Notes from "Teach the Children"

A tantalizing tidbit before you start studying!

"The purpose of education is to help man reestablish proper relationships with himself, his origins, his fellow men, and his living God." pg 215

"Most of us preoccupy ourselves with what we are going to do during the upcoming class time.  More productive is the concern with what are the students going to do.  Emphasis on the latter stimulates the teacher to consider how to invite learning involvement.  Student rather than the teacher of the subject matter become the focal point in planning." pg 221

"In moral matters, teachers are their own best teaching tool.  And personal morality applies to the teaching of any subject. The effective agency teacher teach all subjects as components of character....this is the optimum kind of teaching  to influence character.  As they radiate, teachers give of themselves to others without demanding any return.  They lose themselves in service, and in so doing find their best self.  Free from the numbing fear shown in stage fright, lack of confidence, and the inhibition of self-consciousness, teachers join the students on their side of the fence, see life through their eyes and enjoy sharing in their experiences." pg 227

Referring to the power of a teacher who reaches out with love to their students, "Students have access to this same power...Students love expressed toward teachers has the power to lift those teachers above their own limitations.  Students who reach out and embrace the good a teacher has to offer may find that their learning will exceed the limitations of both themselves and their teacher." pg 228

After a great break-down of why the lenses (pg 234-236...Leadership Academy is the "morality/fifth aspect" he refers to on page 231 and then expounds on 238), Flinders says: "Too often, teachers and students become lost in the curricular means and fail to recognize that it is the general capacity and not a particular application of the capacity that we need to develop.  The details of school studies are soon forgotten; it is the expanded capacity that remains to enrich our lives." (pg 237)

Pg 272 he addresses how to have an effective interview between mentor and student, along with some great questions about evaluating the relative "importance" of creating as part of the educational process. I find my children are natural creators after being exposed to information in a spiritual, impactful experience and the process of creating may be beautifully summed up in the book "Get Busy Beaver"....basically, sometimes you cannot measure the creative process by "normal" standards and may be frustrating.  Great section to read...through 281: "Creativity is simply the act of organizing existing elements for some purpose."

"Education (is) the conscious and intentional interaction with the messages of others...If there are no messages, there can be no education...Effectively connecting messages and purposes is the trademark of good scholarship." pg 304

"True scholarship is open, inviting participation from all who are willing and interested." pg 305

"True scholars create, report, explain, and clarify; they listen, comprehend, confirm, correct, and reject.  To engage in debate, disputation, argument, contention, self-serving salesmanship, and other forms of intellectual compulsion is not scholarship--it is rhetoric...honestly revealing information that may be personally validated or invalidated by others is scholarship....In this type of environment positive relationships rather than adversarial relationships are fostered." pg 309-310

"If you are a humble follower of all truth, the doors are wide open.  The Lord will help us use our talents to inspire one another in all kinds of things." (quoting David Allan on page 311)  Powerful personal examples from others on page 311-315, a mom, a teacher, and a scientist.

Page 320-321: How to prepare for classes
Make the experience before class and during interactive: page 323

Protectors of the Environment

That's what we are as mentors: protectors of the environment. 

And I don't mean like Green Peace or treehuggers.

Our job as mentors in Vanguard is to create and protect and environment of respect and inspiration that will allow the youth to find and explore their God-given genius--using their agency--and to learn enough principles of freedom to be able to protect their rights to use than genius.

I have been reflecting on this truth a great deal as I head into the new year.  As a protector, it is not always an easy, safe, or comfortable job.  However, as I turned to the scriptures this morning to try and keep my purpose Christ-like, I felt directed to the following two scriptures:

3 Nephi 12:48/Matt. 5:48: Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. ("Perfect" in the original Greek:"complete, finished, fully developed")
High, even idealistic standards!

3 Nephi 27:21: ...for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do.

My mind went to the cleansing of the temple, one of the few times we see Christ full of wrath and indignation in the scriptures.  He was protecting the sanctity of the environment of the temple, and we should do the same with our classes.

Cell phone use, attendance, behavior in class and treatment of peers...these are all hard and challenging issues and must be considered on a group by group basis.

However, we must not be afraid to expect standards in the group that protect that learning environment.  We do not ask for a $1000/semester tuition, but I feel that the quality of what we can offer is worth the commitment of time and sacrifice that high, idealistic standards demand.   We must be mindful of this so that our groups do not deteriorate into play-dates for our youth...unless that is what you want, of course :).   

Remember that rules and standards are not terrible if righteously established and followed through with.   In fact, it is moral rules and standards that made our nation great. It is religious rules and standards that demand the sacrifice it takes for sanctification.  Every institution and organization has basic standards that define it and establish a ground level for its membership.

As we review or establish our bylaws for the year, may we prayerfully consider what kind of environment we feel is necessary in our group to protect the mission of Vanguard:

We will engage in a respectful and inspiring peer environment that will not only help us grow in our faith, but will help us feel free to develop our unique strengths

as well as a passion for learning that will allow us to better ourselves, our families, our communities, and, ultimately, the world.

(Check out the quote by Orson Whitney on page 229 of "Teach the Children"...it goes beautifully with this and expands on the instructor's role to "cultivate, nourish, care for and protect [the student], places them in those conditions where they can best expand according to the laaws of their own being.")

Vanguard Training Event June 28th

Here is a link to the site for our annual summer mentor training event.  I encourage anyone with a youth involved in Vanguard to attend or download the recordings after.  It will be a powerful event!

http://vytrainingevent2014.blogspot.com/

It is not completely updated with registration forms, etc, but will be soon!

Starting a new year of study!

Hi everyone!

As I woke up this morning, wondering what I wanted to study for my scriptures, I thought, "I will start doing word studies on my themes for next year!"

It made me think about sending this email!

As you approach the new year, I recommend you do it this way, to build a good foundation.

1. First, read the core books if you have not :).
http://vanguardnotes.blogspot.hu/2012/02/purpose-of-liberal-arts-education.html

2. Then use the following link to outline your study of each monthly theme to understand the themes:
http://vanguardnotes.blogspot.com/2012/06/outline-of-monthly-principles.html

...particularly, the summary at the top, the sections in the "5,000 Year Leap" by Skousen, and the scriptures.

3. From there, having gained deeper understanding of the themes, then you can prayerfully select principles within each theme as a group or leader.  Here is a list of ideas a few of us have compiled:
http://vanguardnotes.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-way-to-expand-on-monthly-themes.html

4. Then, you will want to start selecting classics: people, videos, articles, books, music etc for the youth to study to further understand the principle within the context of the monthly theme and then apply it in their own lives.

It is easy to want to skip to step 4...especially if you are feeling rushed.  Do not!  You will lose the effectiveness of the Vanguard method if you do!

Happy studying!

:) Mary

p.s. This is a great link for ideas for how to look at the weekly lenses and books for the monthly themes:
http://vanguardnotes.blogspot.com/search/label/monthly%20themes

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!