Ten Days of Growing Leaders: Day 1 Core Phase of Learning

Welcome to Day ONE of a wonderful Blog Hop created by Heart Of The Matter Online!  I am just one small speck in this hop.  There are 18 others (all listed at the bottom of this post…so, pull up a chair and your favorite drink.  We are all happy and humbled to have you join us!

Let’s get started!

I see it all around.  Everyone does.  Something is missing around this great nation.

Leadership

How do we build leaders and what does the process look like?

Sometimes, many times…most times…you can look back and see the existence of something that no longer exists.

Why?

We can’t see the future…only the past…and our National Heritage was built upon the shoulders of people who were great leaders.

Oliver DeMille and Dr. Shanon Brooks saw that…years ago. And through that hindsight, they have developed a way of teaching others…

To.become.leaders

I am going to spend today…and the next 9 days, unwrapping a beautiful package for you.  It is a big package.  It requires great care.  If we open it together and truly pull out the beauty of this new journey, it will lead us to the place we all desire.

I will warn you, though….It isn’t what you think it is….but, you’ll have to stick with me…through the very end.

First, let’s start with…+

What is a Leadership System?

A Leadership System’s first purpose is to train thinkers, entrepreneurs, statesmen-individuals with character, competence and capacity to do the right thing and do it well.  The second goal is to perpetuate freedom, to prepare people who know what freedom is, what is required to maintain it and who exert the will to do what is required.  These two goals are accomplished by the third:  teaching students how to think.  Those who know how to think are able to lead effectively and are able to help society remain free and prosperous (Paraphrase quote A Thomas Jefferson Education pg 22-23)

Leadership Education is built upon 7 Keys (Principles) and 4 Phases….

We are going to start with the Phases of Learning

Before we begin Phases…let’s back up a little.  After 15+ years of research, DeMille and Brooks found that many amazing people had already researched and discovered the heart of a great education….  Who?  Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore.  Each of these individuals had one very common denominator: forcing a child to learn (academically) at a young age will cause burn out in early adult hood…or sooner.

STOP.  READ THAT AGAIN

Did you enjoy learning in school?  If so, what helped grow that love?  If not….what caused you not to love learning?

Until a few years ago….I truly did not enjoy learning.  I do not have many good memories of school/learning past first grade.

There…I said it…I.did.not.enjoy.school.

I have a sneaky suspicion…not many children are truly enjoying school today.  Why do I say that?

Ten years ago…I did not see a new Tutoring business popping up on every corner….

I have learned more in the past three years, sitting and reading, laughing and giggling with my children…than I truly learned in the 17+ years I spent in the current academic institutions.

I was not smart…

But, I learned how to play their game

It bored me and bothered me…and honestly…I can not say that today, I truly use many of the lessons I was forced to learn.

Now that I have written that for the whole world to read…I want to share something with you….

Statistics show that  70-80% of students today are NOT at grade-level in reading.  Or in math. (Willow Creek Association, Global Leadership Summit – Michelle Rhee, 2011)

High school graduation rates are dangerously low (national average is under 60% with the nation facing epidemic levels of functional illiteracy) (ReValue America Lecture, Dr. Shanon Brooks 2011)

What does this mean?

We have children who are not enjoying school.  The ones who actually stay for the k-12 duration are reading, writing and have math skills far below-grade level…and we are not training Leaders for our future.

Are you ready to help change that?

Are you ready to get off of the Conveyor Belt Theology Pedagogy of teaching?

GREAT!  Let’s start with understanding the Phases of Learning

Phase 1:  CORE

The Core phase includes children 0-10 years old. (This age-span has been changed from the original 0-8, and redefined by Drs. Oliver DeMille and Shanon Brooks, based on our current ‘ failure to launch’  culture…and society’s true lack of leadership and inability to identify the truth of Education….that it can’t be ‘fixed’ within the context of the public education system….it must be changed….back to it’s original essence.)

What is the Core Phase?

In this phase, life lessons are learned…and character development is made based on the individual’s concept of self, family and the beginning of their broader worldview.

This is a time to nurture a happy, interactive, confident child through learning naturally through work and play in a family setting.

Confused?

Ok.

Take away the television….video games…anything electrical.

Give your child an environment rich in books and all kinds of other basic things that they can select for you to read and or experience with them.

Give them Paper, Crayons, Glue, water, sand, nature, instruments…anything their little hands may be drawn to pick up, play with, learn about…or show any interest in.

Where they show an interest…get excited about it (yes, Moms…even when your five year old says he wants to go dig for worms and see if they will grow back if you chop them in half.)  Find a book…and when they are tired and ready to sit down from their daily exploration…read it to them.  Or, if you’ve already learned about the subject…teach them while they’re doing whatever it is they are doing.

Your goal during this phase to teach them:

Good/Bad

True/False

Right/Wrong

The world becomes your Pedagogy based on your child’s inner wiring.

The key is…all of us are born with a desire to grow and learn.

We all have our own individual gifts and talents.

It’s too early at these ages to know what your child is truly gifted/talented in.

Let them explore this amazing world….

And you know what…it may give you a chance to do the same.

The key here is to realize that this phase has no academic structure (plenty of time for that later)….this means 100% student driven, interest driven, curiosity driven, family structure driven, household chores drive, etc.

This is a time to develop a foundation of character not curriculum, morals not manipulatives, a sense of self, not social relativity, a belonging to family, not future global citizen.

So sit back, remember what it was you were in love with as a child and never had the freedom to grow develop that love in your education…..but, be careful….you might find that this is about more….than just learning. It is about growing a strong relationship with your child(ren).

And…you will begin to discover that Leadership Education is about more

Than

Just

Your

Child(ren)

Tomorrow….we’ll step into Phase 2: