Stop Stealing Dreams

Re-Posted by Dr. Shanon Brooks on July 27, 2015  monticellocollege.org/

Godin NAILED IT!!

I have been promoting these ideas for the last 20 years. I hated school and was very much against all “education” until Oliver DeMille first introduced me to these concepts in the early 1990’s.

But these aren’t new ideas, they had been talked about for a long time since the 1940’s and 50’s.  Great minds such as Mortimer Adler, Jacque Barzun, Robert Hutchins, Louise Cowan, Neal Flinders, and countless other have been sounding the warning for decades.

So while I strongly encourage you to read the full text of Seth Godin’s STOP STEALING DREAMS, I am giving you a few excerpts here.

This is the best introduction to POST INDUSTRIAL AMERICA AND EDUCATION I have seen so far.  Enjoy!

By the way…this post is 5,000 words. That does not mean you have to read it all.  It means that out of a 40,000 word e-book I am suggesting you read 11% to try it out. It means that if you read this and like it, you should go toSeth’s site and read the rest of his revolutionary book. The future depends on you.

Back to (the wrong) school

A hundred and fifty years ago, adults were incensed about child labor. Low-wage kids were taking jobs away from hard-working adults.

Attention Span: Our National Education Crisis Part 1

Re-Posted by Dr. Shanon Brooks on August 29, 2013  monticellocollege.org/

On October 16, 1854, in Peoria, Illinois, Stephen Douglas finished his 3-hour address and sat down. Abraham Lincoln stood.

He “reminded the audience that it was already 5 pm,” and then told them that it would take him at least as long as Mr. Douglas to refute his speech point by point, and that Mr. Douglas would require at least an hour of rebuttal [1].

He recommended that everyone take a one-hour dinner break, and then return for the four additional hours of lecture. The audience amiably agreed, and matters proceeded as Lincoln had outlined.

“What kind of audience was this? Who were these people who could so cheerfully accommodate themselves to seven hours of oratory?”[2]

“Homelearning” Instead of Homework

It’s time to reinvent education!

“Hack” is a term I would like to borrow from Gary Hamel – an innovator in management and maverick in business thinking.  He calls for and encourages people to develop unique solutions he calls “Hacks.”  A “Hack” is any unconventional or disruptive idea that pushes the boundaries of traditional thinking.  They do not need to be complicated; hacks can be seemingly basic as long as it turns the tables and challenges the status quo.

The status quo is no longer simply “not working” in current education, but it is now the problem.  We need to begin thinking beyond the system that is broken and develop new ideas.  We need to begin to have “Hacks” in the classrooms as well, and start having the courage to challenge the conventional wisdom.  The following is one idea.  I invite you to add your own and begin a conversation about not only what is wrong – but what can be done.

PROBLEM: Homework may reinforce what to think at best, but does little to help kids learn how to think.

Tale of Two Standards

Eric Wilson - 2014


If ever there was a time when we should be emphasizing education (more than memorizing facts or training kids for specific jobs), if ever there was a time for the liberal arts and self-education, it is now!

 My worry is that the current administration’s enthusiasm for embracing Common Core is going the opposite direction toward a “one-size-fits-all” model and replacing any last bastions of liberal arts education with standardized information, data, and tests.  Common Core standards are truly the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and are not only dangerous to the classrooms but dangerous to the child’s mind.  One of the so-called “improvements” to education under Common Core already requires over half the reading materials in grades 6-12 to consist of informational texts rather than classical literature.  According to the American Principles Project, "They de-emphasize the study of classic literature in favor of reading so-called 'informational texts,' such as government documents, court opinions, and technical manuals."

 The Common Core standards will replace classic literature with monotonous text and government propaganda.  The Common Core standards will replace knowledge and thinking with empty information.  The most despairing item of all is that Common Core standards will replace open minds with closed books.  Look at these two examples of recommended reading and be honest: which one would inspire ideas, inspire creativity, and inspire reading?

Forging Leaders

Eric Wilson - 2013

If we want to create leaders in

Ourselves,

     Our marriages,

          Our families,

               Our communities,

We must not just talk about education, but need to harness education to empower and enlighten.  We all need to practice what we preach – just disseminating information is not good enough anymore.  The answer is not found in telling someone how or what to vote for or in spewing the most recent talking points.  The answers must be foundational within the individual.  We have a crisis, but I contend it is not a problem of politics but a problem of morals and principles.

Books by Dead Guys

Eric Wilson - 2013


Everyone knows (or at least – I hope – by now Brush Fire Forum has convinced you) that reading the classics is important, but have you ever asked why it is so important?  Here I list out 5 reasons why reading books by dead guys – or any classic – is important:

1. Historical Perspective

 It is difficult to achieve an accurate understanding of your own time and culture when you are living in the middle of it.  Reading classics enables us to stand back and get a better perspective on the current situation.  I had stated before (Rome is Burning – So Read a Book), “In our modern arrogance, we like to believe that the happenings in our lives and world today are unique…  All of humanity’s big questions have been previously considered, weighed, and discussed by brilliant scholars who devoted their lives to thinking it all out – thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and numerous others.”

 Many of the old books have had a profound influence on the thought of subsequent generations.  It is fascinating to see how ideas infiltrate minds and then translate into opinions, laws, and actions throughout history.  There is no better way to see the connections over time and catalysts of events today than having those historic references and reading the classics.  Without reading the classics, you miss the underlying interplay between the psychological, sociological, and physical history of the world.  Once someone records an idea in writing that is compelling enough to “take hold” of imaginations, it never goes away.

Rome is Burning - sooooooo Read a Book

Eric Wilson - 2013

In our modern arrogance, we like to believe that the happenings in our lives and world today are unique.  In truth, it feels the same to be alive today as it did a thousand years ago.  All of humanity’s big questions have been previously considered, weighed, and discussed by brilliant scholars who devoted their lives to thinking it all out – thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and numerous others.  The lessons of classical literature carry as much weight today – if not more – than ever.  They contain information that is directly applicable to your life.  They contain insights into what is happening in the world and why.  They contain the “secret decoder ring” to reveal many of the mysteries of what may be yet to come.  Reading the classics develops an understanding of the human condition and a deeper appreciation of modern problems.  Don’t believe me?  Try reading Ben Franklin’s Autobiography or Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws without learning something.

 I am not limiting this to historical texts commonly connected to the founding of America, though.  While this may seem patriotic or historic, if you truly wish to walk in the footsteps of our founding fathers you need to read the classics from different eras, regions, and genres.  The best thinkers of past centuries – people like Bacon, Plato, or Aristotle – are an excellent way to achieve new insights and gain deeper understanding of the human species and the world we live in.  Try reading Descartes Meditations without asking yourself questions about who you are.

What Would Socrates Do?

Posted by Dr. Shanon Brooks on April 18, 2013  monticellocollege.org/

This post is a tribute to Earl Shorris, one of my favorite writers on education who past away in 2012. I am reprinting the April 16, 2013 Wall Street Journal Book Review of his latest book, The Art of Freedom.  This piece was written by Naomi Schaefer Riley.

In The Art of Freedom, Earl Shorris describes his efforts to establish a set of courses that would teach the core texts of Western civilization to people living in poverty, whose school experience had scanted the canon or skipped it entirely.

Almost two decades ago, Earl Shorris, a novelist and journalist, told the editor athis publishing house that he wanted to write a book about poverty in America.

The editor, to his credit, said that he didn't want just another book describing theproblem. He wanted a solution.

So Shorris, who had attended the University of Chicago on a scholarship many years before and who was greatly influenced by its Great Books curriculum, hit upon the idea of teaching the core texts of Western civilization to people living in poverty, whose school experience had scanted the canon or skipped it entirely.

His Eureka moment came when he was visiting a prison and conducting interviews for another book he was planning to write.

He asked one of the women at New York's Bedford Hillsmaximum­ security prison why she thought the poor were poor.

"Because they don't have the moral life of downtown," shereplied. "What do you mean by the moral life?" Shorris asked.

"You got to begin with the children . . . ," she said. "You've got toteach the moral life of downtown to the children.

And the way youdo that, Earl, is by taking them downtown to plays, museums, concerts, lectures."

Common Core Hammers the Final Death Nail in Education

Eric Wilson - 2013


Many of the most recent (and worst) “improvements” to our national education process have come under the misguided banner of reforms such as Common Core.  Its stated objective is to set forth a national K-12 content standard to be adopted by all states to drive education to become more standardized across the country.  Its supposed purpose is to impose more rigorous standards now so that our students will be prepared for competing in the global economy of the future.

 Taking a closer look, the true progressive objective here is the development of a more disposable workforce.  Common Core proponents seek to replace the previous American education system with a more standardized, “predictable” approach.  This approach prepares the next generation to become easily assignable cogs in a national or even global industrial system.

 As far as the rigorous standards, the current Common Core curriculum will make students less college-ready and force school systems to lower the bar of already deplorable expectations.  Many states actually had more rigorous criteria in place prior to adopting Common Core, and signing on to these new standards is more of a “Race to the Middle” (as frankly admitted by one drafter of the Common Core math standards).  Early adopters of this program – such as Kentucky – have shown no improvement over the past two years and have even gone backwards with 30 to 40-point drops in proficiency tests.

The Liberal Arts During Bondage; Part Three: The Fourth Turning: The Opportunity Of The Century

Posted by Dr. Shanon Brooks on March 5, 2013   monticellocollege.org/


[This series of posts are a continuation of the blog posted on January 1, 2013 at Shanonbrooks.com entitled Liberal Arts in Bondage]

To wrap up this series, let’s rely on history to show us a way out of Bondage.

As was mentioned in part two, we not only rely on the 250-year society oriented Tytler Cycle to show us the way, but the more personal 80-100-year Century Cycle or Saeculum.

This last post is dedicated to the fourth and first turnings/seasons of the Century Cycle as described in chapter seven of our book, A Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens. What follows is that chapter in its entirety.

History runs in cycles, and there is a pattern of four seasons repeated over and over, each about 20-25 years long.  Like the seasons of the year, they come naturally and each feels different.  These four seasons are called “turnings,” like turnings on a cycle, by authors Strauss and Howe in their book The Fourth Turning.  The four seasons are:

1st: Founding. New institutions are built up to progress after the last crisis, like the United Nations, Social Security, World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), NATO, and other organizations being created right after the Great Depression and World War II.  Lots of businesses flourished in this period also.

2nd: Awakening. Youth grow up and challenge the old establishments, like the 1960s counter-culture movement at Woodstock, the Civil Rights movement led by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, and strong pushes for Feminism and Environmentalism, etc.

3rd: Unraveling. Two big viewpoints and political parties fight for power, and everything seems like it will come apart.  Economies boom.  The last unraveling happened between 1984 and 2001, and the one before that in the “Roaring 1920s.”

4th: Crisis.  Big problems come.  Actually, crisis seasons usually consist of three crises in a row, sometimes overlapped.  First is the wake-up crisis that shocks everyone, like the Boston Tea Party, the election of Abraham Lincoln, the 1929 stock market crash, which started the Great Depression.  In recent times, it appears that 9/11 was such an event.

The Liberal Arts During Bondage: Part Two; How Do the Liberal Arts Help Us During Bondage?

Posted by Dr. Shanon Brooks on February 6, 2013   monticellocollege.org/


[This series of posts are a continuation of the blog posted on January 1, 2013 at Shanonbrooks.com entitled Liberal Arts in Bondage]

If you will recall from part one, for the past twenty years, we have taught that America was somewhere on the “pre-bondage” side of the cycle, between Selfishness and Dependence.

As we enter 2013, we have clearly entered the Bondage phase.  Just consider the events of the past 12 months:

• NDAA 2012
• Congress passed Obamacare and it was sanctioned by the Supreme Court
• The national plunge over the Fiscal Cliff on January 1, 2013
• The likely lifting of the “Debt Ceiling”– spearheaded by the president
• 23 Executive Orders restricting the Second Amendment out of existence (in addition to hundreds of others the president has issues during his first term in office)

If this doesn’t spell BONDAGE then nothing does.

The Liberal Arts During Bondage: Part One

Posted by Dr. Shanon Brooks on January22, 2013   monticellocollege.org/


[This series of posts are a continuation of the blog posted on January 1, 2013 at Shanonbrooks.com entitled Job Training Versus Character Education]

What does bondage look like?

One attribute of human nature is that we tend to acclimate over time to whatever condition we are experiencing.  We get used to the hot or cold weather.  We make the best of what foods are available.  We become accustomed to the system of governance in which we are raised.

Because of this acclimation--of getting used to even bad situations if we are exposed to them

long enough--we have a hard time distinguishing between liberty and bondage.

This only changes as education and character changes. 

Perhaps the better question is, “what does liberty look like?”

To help identify what bondage is, let’s identify a few conditions of current American life that historically can be considered bondage (meaning that they are not typically in existence during liberty):

• Automobile laws (seat belts, booster seats, no talking on cell phones, speeding citation system, etc.)

• The Food Modernization Act of 2009 (which if enacted fully, literally controls all food distribution and consumption down to the tomatoes you grow in your backyard)

• Business licensing (why do I have to pay to register my business with a municipality?  Why do I have to register at all?

• Building inspection process (why should the government require me to pay them so I can build a house on my property?  Why should the government care how I build my house at all?  If I build a house unsafely and the government inspector misses it, which results in injury to human beings, can I sue the municipality?  Why not just let the builder bear that burden?)

Job Training Versus Character Education

Posted by Dr. Shanon Brooks on January 1, 2013   monticellocollege.org/

Modern higher education has become proficient at convincing the American public that to earn

a good living, one must hold a college/university degree.

While some jobs/careers do require specialized training, the scheme of requiring a degree in most cases, is more a function of credentialism and jumping through hoops than actual job preparation.

Just ask the thousands of employers who interview tens of thousands of “qualified” applicants only to find themselves forced out of necessity to hire perfectly credentialed and completely ill-equipped employees.

Historically (1636-1920’s), American higher education was designed to build character, not train for employment.

Almost all job training (beyond day labor) was accomplished through apprenticeship.

But during the 1940’s to 1980’s the educational plan promoted by higher education was to secure a degree, which would lead to 40-50 years of service to a single company, after which the employee would retire with a good pension.

Today, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average employee will hold no less than 14 distinct jobs or career positions with different companies and in different fields over the same 40-50 years with little to no retirement plan.

Education in America: A Look at the History of Education

Eric Wilson - 2012

It is too easy to say schools are not teaching kids how to think anymore. Taking pot shots at the education system has almost become the norm, and solutions are hurled out ranging from common core and comprehensive reform (hearing those words coming from a politician should scare anyone) to school choice or charter schools.

But what is the root cause? Building from the statement “schools are not teaching kids how to think anymore,” though, we can follow three logical steps of progression:

1) Saying “anymore” implies there is a difference in what schools are doing compared to what they once did.

2) If it has indeed changed, we must ask how and when that occurred.

3) Finally, we have to determine what is missing now that would contribute to getting kids thinking again.

In this article, we explore a brief timeline of education in America and consider these three points to raise the possibility that what we are missing in education is

Book Review - A Thomas Jefferson Education

Is American education preparing the future leaders our nation needs, or merely struggling to teach basic literacy and job skills? Without leadership education, are we settling for an inadequate system that delivers educational, industrial, governmental and societal mediocrity? In A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century, Oliver DeMille presents a new educational vision based on proven methods that really work! Teachers, students, parents, educators, legislators, leaders and everyone who cares about America's future must read this compelling book.

This is one of the fundamental reads that really sets the ground work for “how” to start think and the power of self-education. We highly recommend this book as a quick read over the holidays and to either begin your journey or to provide key building blocks on your path to restore liberty.

A Case for Learning How to Think

Submitted to us for publication and printed with permissions

By Chris Nichols and Dr Shanon Brooks

American higher education has evolved through a series of phases that reflect the changing times and perceived needs of the country.  The latest phase placed a heavy emphasis on specialized degree fields and very little emphasis on critical thinking skills.     

In other words, the focus is on WHAT to think, not HOW to think.  

Advances in technology are having an equalizing effect on specialized education, and we are entering a world where such training is often no longer the determining factor for new hires. Proficiency in problem solving, analysis, and communication are becoming more and more the skills necessary to compete.