New Group Training Event

Hi!

In response to expressed and potential interest, I am hosting a Vanguard Start-up Training event on Saturday, March 29th, from 10-2. 

Vanguard is a leadership academy for youth that is principle-based. One of the primary principles it is based on is my belief that each of us was born to fulfill a mission that is unique, God-given, and intended for the benefit of those around us.  In order for an individual to learn the tools to successfully complete that mission, I believe we must create an environment that is both supportive and instructive-- set-up in such a way as to: 

   a)1. Encourage the individual's pursuit of a personal vision of what God sees in them now, and what mission(s) He has before them

   b 2.  increase their ability to analyze truth by looking at the world around them through different lenses and comparing them to their own core principles

   c 3.broaden the vision of the student to the needs in the world around them so they can start to feel the “tugs” of where their mission(s) may be

      4. allow the student to be introduced to different potential learning styles or "voices"

      5. allow the  student to share with others what they have learned in their own learning style

   f)  6. establish parameters and training for the mentors and parents.

(see more here: http://vanguardnotes.blogspot.com/p/founding-page.html

This training event is for:

-people interested in starting up their own Vanguard group

-people who have already been in a group and just want a good review before beginning their next year

-people who are just curious about what Vanguard is and want to learn about our methods

At this training we will cover the following:

-Vanguard overview

-Basic steps to start a group

-Parent Mentor meetings and involvement

-Support and further training opportunities

-A look at the Lenses: Leadership Academy, Geo-conquest, Eureka, Imaginative Arts

The cost of the training will be $5 a person, to cover copies of materials and a light lunch. (It is non-profit.)  Please RSVP by returning the attached registration form to Mary at biesingerm@gmail.com by March 22nd so I can know how much food to prepare for lunch and if my house is big enough for all who might be coming. (Please do not reply to the groups I posted this through, as I do not check all the groups regularly.) 

You can pay in advance (preferable) or at the door.  You can mail your check and filled out attached registration form to 655 Sunset Dr. Kaysville UT 84037

READING/REVIEW:

Please watch/read the following before you come:
1  BYU model of education:.http://www2.byui.edu/LearningModel/src/default.htm

2. "Leadership Education" by the DeMilles (particularly pgs 40-56 and 153-224 are good for yearly--or more!--review, but reading this book will help explain a lot of the elements of Vanguard, like socializing as families, the value of projects, the need for master-level youth to design their own class for the year, etc.)
3. https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/a-classroom-of-faith-hope-and-charity?lang=eng&cid=HPSA030114575&im=true
4. Increase in Learning by Elder David Bednar - chapter 2
5. Teach the Children by Neil J. Flinders - chapters 12-14 and 18-19
6. Norms and Nobility by David Hicks - preface, prologue and chapter 1

Additional reading suggestions:
-Oliver DeMille's address from the TJEd 2007 Forum: "The Eighth Key and the Four Levels of Leadership"--I don't purchase many things, but this is a treasure...very central to the Vanguard vision.
http://www.tjed.org/purchase/audio-downloads/eighth-key/
-A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille

See you then!  Please forward this information to anyone you think might be interested.  

Also, please contact me via email at biesingerm@gmail.com if you would like to have the registration form emailed to you.

Born for Today

President Ezra Taft Benson taught:

 

"For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. Every previous gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not. True, there will be some individuals who will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its head—even Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God.

All through the ages the prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it—you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized. Now is the great day of the devil’s power, with the greatest mass murderers of all time living among us. But now is also the great day of the Lord’s power, with the greatest number ever of priesthood holders on the earth. And the showdown is fast approaching.

Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good pick up new recruits. Each day we personally make many decisions that show where our support will go. The final outcome is certain—the forces of righteousness will finally win. What remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this fight—and how tall we will stand. Will we be true to our last-days, foreordained mission?

Great battles can make great heroes, but heroes will make great battle. You will never have a better opportunity to be a greater hero in a more crucial battle than in the battle you will face today and in the immediate future. Be warned that some of the greatest battles you will face will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul. David’s battles in the field against the foe were not as critical as David’s battles in the palace against a lustful eye. We will each find our own battlefield. The tactics that the enemy will use against us will vary from time to time; he will feel after our weak spots. We must be alert to the devil’s devious designs, to the subtle sins and clever compromises as well as the obvious offenses. "

........................To read more follow this link:

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=89

 

---March 04, 1979,  In His Steps,   Ezra Taft Benson

Creating an Inspiring Environment in your Classroom!

Check out this amazing article as a fresh "shot in the arm" as we come into the winding down months of the year:

https://www.lds.org/church/news/create-classrooms-of-faith-hope-and-charity-teachers-told?cid=HPSA030114575&im=true&lang=eng

Whatever your faith, these principles, when used in the classroom, will create that "respectful and inspiring peer environment."

I encourage you to read that and the actual talk he gave.  Good stuff!