Book Description
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.
Customer Reviews:
Just what I was looking for..........2007-10-11
This book resonated with me on so many levels! I was disappointed in regular homeschool ideologies and methodologies and knew that I did not want to use them as a whole in educating my children. Sure there are some great ideas you can glean from them, but I did not feel forcing my children to learn what "they" felt was important, ignoring my child's own inherent talents and interests, was a true education. One-sized-fits-all curriculum does not produce independent thinking adults. Then one day I stumbled across TJEd, WOW! THIS was exactly what I wanted for my children, I wanted my children to learn how to master themselves, to read the great books, to discover who it is they are, to have the space to pursue their own life's mission, to love learning and take ownership over their own education (who wants to push a child through 12 yrs of school?), and to THINK. I just believe that this is the ultimate in educating the next generation and I am so pleased to have found this resource.
Life changing.......2007-09-28
....literally. We were planning on homeschooling our children eventually, anyway, but after reading this book, we gained courage and took the plunge. Now I feel confident that our children will be able to get the leadership education they deserve, and that I will facilitate that feat! Highly recommend this book to all who care about education and especially the education of their own children, homeschooled or not. Also recommend A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, and "Core and Love of Learning: A Recipe for Success" reading available from gwc.edu for homeschooling parents of young children.
One of my top five INSPIRING education reference books.......2007-07-31
Almost ten years ago I read A Thomas Jefferson Education and since then I have been applying the principles of classical education in my own schooling and my children's schooling. I have been inspired in my own education. As John Adams said, "No effort in favor of virtue is lost." I did have to read more articles by Dr. DeMille and attended several seminars that helped me glean more insight in how to learn from the classics. "How to Read a Book" and "Transition to Scholar" have been very helpful. These materials I was able to find at the George Wythe College bookstore at www.classicbooks.com. I also found that while I still use curriculum it has helped me to discriminate better for those types that best fulfil our goal to use and focus on the classics. Using audio recordings of classics also was helpful in bringing in classics in our home-it saved my voice a little!. Another helpful book is the Thomas Jefferson Home Companion. These two books are in my top five homeschooling reference books that I go to for inspiration, guidance, and information. In case you are wondering what other company sits on the shelf with this book-The Well-Trained Mind, Charlotte Mason, and Diane Hopkin's Homeschooling is Fun.
Buy Thomas Jefferson books instead! .......2007-07-30
I was disapointed in this book. This is the author's interpretation of Thomas Jefferson's views and education. Yes, read the classic literature and historial biographies that Jefferson read and studied. But also read his letters and other writings for yourself. It is much more enlightening. Our Founding Fathers have been lumped into one broad category by many authors and textbooks. Jefferson was brilliant, enlightened and way ahead of his time. Read his writings for yourself!!
A must read for every parent.......2007-06-27
This book has changed the way I view education and how my kids will be educated. It's a real inspiration and eye opener to what is happening in our nation.
Customer Reviews:
For the highly organized and family of TEN!!.......2007-09-04
While I think it is highly desirable for the family unit to be the main source for each child's education, I found this book to be a bit simplistic. My daughter was sent to public school today for the first time and I know I'm more nervous about the experience she'll have than she is. Of all the books that I've read on alternatives to NoChildLeftBehind public school, the best have been by John Taylor Gatto and Grace Llewellyn. Both of them offer ways to incorporate enrichment outside of public school, and in fact, say that you will HAVE TO practically have a "curriculum" to allow your child to feel free to seek out the experiences they wish to explore. I have alot to learn and look forward to working with the system until I feel that is more of a detriment than not.
A practical handbook for applying Thomas Jefferson Education Principles.......2007-07-31
Save yourself some time and get this book to start applying principles and techniques of Thomas Jefferson Education that took me ten years to figure out! I first read A Thomas Jefferson Education almost ten years ago and since then have been incorporating techniques to apply it into my everyday homeschooling and personal education. Suffice it to say when I read this book I was nodding my head in agreement in several places. I love Dr. DeMille's answer to the overwhelmed mom that empathizes with her and then inspires her(and the rest of us) in his response. Rachel DeMille and Diane Jeppson are inspiring and knowledgeable in their writing as well. The chore chart that Dianne suggests has worked well for my cousin who uses it while I work from the motivatedmoms.com chore list.
Essential Reading .......2007-07-05
A Thomas Jefferson Education is a thought provoking, stimulating look at the ideas that drive a classical education. As a springboard for discussion the book is ideal; as a guide to quality education it is essential. The book inspires critical thinking while providing ideas to all who want to experience education devoted to the love of learning, to the expansion of knowledge and to the promotion of leadership. As homeschool and alternative educational ideas abound books such as the Thomas Jefferson Education can lead us home once again.
Just what the doctor ordered.......2007-06-17
This book along with the Thomas Jefferson Education are the only two books I needed to homeschool my four children. When I started this system of education I had no idea what I was doing, then Diann's book came along as the "companion" and all was right with the world. The forms, systems and processes in this book work hand-in-glove with Dr. Demille's book. I recommend both books as the core system for homeschoolers wanting to raise leaders.
Diann's writing style and easy-going approach to homeschooling will leave you feeling totally in control and not wandering around in the dark forest of philosophy. Her systems are easy to use and her language is easy to read.
Janine Bolon, financial coach, speaker, radio talk show host, and author of [ASIN:1411643437 Money...It's Not Just for Rich People!]]
If you home school this is a must !!!!!.......2007-01-04
If you already have read "A Thomas Jefferson Education" then you can guess what this book has to offer. I have been using Oliver DeMille's book for 8 years and have been reaping the rewards. I feel sorry for people who have a desire to home school and are intimidated by it, but have not read this book and the "Thomas Jefferson Education" together. I have not met a person who has read this book and didn't wish they had know about it earlier. What ever you think home schooling is, you will see it and life very differently after reading the two books together. I own and enjoy horses and think that homeschooling without this book is like owning a horse without Clinton Anderson or Pat Pereli training.
Book Description
Until the DNA test, historians were on the wrong track about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Today, as they question Jefferson's character and apparent contradictions and follow another wrong track, they should be looking at his condition -- which explains everything...
-- His 54-year obsession with building and rebuilding Monticello.
-- His fiction-based notions influencing the Declaration of Independence.
-- His choice of 15-year-old Sally, essentially his sister-in-law, for a 38-year companionship.
-- His out-of-control financial deterioration despite a lifelong habit of recording every penny he spent.
-- His inner conflicts over slavery -- and the slaveownership thrust on him by his father's death when he was 14.
In Diagnosing Jefferson the author contends (with confirmation by a number of scientific authorities) that Jefferson's characteristics were compatible with Asperger's Syndrome and that he was on the" autism/Asperger's continuum". Norm Ledgin matches high-functioning autism with many examples of Jefferson's behavior, evidence furnished by -- but never examined by -- the historians themselves.
Customer Reviews:
one of the best books on Asperger's!.......2006-10-29
This book is certainly 1 of the few positive and aspiring BOOKS ON THE TOPIC and it's publisher is the leader in books for this topic. This book if the topic was more known and popular would definantly be a bestseller! This book isn't to hard to understand but I wouldn't give it to a young child. I think it would bore them/be to advanced writing and some of the concepts. However, telling them stuff from it maybe very helpful in your own words! I'm Dyslexic too and so reading comprehension is hard for me too but, I didn't unlike ussually need a thesaurus or dictionary sitting besides me while reading this. This book is far better then the Positive Aspergers Role model book. But, if you want a cut and dry guide to diagnose someone with Asperger's this isn't the book for you. I guess part of what I didn't like was that TEMPLE GRANDID contributed to the book. I love her and her famous bestselling book THINKING IN PICTURES (WHICH BUY THE WAY IS GRT AT HELPING YOU TO DISTINGISH THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HIGH FUNCTIONING AUTISM AND aSPERGER'S but; she isn't an Asperger individual. AnD high functioning AUTISM WHICH IS WHAT SHE HAS ISN'T THE SAME. SO, THEY SHOULD HAVE USED SOMEONE ASPIRING TODAY WITH ASPERGER'S TO WRITE HER SECTION. HER COMMENTS DON'T BELONG HERE.
This book offers hope and insight!.......2006-06-09
Thank you so much for this book!! I am a parent of a child not yet diagnosed. I found this book very enlightening in regards to my son. Although we may never know for sure if these famous people would have been diagnosed as such today, it does give insight and hope. Insight into their thinking processes and hope for their educational aspirations. It was encouraging to me to know that "famous" people are effected, too. Although it cannot be cured, it can be overcome and life goals can be reached.
Bernstein "academic jealousy?".......2006-02-16
Mr. Bernstein, if you hadn't personalized your review so much, I think some of your arguments would be more credible. However, attacking the author in such a personal way is a bore. As someone with a full blown DSM IV diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, I would suggest that you also may be on the spectrum based on your 20 year obsession with all things Jefferson.
Why I continue to stand MY ground -- review by Norm Ledgin.......2005-08-17
To judge this book properly, it helps to consider the impact it has made on people's lives since it was first published five years ago. DIAGNOSING JEFFERSON has offered thousands of readers and their families more than hope--that an idiosyncratic life can be rewarding and constructive. It has brought much peace to families formerly distraught over harsh-sounding diagnoses and the prospect of entrapment in the labyrinth of autism.
The author has been careful not to say that Thomas Jefferson had Asperger's Syndrome. Instead, this well-researched work has made the point that the aggregate of Jefferson's well-reported odd behavior is compatible with those traits we now classify scientifically as Asperger's--that there is a preponderance of evidence that the Third President was at least on the autism/Asperger's continuum, or spectrum.
Scholars who have spent the better part of their lives studying this complex Founder have scratched their heads for two centuries over Thomas Jefferson's unexplained quirks. At the time it was demonstrated by DNA examination that his paternity of Sally Hemings's children was likely, if not a provable fact, there was a minor media frenzy. And during that print and broadcast attention, NBC's TODAY show featured an interview with Dianne Swann-Wright of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Her frank admission on camera January 27, 2000, said it all: "There was a personal side of Thomas Jefferson that many of us just simply haven't been able to understand."
A shortage of understanding is also at the crux of the uneasy relationship that exists between the world of "Aspies" and those of us who are "neurotypical." In many ways this book has bridged that gap.
While strong on secondary sources to illustrate historical biographers' admissions of puzzlement about Jefferson's behavior, the book has also revealed what this condition of Asperger's Syndrome is all about, where it is likely to become a fork in a person's road through life.
Strong also on tracing features of Jefferson's long and productive life, this work has proved sympathetic, or at least understanding, of the Founder in his choices--one of the few treatments of Jefferson in print that has regarded him as a human being, not as an icon or eternally unknowable saint.
The most obvious failing of the critics of this book is their predisposition to judge without actually examining the work for what it illustrates, for the evidence it presents in full context, and for what it asks us to consider reasonably. They make it plain they have never actually read DIAGNOSING JEFFERSON. They condemn the notion that Jefferson's vast collection of idiosyncrasies can be matched against diagnostic criteria that have been developed over the past fifteen years and that the collections can be found compatible. Is this work a diagnosis? Possibly. In the absence of any other explanation for the sweeping array of coincidences we are given to ponder, reason would incline the open-minded toward the affirmative.
The author's use of such secondary sources as Brodie, Malone, Peterson, Jordan, and other respected scholars--his presentation of their findings--has been unassailable. To wander here and there and claim, "Oh, well, there is another explanation for that quirk of TJ's," ignores the presentation of the whole picture and the conclusion it has suggested. Such diversion is nit-picking and the sign of a mind that is prematurely closed. As further illustration of that, on several occasions the author has attempted direct contact with critics in order to debate areas of disagreement, only to be rebuffed impatiently or ignored.
In a time when scientists are attempting to cope with a possible epidemic of the spectrum condition of autism, when parents are looking for answers about a condition that continues to elude full understanding, open-mindedness seems a better approach to the suggestions of DIAGNOSING JEFFERSON and other studies than slamming the door on writers' and scholars' findings. For those perpetually puzzled about Thomas Jefferson's oddities, this book may have connected the right dots. What has made it so compelling is that no one else has ever tried to connect the dots at all.
As for the author's claim that there is no other known condition that matches so well the entire range of Jefferson's quirkiness, that continues to stand after five years of this thesis's circulation and consideration. Think of the lesson, "If it walks like a duck, etc."
The publisher, Future Horizons, Inc., gambled and gave the book a good initial run as its first hardcover. While it is not a bestseller, it went into a second printing in hardcover last year. The appeal was that this work has given dimensions to Thomas Jefferson that few writers--perhaps Brodie, perhaps Jordan--have made any effort to present. That appeal attracted first a mainstream publisher in metro New York that was in financial trouble and had to abandon the work, then Future Horizons, a specialty publisher in the field of autism.
Many teens and young adults with high-functioning autism and Asperger's Syndrome had considered themselves "losers," or aliens dropped on the wrong planet, until DIAGNOSING JEFFERSON came along. The theme of this book was strengthened by subsequent examination (not so in-depth as that with Jefferson) of a dozen other achievers in ASPERGER'S AND SELF-ESTEEM. How many creative people have turned toward a better path than one leading to dead-end despair because of these books? We may never know, but we do know that the works have had positive effects on many, into the thousands.
Best-selling author Dr. Temple Grandin, whose comments are incorporated in this work, has said that "genius is an abnormality." That observation certainly jibes with what we know of Thomas Jefferson. His personal demeanor was odd, his mannerisms were odd, his choices and lifestyle were odd, and yet his reasoning and especially his writings were remarkable, brilliant, beyond anything known in his time or since. The handy add-on in DIAGNOSING JEFFERSON--examples of the astounding range of interests represented by Jefferson's writings--attests to something in the Sage of Monticello that is far outside contemporary observations and experience with any men and women of today.
And because we know so little of quiet geniuses among us, as though they may have consigned themselves to anonymity lest their brilliance seem intimidating to the rest of us, this work has raised a few social considerations. Have we been treating the "developmentally disabled" as a second class, as we have done with women and with people of color or exotic national origins or unfamiliar religions? What do we gain by doing so, if not the feeding of our darker side, and more importantly, what do we lose?
Some of this is addressed in the final chapter, in which the illustration has been used of the teenaged Jefferson's search for a proper educational environment. Similar searching has been recommended to meet the needs of today's creative young people who feel stuck in hostile social settings euphemistically referred to as "high schools." The parallel is apt--and astonishing for its coincidence and relevance.
As one or two reviewers have correctly observed, a reader can learn as much about high-functioning autism from this book as he or she can learn about Thomas Jefferson. It is to be hoped that connection can be kept alive, to give stature to the so-called social misfits of today who (as currently suppressed geniuses among us) may show us a better way to manage Earth than use every resource for destroying the place and wiping out as many of its inhabitants as the whims of our "leaders" dictate.
Excellent Historical Research!!!! .......2005-04-05
I have read this book plenty of times. Lets face the facts: history, as Edward Baker Carr (the super-famous historian) pointed out, is a mixture or blend of objective facts organized in a subjective fashion. We look at history FROM THE PRESENT. My goal was, and still is, to be a PsyD in Clinical Psychology and support Autistics in society by issuing societal awareness and change. Changing the perceptions about the Autistic-frame of mind will take time. But at least Ledgin is doing something to initiate social change. This book take facts and arranges them into a logcial fashion. Ledgin is well supported in his claim, no doubt about it. He's right because it makes sense. We can see the recurring patterns in Jefferson's behavior and we can see it is influenced by natural(biological) over societal forces. It is excellent research and I admire this historical research as it is making progress toward the truth. Remember my review, someday I just might be as famous as Ledgin. LoL. Mr. John A. LaPaglia, B.A./B.A.
Book Description
Thomas Jefferson once stated that the foremost goal of American education must be to nurture the "natural aristocracy of talent and virtue." Although in many ways American higher education has fulfilled Jefferson's vision by achieving a widespread level of excellence, it has not achieved the objective of equity implicit in Jefferson's statement. In Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education, William G. Bowen, Martin A. Kurzweil, and Eugene M. Tobin explore the cause for this divide. Employing historical research, examination of the most recent social science and public policy scholarship, international comparisons, and detailed empirical analysis of rich new data, the authors study the intersection between "excellence" and "equity" objectives.
Beginning with a time line tracing efforts to achieve equity and excellence in higher education from the American Revolution to the early Cold War years, this narrative reveals the halting, episodic progress in broadening access across the dividing lines of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The authors argue that despite our rhetoric of inclusiveness, a significant number of youth from poor families do not share equal access to America's elite colleges and universities. While America has achieved the highest level of educational attainment of any country, it runs the risk of losing this position unless it can markedly improve the precollegiate preparation of students from racial minorities and lower-income families.
After identifying the "equity" problem at the national level and studying nineteen selective colleges and universities, the authors propose a set of potential actions to be taken at federal, state, local, and institutional levels. With recommendations ranging from reform of the admissions process, to restructuring of federal financial aid and state support of public universities, to addressing the various precollegiate obstacles that disadvantaged students face at home and in school, the authors urge all selective colleges and universities to continue race-sensitive admissions policies, while urging the most selective (and privileged) institutions to enroll more well-qualified students from families with low socioeconomic status.
Customer Reviews:
Bracing mind but hopelessly idealistic.......2000-10-17
As a university professor at a prestigious and highly "diverse" institution, I find it extremely unclear just how we are to transform today's American population into the spontaneously reflective, bibliophiliac, broad-horizoned culture-vultures that Botstein proposes we refashion our schools to create. I LOVE the ideal, but that's as a person of literate, upper-middle-class background who grew up stepped in those very ideals. I am not sure Botstein has been exposed to the true depths of anti-intellectualism in America, or perhaps among humans in general -- most people WORLDWIDE simply do not LIKE to "think" for its own sake, and today's universities are much more deeply permeated by unthinking radicalism than Botstein's experience has apparently shown him, which will make it almost inconceivable that the typical college student will be taught with the truly broad horizons Botstein sings of.
As much as I applaud Botstein's general vision, I cannot help thinking that it would much more practical if we were dealing with a student body composed entirely of white kids from Scarsdale, a demographic type which dominates the Bard students he has the most experience with.
His proposal that high school be eliminated, however, is thoroughly sound, as are his calls for what should be taught before students either go to college or elsewhere. It is curious, however, that he does not mention Simon's Rock, a school exemplifying this very principle, which he even heads. I am an alumnus of it and can attest that describing the place would have made his argument even more compelling.
Botstein isn't as smart as he appears.......2000-08-06
Having heard Botstein speak and having had the opportunity to question some of his beliefs it became clear to me that his proposal is more a random thought than a well thought out idea. Sure, Botstein manages to write a book filled with great words, most of which are unknown the majority of the population in this country, but he fails to aknowledge one, huge problem in his idea. His idea is based more off of physical maturity than mental maturity. I think it's absurd to assume that students are maturing mentally at a faster pace, or even an equal pace to those 30 years ago. The fact of the matter, students generally don't have to mature that fast because of their lives at home, and those who do often turn to drugs or violence. That's just the way I feel.
The truth finally comes out about education.......2000-02-02
I have known that there are many problems in our high schools, but no one has ever talked about them till now. This book tells how high school is just wasting valuable time for kids and giving them innumerable worries and stresses by having to have to learn things that will never again be used in life. I think that high school should be geared toward an individual's plan for a future occupation. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever thought about this subject before!
The best education reform.......1999-09-07
In reading Jefferson's Children, as well as the many new articles that have been visible recently, it has come to my knowledge that the federal government should pass Botstein's plan. It, as an education policy, would significantly increase academic achievement in secondary schools in the united states. The advantages are less dropouts, less anti-intellectualism, and a better structure for higher education. Still, there are inexplicapble loopholes that exist. First, what happens to the high school buildings once they are no longer needed. Second, what happens to the teachers and administrators currently teaching. And third,what happens to the students already in high school. also, there are disadvantages: administrators and teachers will backlash b/c they prefer older students, and parents will backlash as well. Also, plan allows the not-so intelligent students go on to the streets faster. Even, normal students will have earlier times of marriage among teens, which will increase chances of abuse.
Not just Bard.......1999-08-05
Mr. Botstein's proposals for educational reform are as thought provoking and on-target as the reviews imply. Several of us, though, who are graduates of Simon's Rock College of Bard in western Massachusetts, wonder why he has omitted all mention of our school. He is ALSO the president of Simon's Rock, a college of the liberal arts and sciences that accepts younger students, generally after their tenth or eleventh-grade year of high school. In short, a college that has for nearly three decades exemplified the type of education he "proposes." And done it well, in our opinion. The omission is both perplexing and offensive.
Average customer rating:
- A historians view of Jefferson's vision for UVA - fun read
- Jefferson's Academical Village
- Founding Father, meet Obsessive Artist
- Interesting Little Book
- An in-depth look at one of Jefferson's proudest legacies
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Mr. Jefferson's University
Garry Wills
Manufacturer: National Geographic
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ASIN: 0792255607
Release Date: 2006-08-15 |
Book Description
In the paperback edition of the critically acclaimed hardcover, bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winner Garry Wills explores Thomas Jefferson's final and favorite achievement, the University of Virginia.
The University of Virginia is one of America's greatest architectural treasures and one of Thomas Jefferson's proudest achievements. At his request his headstone says nothing of his service as America's first Secretary of State or its third President. It says simply: "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." For this political genius was a supremely gifted artist as well, and of all Jefferson's stunning accomplishments, the school he built in Charlottesville is perhaps the most perfect expression of the man himself: as leader, as architect, and as philosopher.
In this engrossing, perceptive book, Garry Wills once again displays the keen intelligence and eloquent style that have won him great critical praise as he explores the creation of a masterpiece, tracing its evolution from Jefferson's idea of an "academical village" into a classically beautiful campus. Mr. Jefferson's University is at once a wonderful chronicle of the birth of a national institution and a deft portrait of the towering American who brought it to life.
"There is much auspicious history to explore here, and Wills does so with great narrative skills." —Richmond Times-Dispatch
"His command of the subject is formidable." —Los Angeles Times
Customer Reviews:
A historians view of Jefferson's vision for UVA - fun read.......2005-01-17
In this short book, historian Garry Wills describes the vision, design, development, and legacy that Thomas Jefferson created with the University of Virginia. First, I admit that I am somewhat biased about UVA since I had the chance to attend Mr. Jefferson's university as both an undergraduate and graduate student. Having said that, it actually helps if you have spent sometime in Charlottesville strolling the grounds before you read this book. Otherwise, the reader may find it difficult gaining a true picture of the architectural design and layout of Jefferson's academical village.
This book is a nice tribute to Jefferson's hard work and determination in creating a world-class university. Of course all of his political savvy was necessary to see his vision to fulfillment. Simply put, UVA was a monumental project to complete.
Two complaints I have about the book center more around the design than the actual content. First - more pictures would be better in a book of this type. Second, why make a book that includes so much discussion about architecture so small. If anything this book should be an oversized coffee table style book in order to give the reader (especially those who have not seen UVA) a better "look" at UVA.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in UVA, and the history of how the school was started. If you are an alumnus you will surely enjoy this book, and it doesn't take long to read through it. Of course, you will want to return to Charlottesville for a stroll down the lawn after finishing this book, so plan accordingly. Wahoowa.
Jefferson's Academical Village.......2005-01-16
Thomas Jefferson's reputation in America has declined greatly over the last two decades. It is now commonplace, both among scholars and the reading public, to criticize Jefferson and place him on a lower mantle of historical accomplishment, along with several of his contemporaries. His friend, James Madison, whose reputation has long lived in the shadow of Jefferson's, is now widely considered to be the superior political thinker of the two. Former political opponents, such as John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, are now sometimes favorably compared to him. The ongoing controversy over Jefferson's affair with the slave Sally Hemings has also contributed to his reputation's decline.
But as an artist, Jefferson's historical reputation has only been strengthened in recent years. He is considered one of America's greatest architects, and his work at Monticello and the University of Virginia has been voted by modern architects as the premiere achievement in American architecture. Jefferson himself seems to have had some sense of the importance of this work when he requested his tombstone read:
HERE WAS BURIED
THOMAS JEFFERSON
AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA
FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
This is Garry Wills' third book on Jefferson. Wills wholeheartedly admires Jefferson's work as an architect. No one else in the Western tradition, Wills says, has ever combined the artistic and political talents of Jefferson. Unlike artist-politicians like Benjamin Disraeli, Jan Paderewski or Václav Havel, who were primarily artists before becoming politicians, Jefferson worked at both his entire life. According to Wills, the Virginian was no mere dilettante dabbling at design, but an experienced, masterful innovator of forms. He worked on his first university design project in his mid-twenties, a few years before writing the Declaration of Independence. While serving as president, he helped Benjamin Latrobe design the federal city. And he would cap off his long life with his finest work, the "academical village" - the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the subject of this work.
It took Jefferson nine years to complete his masterpiece. From the age of seventy-four to eighty-three, the design and building of the university dominated the final years of his life. He would die soon after it was completed. To do so, Jefferson had to outmaneuver the extremely hostile Virginia legislature to acquire the state money to finance his project; he also had to face down religious interests -- who were concerned about his decision to build a secular school; and he outlasted several local powers - particularly fellow builders and other state-financed universities - who sought to undermine his efforts in order to satisfy their own interests. Jefferson's local political struggles to build his university actually take up more of the book than details about its design.
Jefferson wanted to build a university that embodied his ideas on what learning should be about. Where universities in Europe at that time had primarily been either urban or monastic in appearance, Jefferson followed an American pattern by designing a rural university, built around a lawn. Ten unique Pavilions -- to represent Jefferson's ten important branches of learning -- would be built on the east and west sides of the lawn, five on each side. To the north of the lawn was the centerpiece of the university - a large Rotunda that would serve both as the university's library and for communal activities. Nothing was built on the south of the lawn to allow for an easy approach to the school and an open vista for those on the lawn.
Connecting the Pavilions and Rotunda was a Tuscan colonnade. The colonnade was blended in with the front of each of the ten Pavilions, a difficult design trick since each Pavilion had a unique style with -- depending on the Pavilion -- Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and composite columns that had to work visually with the Tuscan style of the colonnade that connected them all. The Pavilions were two-story buildings. The first story served as the classroom. The second story was the professor's home. Jefferson did not want any of the Pavilions to be considered superior to the others so he had the professors draw lots for who would live and teach in each Pavilion. The colonnade also had a two-story function. On ground level, it was covered, allowing for students to walk between Pavilions in any weather. The colonnade's second level, however, which connected the professors' homes on the second story of each pavilion, was not covered. This was meant to symbolize the connection Jefferson wanted the ten disciplines to have with each other. Professors could get together and exchange ideas, but the lack of a covered walkway meant that such exchanges would be informal and unscheduled, unlike the more regimented programs of the students walking below.
The effect of this design was striking and somewhat paradoxical. There is both regimentation and individualism in the work. Wills says that some critics seize on some single aspect of the design and complain that it is either too orderly or too chaotic. But Jefferson wanted both elements to express his ideas about education. Echoing Ruskin's comments about the cathedral front at Pisa, Wills writes that Jefferson achieved "a daring variation of pretended symmetry" that escaped "the lower or vulgar unity of law."
One of the more interesting sidelines in the book is Wills' discussion of the Bishop George Berkeley, the famous eighteenth century empiricist who was the transitional philosopher between Locke and Hume. Berkeley, who at the time was still just a parson, wanted to build a school in North America. He spent time at Yale, where a residential college was named after him. (One of the graduates of that college would later found U.C. Berkeley in California in honor of the bishop.) But Berkeley did not want to build his school in any of the colonies. He decided that Bermuda was a more appropriate location since there it would not be subject to the provincialism of the colonies, and he could allow Native Americans to attend. He believed that knowledge needed a fresh start away from the prejudices of the cities and society and that only a school built in nature could achieve this. Like Jefferson at a later time, Berkeley would struggle to find funds to build his school. But where Jefferson persevered, Berkeley would eventually give up and return to England. Nevertheless, his ideas about university design in the new world would affect many later American designers, and Jefferson was obviously influenced by him.
Also interesting is Wills' history of how the original professors - most of whom were Europeans -- would struggle with their new lives in the new world. Jefferson had originally not wanted Europeans to teach at his school, fearing they would contaminate American students with their alien ideas. But he been forced to recruit there after qualified Americans had either turned him down or been rejected by the state legislature for their unorthodox views. Universities in the early United States were largely state affairs, especially in the south. Jefferson had pushed for the founding of University of Virginia to create a regional alternative to Harvard, Princeton, and Yale in the north. But now he had been forced to leave not only the south, but even the U.S., in order to find teachers to fill the new positions. The result, however, appears to have ended up harming the professors more than it did the local students. Since most students were the progeny of local Virginian plantation owners, and were used to slaves and owning guns, the professors didn't quite know what to make of them. As Wills puts it, "slave owners were used to giving, not taking orders." The students didn't like their foreign teachers for the most part, taunting them and throwing rocks through one professor's windows. Some professors attempted to resign after being terrorized by masked students (their resignations were not accepted). Stricter rules were implemented and some students were expelled. But the problems continued. The south's tradition of violence didn't help either, as undergraduates often challenged each other to duels, despite the best efforts of the faculty to prevent them. Professors were sometimes caned by students and began to arm themselves in self-defense. Fourteen years after Jefferson's death, one professor was shot and killed after stepping outside of his Pavilion to quell a disturbance.
This is a wonderful book, interesting both as a history of the early U.S. architecture and as a partial biography of a Founding Father. Jefferson's will to see through his masterpiece forms the core of the story, but the many interesting details on various subjects also delight. While Jefferson's genius as an architect is more taken for granted than demonstrated, Wills does show that Jefferson had a tremendous artistic vision and fire to see his project to completion.
Founding Father, meet Obsessive Artist.......2004-04-17
Garry Wills ends this sparse history of Thomas Jefferson's effort to build the University of Virginia with Jefferson's own epitaph, which mentions his authorship of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom--along with being the "Father of the University of Virginia." I assume Mr. Wills meant this as a flourish: to show that despite his status as a founding father, emissary to France, geographical steward of most of the continental United States (via the Louisiana Purchase) during his watch as third president, and dozens of other accomplishments, Jefferson counted what Wills describes in this book among his proudest feats. This emphasis struck me as odd since Wills hardly describes Jefferson's overall effort as heroic--and often highlights unsavory personal details to drive this point home.
Wills explains the brilliance of Jefferson's designs well enough, though his Prologue ("Jefferson as Artist") remains frustratingly general. This is no great demerit; greater technical detail would arguably hamper his story and the sweeping descriptions of this "academical village" made me want to visit it as soon as I can. Though he falls short of saying so explicitly, Wills clearly implies one has to *see* Jefferson's work to fully appreciate his genius.
While keeping architectural details limited, Wills more than compensates describing the nearly insurmountable personal and political obstacles in getting the fledgling university built and staffed. I certainly came away recognizing the wonder that anything gets built is not a modern phenomenon; even Jefferson--whose reputation was almost beyond reproach--found himself in endless skirmishes to find funding, lobby reluctant congressmen, find supplies, recruit professors, and fend off competition from the few existing schools. And here the founding father halo certainly disappears; Wills shows Jefferson manipulating friends, swapping favors, bad-mouthing, back-stabbing, and doing whatever was necessary to realize his obsession. ("Jefferson did not flinch as sacrificing a friend's peace and content, and possibly his life, if it stood in the way of completing his great work.")
Wills' emphasis on Jefferson's personal life buttresses his obvious belief in what might be termed "the genius syndrome": that a visionary artist must be tormented by some very ugly personal demons and his obsessive drive brings them out in full flower. The author peppers his story with details of Jefferson's bank account, medical condition, societal clueless-ness, and unswerving devotion to "the Southern way of life." Though some of these personal details might be arguably relevant to work with the new university (in a very new country), I failed to see how, for example, a prostate condition was applicable.
Mr. Wills is a distinguished historian--and his style here is nothing if not elegant--but I ultimately found his book lacking in purpose. Is his intent to honor Jefferson's Herculean effort--warts and all? To put the greatness of the university's design in historical context? To show the improbability of getting the school built--especially at that time--at all? 'Mr. Jefferson's University' seems strangely disinterested in any one of these questions in detail and is far too short to cover all of them. To be fair Wills makes passing attempts at some of these themes but none are developed to any reasonable degree.
So Wills ends his story with a broke, deaf, deluded old man and his pride at having brought a university to his beloved Virginia. But of what was Jefferson proud? We never get a straight answer. Other men lobbied the politicians, hired the workers and recruited the professors; Benjamin Latrobe ("the best architect on the continent") even made non-trivial contributions to the design. Perhaps we're to draw our own conclusions from the detailed brilliance of Jefferson's architectural work--for providing enough of that the book is somewhat redeemed--and from the resulting testament that still proudly stands in Charlottesville.
Interesting Little Book.......2003-12-22
Thomas Jefferson spent the last decade of his long and remarkable life designing and building the University of Virginia. In this book Wills does not reach the profound insights found in his longer works on the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address, nor does he try to. Instead he describes the aging Jefferson's artistic vision and his determination to found a seat of higher learning -an academic village in central Virginia- to compete with Harvard and Princeton and the other northern schools. Jefferson was challenged, notes Wills, by religious disputes in Virginia, financial limitations from the state legislature, and petty jealousies among the state's small elite. Relying on guidance from various architects and planners, Jefferson laid out the grounds and designed the buildings while fighting continuous political battles over funding and staff.
This little book can be read in an afternoon, but it provides wonderful detail to the academic and architectural legacy of Thomas Jefferson. The only failing is the shortage of illustrations -photos and architectural sketches. If a dozen more photos of the site were included, it would be a perfect book for Jefferson fans.
An in-depth look at one of Jefferson's proudest legacies.......2003-04-08
This book provides a detailed and in-depth look at Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia.
The Prologue provides an overview of the architecture of the Academical Village, including the Pavilions, the Lawn and the Range, and Serpentine Walls, etc.
Chapter One chronicles the extraordinary efforts that Jefferson had put in to create the University. He had to fight every step of the way for funding, for site selection, and for recruiting faculties that he wanted, not what the Virginian Assembly had in mind at the time.
Chapter Two looks at how he had envisioned his University to be; how the architecture tied in with his vision of a school as a counter-weight to the establishments in the north (Yale/Harvard) and the Old World.
Chapter Three drew parallels between Jefferson's plantation Monticello and the Academical Village.
Chapter Four details one of the most talented architects, Latrobe's contribution to the architecture of the University, and subsequent and controversial remodelings of the Rotunda by Stanford White.
Chapter Five discusses the first faculties and students. Recruiting the faculties had been difficult since the University was so new and luring talents from the north was almost impossible. In addition, Jefferson's vision of having an institute for southern plantation owners resulted in a violent culture in the University in the first years.
The Epilogue looks at the University after Jefferson, how it grew and kept up its promise.
This is an excellent book about UVa. As an alumni, I am embarrassed to say that before reading this book, I had not paid enough attention to the Lawn. For example, I always thought that all the Pavilions were identical. I was not aware of the educational values of the serpentine walls. I heard of Stanford White's redesigning of the Rotunda, but until this book I've never seen a picture of it. And above all, I could not have imagined how much difficulties Jefferson had encountered, and how proud he was at achieving this impossible dream. I would highly recommend this book to UVA students and alumni, and all who's visiting Charlottesville. I am so proud of being a UVa grad!
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Certification And Accreditation Law Handbook
Jerald A. Jacobs , and
Jefferson Caffery Glassie
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- 1930s Faculty Brat
- A must have for any "Wahoo"!
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Mr Jefferson's University: A History
Virginius Dabney
Manufacturer: University Press of Virginia
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Mr. Jefferson's University (National Geographic Directions)
ASIN: 081391213X |
Customer Reviews:
1930s Faculty Brat.......2000-05-17
As a faculty brat in the 1930s,I literally grew up on the UVA grounds. On reading my first copy of Mr. Dabney's book (he was a close personal friend of my parents) I was struck by the rich lode of information verifying much that had been rumor during my teens. My dad, Dr. James C.Bardin a medical doctor, opted to teach Romance Languages. He is mentiond in the book. Mr. Jefferson's University sparkles with vivid memories of a delightful time in my youth. It is a wonderful historical document written so as to interest just about anyone who likes Virginia, and especially the UVA.
A must have for any "Wahoo"!.......1999-04-06
As a 1995 graduate of UVA, I found this book to be extremely educational. I only wish I had purchased it as an undergrad so I could have wandered the Grounds finding the areas Mr. Dabney wrote of. Mr. Dabney was an expert on UVA and Mr. Jefferson. I look forward to reading more of his work.
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Race and Intelligence: Separating Science From Myth
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Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors: A Guide to Intervention and Classroom Management
ASIN: 0805837574 |
Book Description
In recent years, reported racial disparities in IQ scores have been the subject of raging debates in the behavioral and social sciences and education. What can be made of these test results in the context of current scientific knowledge about human evolution and cognition? Unfortunately, discussion of these issues has tended to generate more heat than light.
Now, the distinguished authors of this book offer powerful new illumination. Representing a range of disciplines--psychology, anthropology, biology, economics, history, philosophy, sociology, and statistics--the authors review the concept of race and then the concept of intelligence. Presenting a wide range of findings, they put the experience of the United States--so frequently the only focus of attention--in global perspective. They also show that the human species has no "races" in the biological sense (though cultures have a variety of folk concepts of "race"), that there is no single form of intelligence, and that formal education helps individuals to develop a variety of cognitive abilities. Race and Intelligence offers the most comprehensive and definitive response thus far to claims of innate differences in intelligence among races.
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Race and Intelligence.......2007-07-12
This is a great book. It takes readers from the origin of humanity to how far it has come including beliefs or myths created as populations drifted away from Africa. It's also a great analysis of how perception changes as we go from one environment to another.
Book Description
"Daniel Duke describes the rich history of Thomas Jefferson (Tee-Jay) High School in Richmond, VA with great attention to detail and passion. It is easy to visualize the teachers Duke describes, the manner in which the school is conducted, and the challenges it faces. Duke tells a very personal story and relates it to the larger picture of what is happening in education generally, and in urban education, specifically. He captures an accurate picture of what is happening in metropolitan areas and places it within a historical context. Facility decay, loss of academic focus, and the challenges of racial integration loom large. He helps us understand the challenges of most urban areas, but in a very subtle, yet powerful way.
"Dr. Duke's very scholarly analysis of the history of Tee-Jay reminds us that, as we rush headlong into school restructuring and systemic change of school organization, we cannot ignore the history and traditions of each individual school in the process. Clearly the current wave of reform is at the school level; therefore, we must understand each school as a unique organization." -- William D. Silky, State University of New York at Oswego
Thomas Jefferson High School faced court-ordered busing, student unrest, white flight, district-sponsored alternative schools, high school consolidation, budget crises, closure threats, magnet programs, and co-existence with a Governor's School. Each event impacted the culture of academic excellence that had been painstakingly crafted during the school's first thirty years. This book offers a history of Tee-Jay from its inception in 1930 through its "glory days," covers the school's efforts to deal with the challenges of the post-integration era, and concludes with a discussion of what the Tee-Jay story can tell us about the future of academic high schools and integration in the urban areas of the United States.
Customer Reviews:
Does a school really exist just because the doors are opened.......1997-11-26
The School That Refused To Die by Daniel Duke is the story of how a school went from a prosperous and thriving entity to a shell of its former self.
I found the begining of the book to be very slow and uninteresting. I wasn't until the author began to describe the school and the "glory days" that the book began to come to life. In the beginning, Thomas Jefferson High School had a purpose and a goal of greatness. Teachers and students both shared high expectations and strived for the best. Not only for their sakes, but for the sake of the school.
The author takes us through the 60+ year exsitance of Thomas Jefferson High School and its downward spiral. While reading the book, the correlates of effective schools seemed to jump off of the page. The author did an excellent job of pointing out the greatness of this school, as its struggle to somehow stay "alive" through all the the years and changes in society.
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