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	What is a ‘Thomas Jefferson Education?’ – Part 1

	By John Pulver Submitted Mar. 26, 2008 “A Thomas Jefferson Education,” is the title of the book on classics-based education written by Dr. Oliver Van DeMille. In it, he describes the kind of education that created some of the greatest leaders in history—Thomas Jefferson being a great example of one who achieved that level and quality of education. The American founding fathers were able to truly impact the world for better because they learned using classical educational models. In today’s world this type of liberal arts education has generally been replaced by the mass-training of students for the job market. Thomas Jefferson possessed a great knowledge that spanned many fields of study and languages. This was acquired through his own study and by working with his mentor George Wythe, who holds the distinction of being the first Law Professor in the Unites States. Jefferson dedicated all the years of his life to obtaining a great education, and the mentoring he received was so impactful and far-reaching that he later came to refer to Wythe as his ‘second father’. He was thus mentored not only by Wythe, but also by the great minds he interacted with through reading the classics and ideas which had been known and used by leaders throughout the past. President John F. Kennedy seemed to understand something about who Jefferson had become. At a gathering of 49 Nobel Prize recipients at the White House on April 29, 1962, he noted that “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House -- with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” Kennedy was basically saying that what Jefferson knew and who he was is beyond what we usually see embodied in one person in our modern time. Van DeMille developed a model of education whose purpose is to imitate the Jefferson/Wythe mentoring relationship for students and provide them with a world class leadership education. DeMille laid out some principles in his book. This article will very briefly discuss two of the keys of A Thomas Jefferson Education, and others will be discussed in later articles. Inspire not Require: This key places squarely upon parents and mentors a charge to create an atmosphere of inspiration which allows the learner to put into practice what DeMille sees as the inherent desire to learn. The assumption here is that students do not need requirements; the desire to learn is within them and the motivation for learning remain within them also. Rather than pacing students in a regimented way, with the assumption that all are interested in the same things at the same time, students are encouraged to find their present learning passions, pursue them thoroughly and then move on to whatever area of interest suits them next. Thus, each learner’s journey is different as it is believed that each individual’s contribution and ultimate mission varies. The ultimate result of this approach is falling in love with learning and becoming the orchestrator of your own world-class education where you need not so much to be ‘told’, but to have people get out of your way so you can become. Mentors and parents are also traveling roads in their own education and serve as models and inspiration so that everyone within the learning atmosphere is working toward the same goal- that of obtaining the greatest education possible. Parents don’t just sit back and require their child to learn, they actually set the example themselves so that no learner is made to feel like they have to travel places that others around them are not willing to go. Mentors not Professors: To ‘profess’ something implies you are communicating something to your listeners or that you are in the position to profess something that they should be listening to. A Professor or a Teacher is in the role of a giver of something and the others are in the role of the taker or the listener. A professor professes to have knowledge which is given to the students. A mentor, on the other hand, has knowledge too, but in addition leads out and reaches into the lives of the learner or student to bring out their full potential and to assist them on their journey. In Thomas Jefferson Education, the mentor relationship is more personal, like a coach challenging each learner to unfold into their best effort. Mentors spend more time showing and promoting discovery than in telling or professing. The mentor also assists each student to discover their own unique mission or contribution to the world which only they can make and helps inspire them toward it. NorthStar Commonwealth is an educational association which utilizes many of the principles found in A Thomas Jefferson Education by DeMille as well as those of The Commonwealth School by Aneladee Milne and Tiffany Earl. The purpose of the NorthStar Commonwealth, in part, is to mentor future leaders who can take their place in homes, communities and in the nation as they use wisdom, virtue, courage and charity to make a positive impact. NorthStar invites all who are interested in further information about Thomas Jefferson Education to attend a free Community Information Forum which will be coming up in April. Details will be available in the Progress. Meanwhile, if you would like to read DeMille’s book you can check out a copy from the NorthStar Commonwealth library. Contact John Pulver at 397-6281 to borrow a copy. John Pulver is a Professor of Sociology at the College of Southern Nevada and serves as Vice-Chair of the NorthStar Commonwealth as well as Chair of the Moapa Valley College of Southern Nevada Advisory Committee. He is currently working on a PhD in Statesmanship with an emphasis in Constitutional Law at George Wythe College.