Dr. Oliver DeMille outlines the education we need in the twenty-first century in a clear and applicable way in this life changing book, A Thomas Jefferson Education.  The Phases of Learning  (Core, Love of Learning, Scholar and Depth), the Seven Keys of Great Teaching (aka Mentoring), and the proper use of Classics form the basis of this comprehensive educational method.    Steps for implementing the method in homes and schools are given as well as a list of books to begin with for those who don't quite know where to start.  This path to Statesmanship is not touted as being easy, indeed DeMille chimes in with Mortimer Adler by encouraging us to embrace the "pain of learning" and then make our family, community, nation and world a better place through our increased understanding of truth.  By the end of the book you will feel that you have experienced true intellectual communion, as Thoreau describes it, with one of the great minds of this century.  More importantly, you will be inspired to seek this type of education for yourself and your family.

Dr. DeMille was speaking at a homeschool convention I attended several years ago.  I was not intending to spend most of the day listening to him speak about Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd), but indeed, that is what I did.  The principles which he outlined struck a chord with me.  I was searching for answers as to which educational form I should pursue with my children as they turned twelve.  By the end of his final speech I was certain that I had found the method I could use post-Montessori.  I have since come to realize that TJEd actually encompasses and enhances the Montessori Method.  Similarly, it gives place for unschooling, Waldorf, Charlotte Mason, school-at-home and classics-based education, each in their own time and place according to the needs of the individual.   The result has been that I have altered my application of the Montessori Method slightly to adhere to the overall TJEd philosophy.  The changes are subtle but have had a dramatic impact on my family.

A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century is a worthwhile investment in your present and future education.  Equally valuable are the seminars and publications which Dr. DeMille makes available through George Wythe University. Also of great interest are Oliver and Rachel DeMille's book Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning and the Thomas Jefferson Education Online website.



Other websites offering instruction and classes using the Thomas Jefferson Education method include: