YOU need to know for YOUR mission in life, your children will do the same. However, if you try to learn or teach them what THEY need to know for THEIR mission in life, THEY will resist. Pretty simple.

Remember that just because you enjoy mathematics does not necessarily mean your children will, but if you study it because you get joy from it, they will study what they get joy from, thus leading them on their life mission. It may be that Bobby doesn't need near as much math as Susan to fulfill his life mission.

If your children learn what true joy is and they love learning, (because they see that you love learning) they will see their own education gaps and they will set out to learn everything they need to know.

No, Really...It's about YOU

It really is about YOU. So I've learned something. 'You Not Them' simply means YOU. YOU start learning, YOU start loving learning, YOU start filling in the gaps of YOUR education...not with the hopes that your kids will follow, not with the desire to set a good example. You do it because you WANT to.

I started a men only book discussion group and I've been working hard reading and scanning books for us to read as a group...and I've hated every moment. Finally, yesterday I put away all the "men" books I was attempting to make mean something to this group and read "The Phantom of the Opera", not because I thought it would be a good reading for the group, but simply because I wanted to. I enjoyed myself immensely and learned much more than I had the last few weeks. I realized that it truly is about ME and it is about YOU, not them. Now instead of picking books I think will teach a good moral to the men in the group, I now will pick books that interest me and ask them to pick books that interest them. And because I will be focusing on ME not them, I believe that all of us will learn much more and get much more out of our discussions.

You, Not Them??? (Amy)

"In reality, you are unlikely to pass on to your children a better education than you have earned yourself, no matter how much you push them..." (A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille page 53). That hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I read it. And then it scared me. Many times I feel like I'm faking it. I've read a lot of books and got good grades in school, but I've always felt like my education has been lacking. My desire to homeschool came from wanting my children to get more than I did. Now I read this book that tells me "The most effective way to ensure the quality of their education is to consistently improve your own." (A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille page 53).

So here I am. Focusing on "You, Not Them". As a mother this is not natural. We don't have permission to focus on ourselves. That's lunacy. But as I look at my family I think I see a glimpse of how this works.

My husband is a pilot. He LOVES aviation. That's all he ever wanted to do. Now he's a pilot in the Air Force. Guess what my children love? Aviation, planes, flying, you name it. He's passionate about it and so are they. And that is natural. There is no feigned interest so that maybe they'll find an interest in it. This passion is real. That is what happens when your children see you so involved in something.

So wouldn't it stand to reason that if I'm passionate about learning, say about government, that my children would be too? Hey, you're right! I do love learning about government and so does my 12 year old son! He even aced his Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge for Boy Scouts!

Interesting... Maybe there is something to this "You, Not Them" thing.