Friday, May 24, 2013

Possible outline for a month for a smaller group/Master class

I am currently doing Vanguard with just my two "scholar phasers."  It is both interesting and challenging, but I think it fits right in with the model suggested for a superb leadership education in "TJEd for Teens":
--Small class size :)
-- Individual mentoring
--Mission-tailored classes and subjects
--Personally driven
The line that stuck out to me this time in reviewing it with my youth was that "leadership comes more naturally to those who have had a chief hand in their own education." (pg 3)

My daughter is 15 turning 16 and my son is 14 1/2, just for context...

We just looked again through the list of 100 books in the "TJEd for Teens," as my daughter and I decided we both want to finish that list as part of our scholar phase.  However, there were some books we hadn't finished yet, so we outlined which books we wanted to finish up from the 13 and 14 year old list, which will take us through the end of the year.  We paired up the books with the monthly themes I have in my house (they coincide with the themes suggested for a school year study in Vanguard, with more during the summer).  Voila!

So, here's the game plan for the month:
Each week we have what I have called "Core and Crust" (see article about the Core and Crust of Leadership, link on this blog).  We rotate who leads this segment and it includes the following:
1-Devotional
2-Lead a discussion on a chapter (or two) of a Leadership skill book (the ones we have picked to do this year are "TJEd for Teens" and "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens"; we will move onto "One-Minute Manager" after that if we run out of weeks).  I always encourage my kids to make this a fun experience to teach, including object lessons, media, and games/activities
3-Review poem for the month, as well as a poem from the "Best Loved Poems of the American People," as recommended on the "TJEd for Teens" list
4-Latin class (always by me)
5-Synergy of the Mind challenge that (ideally) goes along with the topic of discussion
-Week 1: Leadership-Article/Scripture and Biography
-Week 2: Geo-conquest...we each do a "prezi" or powerpoint focusing on a particular continent that month.  We then come up with questions for our Geo-challenge game the fourth week.  We also each prepare a cultural dish from that continent for dinner that night. (Our teams for the Geo-challenge game change up each month, with Dad and my 11-year old also participating.)
-Week 3: Apprentice/Journeyman-level Book Discussion
-Week 4: Geo-Challenge and then Master class following with Master book discussion and project sharing.

We have science on Tuesdays with Dad, with science and math classics integrated into our reading schedule, history on Thursdays covering the time period of the year, and art on Fridays that complement the theme for the month, so our lenses are not all incorporated on one day to make it a little simpler with me being the only mentor and lots of little kids underfoot.

Hopefully we will have more outlines of how groups incorporate these concepts to give people ideas on how to run their own group, with their own, unique situation.

For instance, our "Core and Crust" classes include poetry and Latin, both things that my kids really like.  We also chose not to attack the Leadership skill books in one book discussion, as it is harder for all of us to grasp the varied concepts in them by reading and discussing them all at once.  Others might have different needs for their scholars or want to focus on different areas during their own "Core and Crust" topics.

Thinking back, it was more of a Master class, structured to include the monthly themes, "core class" elements, and geographical/historical monthly focus.

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