"Immediate necessity makes many things convenient, which if continued would grow into oppressions. Expedience and right are different things."--Jefferson

Monday, May 27, 2013

Overview: how it all fits together...

Okay!  Here it is...the overview!  Don't be overwhelmed...hopefully the posts in the blog will give you clarification and ideas to flesh out the ideas below--look for labels on the blog or in the "Reasoning" tab at the top of the page that match the underlined terms! :)

I have organized it with a general outline above, with a fleshing out of the ideas below that, to help you understand what the outline represents.

GENERAL OUTLINE
MISSION

I. Foundation

A. Principle Centered Education
            1. Monthly leadership themes (Leadership)
            2. Lenses
                        a. Geo-conquest
                        b. Face-to-Face with Einstein/Eureka!
                        c. Imaginative Arts
            3. Mentor selection of content based upon context

B. Student Agency
            1. Levels of scholarship
            2. Inspirements

C. Inviting the Spirit to the Classroom to be the primary teacher
            1. 4-R
            2. Environment
            3. Mentoring

II. Building Blocks:

A. Classroom tools:
           1. TOME
           2. Reflection 
           3. Timeline 
           4. Original sources
           5. Learning Styles 
B. Mentor Training

C. Levels of Scholarship:
            a. Apprentice/Core class
            b. Journeyman
            c. Master

III. Suggested Methods: (See more about these in the tab "Reasoning")
A. Newsletter 
B. Schedule:
C. Intrinsic reward - those who do the journeyman and master work get to participate in the journeyman and master class and are rewarded with a deeper level of learning.
D.In-class activities
E. Out-of-class activities
F. Monthly Themes
G. Youth Presidency
H. Junior Mentors
I. Adult Leadership
J. Adult Mentors
K. Elections
L. Other bylaws
(cost, age, parent responsibilities, amendments)

DETAILED OVERVIEW
Mission:
The mission of this group is to empower the youth with a sense of personal mission
and enable them to move forward with that mission by:
(1) Encouraging faith in God as their ultimate mentor
and source of truth through the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ
(2) Helping them find value in their own unique mission and introduce the
to various communication styles so that they may communicate that mission to the world
(3) Helping them come face-to-face with greatness as they study the world,
history, people, and science in order to to prepare them to become future leaders* in society.
(4) Creating an environment of respect, decency, trust, and confidence
(5) Teaching service-oriented leadership
*Leader: someone qualified to lead others in the home, community or world

I. Foundation

A. Principle Centered Education
1. Use monthly leadership principles that provide a context for the studies of the month.

2.Make every subject/lens pertinent to the student.  The student learns how true principles apply in government/leadership (Leadership Academy), history/geography (Geo-conquest), math/science (Face to Face with Einstein), art/literature (Imaginative Arts) and how those same principles apply to their daily interactions and experiences in the world.

3. The mentor will select the direction of study for the year in a particular lens, as they prayerfully seek examples of greatness in their chosen area that exemplify the principle of the month. This process gives the mentor the opportunity to more fully appreciate, love and apply their subject and the principles.
a. The mentor is the living textbook.  The mentor seeks to understand the principles deeply and work to apply them in their daily lives.  They will share their experiences and inspire the youth to "come and see".

4. Purpose for Each Lens:
a. WEEK 1: LEADERSHIP ACADEMY:
Focus: Developing leadership virtues as we learn to become better followers of God so we may lead others to Him; understanding moral law, or principles of freedom, that allow men to reach their full potential.  Youth will learn about great leaders and nations which have demonstrated these virtues and used them to serve others, as well as those who have not. 
b. WEEK 2: GEO-CONQUEST:
Focus: To enlarge our perspective as we view the world through the perspective of others as we study the history and culture of God’s children throughout the world. To develop the desire and ability see patterns in the past, how they relate to the present and how they may relate to the future; To develop a love for all of God’s children and a desire to serve them.
c. WEEK 3: FACE-TO-FACE WITH EINSTEIN/EUREKA!
Focus:  To see God’s hand in the world around us as we understand and apply the natural laws of the earth and the patterns therein. To develop the desire and ability to exercise inductive (i.e. logic) and deductive (i.e. scientific method) reasoning to find truth and to help others to do so.
-to expose them to great thinkers and concepts in history—to teach them to think—as well as inspire them to greatness as they study the lives of great individuals, their triumphs and struggles.
d. WEEK 4: IMAGINATIVE ARTS
Focus: To see the artistic view of the concept of the month as we study the imagination of man through art and literature. To develop the desire and ability to recognize truth through it’s beauty and feeling.  To desire to create new ways to share ideas to help others find truth.

B. Student Agency

-The student chooses their level of involvement and study - apprentice (know), journeyman (understand), and master (become/intelligence)
-The student chooses from a variety of "inspirements" which incorporate a variety of learning styles in which to learn and understand the subject
C. Inviting the Spirit to the Classroom to be the primary teacher

-Students come prepared to class having done their chosen inspirements and will learn from, teach, and inspire each other.  This preparation will open their hearts to the Holy Ghost. (BYU Idaho learning model)
-Students learn with the intent to act on what they learn and draw closer to God by using the 4 R method: reason, research, record, relate.
-Mentors love the students and encourage they love and respect one another to make the classroom a safe place to fail and try again.
-Making prayer and scriptures an important part of every meeting

II. Building Blocks:

A. Classroom tools:
1. TOME - A notebook used to keep a record of what has been learned.  Students take notes, draw, write "ah-has", keep handouts, or other ideas they would like to use to keep a record.
2. Reflection book - During class the youth are invited to reflect and also to consider how they can apply what they have learned
3. Timeline - When a new event or person is introduced in class, students are invited to note them on their timeline with some key points to remember.  They will begin to see God's hand in the unfolding of history.
4. Original sources should be used as much as possible

5. Different learning styles should be considered when structuring classes and creating inspirements (see “Multiple Intelligence” and “The Element” as good books for background to this concept).

B. Mentor Training
1. Mentors should love the youth
2. Mentors should understand how "His" story relates to every subject (I'll be using the FACE books for this)
3. Mentors should love what they do and have passion for the subject
4. Mentors should learn to lead discussions by understanding how to ask good questions and how to invite the youth to ask each other questions
5. Mentors should participate in the learning process and are seeking to apply the principles in their lives
6. Mentors also participate in the fun and build relationships

C. Levels of Scholarship:
1.      Core Class:
This is the main class of the week for all levels of scholarship to participate in--apprentice through master--where the basic topics and principles are brought up and discussed in a core class with supporting activities.  Different levels of scholars are encouraged to share at least examples from their projects to inspire each other, even if time does not permit the sharing of the full project.
Apprentice Level: the student gains more knowledge about the principle/matter of study.
2.      Journeyman Classes:
These classes will go into more depth about the time period, experiences, events, documents and may use more of the 5 mentoring environments. They may use games to motivate the learning of skills and memorization of facts, poems, scriptures, etc that are important to the lens.  The purpose is to gain understanding (see ch 2 in "Increase in Learning" by Bednar)
Journeyman Certification
Youth who are participating at the journeyman level in a particular lens are invited to certify.  They can choose a certification contract written by the mentor or write their own and submit it for approval. (COG)
3.      Master Classes (Classics, discussion, writing, oral presentations, application) 
        Once the youth are certified in a pre-determined number of Journeyman classes (or qualify by doing the Master-level inspirements for that week, depending upon how the group wants to do it), they participate in a master-level class with the above listed components.  A speech and writing advisor are recommended along with whatever main advisor is in charge for the week.  
      Since this class is "application" phase, the youth will also have more say in subject matter and direction.  (See "Master Class" post on blog for more information.)

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