Read, Discuss, Write, Apply

Normally, I prefer waiting to recommend something until after I've finished it, but the book I am currently reading, A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille is astounding. DeMille is a co-founder of George Wythe Univerity, a liberal arts university, whose curriculum is centered on the Great Books of Western Civilization.

In his book, DeMille speaks highly of self-education using classic books, from The Bible and other religious texts, to works by authors as diverse as John Locke and George Orwell. He recommends the often difficult, but rather simple approach of reading, discussion, writing, and application. He argues that a student's desire to learn can be cultivated through the student's own freedom to study according to his interests. And that it is the job of the mentor (teacher) to guide the student to the lessons found in the classics he has chosen.

He speaks out against forced "conveyor belt" forms of education, where conformity is the number one priority. In these settings, a student is only taught that learning is work. He therefore finds, that he can get by on the bare minimums. I was personally moved by this, because DeMille's observations of the public school system and its effect on students might as well have been an observation of my own school career. Never before have I understood so clearly why I hated going to school. I used to say that I hated learning, and even that I had nothing else to learn. And while I had my fill of technical knowledge, it was not the learning, but the method and socialization of school that I despised.

At CTIF, we want to emulate this simple approach. As George Wythe did in his mentorship of Thomas Jefferson, we want to use classics (both books and movies) and the "media of the day" (Television, Movies, Internet, etc.) to shed light on the truth contained therein. I believe that if we create an environment of freedom and discussion, not only will we find Truth in Fiction, but we will enable and DRIVE the creation of Truth in Fiction.

It is my humble opinion that the degree to which classic education exists in people's lives is the degree to which law is redundant. If people understand the truth about human nature, they are naturally inclined to govern themselves. More than ever before, the world needs truth and the world needs leaders to mentor people with the truth. It has been said that all men are philosophers. It has also been said that there are no atheists in a fox-hole. The men and women of America need to be woken up from the sleepy haze of mass media entertainment to the realization that what we thought was secure is not, and that the free world has come under attack by slippery politicians (on both sides of the aisle) that are promising to solve the problem if we'll just give them MORE power over us.

I beg you, dear reader, to READ the classics, to DISCUSS the lessons they contain, to WRITE about the truth you find, and to APPLY what you have learned to make a difference in your life, your family's life, and in the future of your country.

Whatever faith you may follow, let goodness triumph, and let GOD BLESS AMERICA!