A Thomas Jefferson Education

Discuss unschooling, eclectic, the unit study approach, or any other "unusual" homeschooling method.

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Amybass
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A Thomas Jefferson Education

Postby Amybass » Fri May 11, 2007 1:32 pm

Is anyone using the Thomas Jefferson Education method? I am very curious about using it and would love to hear some experiences. Thanks, Amy

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Re: A Thomas Jefferson Education

Postby StellarStory » Wed May 16, 2007 7:55 pm


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Postby CaithO » Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:57 pm

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Re: A Thomas Jefferson Education

Postby janaleigh » Wed May 13, 2009 12:30 pm

Jana marriend to Mike 20 Years
2 Sons, ages 15 and 17
Homeschooling 7+ years
http://www.homeschooljungle.com
http://www.summerhouseliving.com

mrshannigan
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Postby mrshannigan » Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:26 pm

A Thomas Jefferson education is about sharing quality literature with your children and discussing it, and writing about it. There's a lot of debating about the characters, the situations, their decisions, what would have been different if X, how could Someone have X?

Unschooling is not simply winding them up and letting them go. I'm afraid you're missing out on some fascinating family stories and amazing insights into the nature of learning if that's what you think.

Unschooling and Thomas Jefferson are very complimentary, with the exception that the Thomas Jefferson method has book lists and the simple fact is that ANY book, television or even video game, discussed and debated with an older and wiser person, can help a child (and the adult) learn. The Thomas Jefferson method would not mesh with unschooling for a child who didn't enjoy reading. Parents and children must be reading the same books in TJed.

So- unschooling CAN contain elements of TJed, as long as none of it is forced or coerced.

The "wind them up & let them go" really bothered me, sorry. I might have written the EXACT same thing 15 years ago, before we dove deeper into unschooling, it certainly was my first impression. I've learned so much, though and we are totally hardcore unschoolers here now.

Instead of "wind them up and let them go" it's more like "share their passions and enthusiasm, exploring the world together." It's joyful, refreshing, REAL LIFE, authentic living, and the only thing "winding them up" is their own preferences, talents, passions and desires.

An unschooling mom's job is to facilitate, chauffer, listen, discuss, share information, learn new things, explore her own interests, and help the child find the resources they need to delve further into their passions. I absolutely love it:)

TJED- puts into words what we already DO with our children. I have a house full of daughters, we talk, debate and discuss constantly. Movies, books, song lyrics... My daughter who loves to write tends to write essays and literature reviews and comparisons, she's 12. My 16 yr old prefers to draw and talk. Her writing tends to be more song lyrics and poetry.

Anyway- off topic, sorry. I hope that cleared up a little TJed Questions and some unschooling questions, have a fantastic weekend
I have six daughters and I work from home as a freelance writer My oldest will be 16 and we've never sent any of them to school.

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Postby doodlebird » Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:59 am

I had heard about the Thomas Jefferson Education approach for many years, but didn't really look into it until well into my oldest son's homeschooling journey.

TJE basically takes more of an independent study/mentoring approach rather than the textbook or lecture methods. The instructor takes more of a backseat role like a mentor with much discussion and subtle direction. I have known a few people who have been diligent in the TJE approach and have had great experiences.

I tried to implement aspects of TJE a few years back with my very "needy" son by asking him to choose ANYTHING he wanted to study and do so for at least 1 hour each day. I was hoping he would start being more independent so I could work with my younger kids...but it didn't work.

HOWEVER, I think part of the difficulty was his personality - he's always been the one who has difficulty entertaining himself or finding things to do on his own. In retrospect - was asking him to choose ANYTHING right off the bat. It gave him too many possibilities (for starters) and he couldn't decide (some people are like that).

In addition, I tried to start this after years of more traditional (teacher to student) instruction methods (about 7th grade). Suddenly I was asking him to do more of the work in learning and he resisted.

But now, I'm implementing the independent study/mentor approach with my 3rd and 6th grade through notebooking. After much reading and writing on the history of education this summer, it has become important to me to insure that the kids be ACTIVE learners.

So this time, for starters, I'm giving the girls a topic (i.e. sea lions and walruses for Ocean Science) and having them go and do the research. After all, they really enjoyed their research projects last year - this is just like doing mini projects each week. We will meet so they can present their findings and we can discuss it (student led discussion with me offering some guiding questions). I consider this to be like "training wheels" to a TJE-type approach and hopefully after a little while they'll be able to be even more independent, self-learners.

I'm really looking forward to homeschooling this year - I think it will be great!

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Re: A Thomas Jefferson Education

Postby sfweb » Fri Dec 03, 2010 5:17 am


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Postby figgy09 » Wed Nov 02, 2011 5:17 am

I have never heard about this method. That sounds rather interesting. I will definetly check the link!!! Travel Guide
Last edited by figgy09 on Wed Jun 19, 2013 1:33 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Postby TheAssistant » Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:15 pm

That's a really interesting method! It reminds me a bit of the Robinson Curriculum, though that doesn't stress the analysis and discussion. I'll definitely have to look into it more. :)
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Postby rykellim » Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:26 am

I am a Chinese Christian family in Singapore, and a student of Orrin and Laurie Woodward. In my country, public education is compulsory for a certain period of time, and the focus is academic. ie. writing, passing exams, grades etc.

I decided to supplement the school with a home education, and Orrin recommended the Thomas Jefferson Education to me. I will be buying the materials soon and hopefully you all can keep this thread alive as I need all the support I can get. Very few people homeschool their kids around here! :)


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