TJED Forum

So I thought I'd post what I learned at the forum last weekend. I came up with such a renewal of vision and implementation has been surprisingly easy. I also continue to get pieces of my puzzle of building myself, my family, my homeschool, my community. It's great.

The Keynote was Dr. DeMille. Here's some notes I jotted down...
Question to ask before hearing/reading any seminar, talk etc. (I could really learn more at church with this mindset. )

"What do I want to Feel, Know, Do?"

"When the Student is Ready, the mentor appears."

More important than the class you go to, is the preparation you bring to it.

We really do become educated to lead...so why?

3 Biggest challenges facing leaders in the 21st century

#3 JOBS VS. PROSPERITY
Thinking Skills vs. rote Repitition
Creativity vs. Routine
Individuality vs. Standardization
Self Starting entrepeneurialism vs. Obsolete job skills

He talked about "Future Shock" by Adam Toffler and how a high percentage of his predictions have come about. The above column is what we should be training our children and ourselves for, the second is what worked great in the last century. Not a bad century, just not the one coming :) He pointed out that a classical education, (I would add more specifically a TJED education) addresses each of these skills.

#2 ENTERTAINMENT VS. INVESTMENT
Investment has been different for different successful cultures. The Jews, probably because everything else was taken from them, invested in Education. Europeans invested in Land, Another invested in Family, America probably Businesses. He talked about that the typical american spends at least 4 hours per day on entertainment. He did the numbers and talked about turning that 4 hours into investment hours. He figured on just weekdays...

241 classics read over a year (for a slow reader)
726 30 minute conversations with your kids.
A part time job
Another income
etc. etc.

#1 NATION VS. TRIBE
Nations - are usually the peoples of the earth in the Northern Hemisphere, America, Europe, China, Japan. They are people that see themselves as belonging to "The Nation"

Tribes - Usually the So. Hemisphere, Africa, S. America, Muslims, etc. The People that see themselves as belonging to "The Tribe" or family.

Nations have 75 % of the power and wealth and are corporate, materialistic, and institutional
Tribal have 75% of the population and Happy family relationships and have functioning families and marriages.

It is his opinion that this is the biggest source of potential conflict and will exponentionally increase over the next 10+ years but also that these two groups are eachother's greatest hope.

The world desperately needs leaders that understand this gap on every level in society.

At the end he talked a little about the art of grandparenting. The Tribal people get it, the nation people typically don't. There are 14 set roles in tribal culture that's sole function is to raise families. Aunt, Uncle, Grandma-pa, great aunts, great uncles, rabbi, etc... It sounded fascinating to me. (I think the LDS faith has done much to preserve some of those roles and not entirely handing them over to institutions.)

Questions to ask
1. What do I need to do to get a great education?
2. What do I need to do to get out of my comfort zone?


The Second One was by Heather Burton..."Becoming a Statesmother...Love it while you Live it"

What is a statesmother? Mothers of future statesmen and women. One who "Effects saving change in their realm of influence."

To see clearly the way things are... then clearly how they should be and you insert yourself between them to bridge that gap.

She talked of inspiration and how we all have good ideas and feel calls in our hearts but then in the balancing act...it gets hard. She proposed that we could have it all...spelled like

A - Accurate view of what we can do and cannot do now.
L - Learning Befitting our Calls
L - Love that Lasts

A - The accurate view must come from God.
Quote I loved,
"Virtue (ie. Alignment with truth) is the source of all my power and influence."

L - Learning Befitting our Calls
a. Start with Core Book
b. Honor the promptings you receive under the influence of truth
c. Find Mentors who will share their wisdom and expertise, (could be the neighbor, a parent etc.)
d. Modify your course as you deepen your understanding
e. Take a day to rejuvenate, reflect, recommit and repent each week. (On the Sabbath)


Love that Lasts:
She pointed out that we literally die without love. It is our highest life force. Spending time on it. See people as people always and not as 1. An obstacle, 2. A tool or vehicle 3. insignificant

Good stuff loved it.