The Method Behind the Madness

There are some great books and links that I loved and that I feel shaped how Vanguard turned out the way it did, applying the truths that they contain.

BOOKS FOR ALL MENTORS TO READ:
Increase in Learning by Elder David Bednar - chapter 2
BYU Idaho Learning Model 
Teach the Children by Neil J. Flinders - chapters 12-14 and 18-19
Norms and Nobility by David Hicks - preface, prologue and chapter 1
Teaching and Learning American's Christian History pages 141-249
A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille
****************************
ADDITIONAL BOOKS
"TJEd for Teens" by DeMille and Brooks
"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.)
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/
****************************
EVEN MORE CLARIFICATION AND VISION
Great links and very entertaining to watch, too :):
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley.html
"How Children Learn" by Holt
"Dumbing us Down" by Gatto"Do Hard Things: a Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations"  by Alex and Brett Harris (two teenagers themselves...written from one teen to another....powerful!) 
"Take back your education": http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/learn-as-you-go/take-back-your-education  --Although it omits the key element of mentoring from inspiration, I think it nails a lot of other key elements of a meaningful education on the head... 
"Teaching boys and other children who would rather be making forts all day" (worth the download!) http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/tb-e  
Unschooling by Oliver DeMille: http://www.tjed.org/2013/06/unschooling-weekly-mentor/
-This is a great article and the principle behind it--how to encourage an individualized education--was part of the reasoning behind behind the "inspirements" and "come to teach."  That way, they can go into depth about what interests them.