"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

I really like this book. I'm probably going to buy it so I can use it as a reference later. We are reading it for book club next month, otherwise I probably wouldn't have picked it up on my own, but I'm very glad that I did. I really liked the idea that you can get an education simply from reading the classics. I don't know, maybe it's because I'm an English Lit major, and I'd like to think that my time as been well spent. But in all honesty I think the ideas in this book make a lot of sense and I believe they could work.

The whole idea behind this book is to give people an education through the classics (all kinds not just literature), in the hopes that people will learn HOW to think, not just WHAT to think, and be able to become moral, ethical, leaders in America's future. Leaders of all fields, including, but not limited to, government.

The curriculum for "Jefferson Education" consists of reading the classics together, the teachers and the students, and then writing about them, rewriting about them, and thoroughly discussing them and applying them in today's world. The education really stresses having a mentor, just like Thomas Jefferson did, to help and encourage, but that basically the learning and gaining of knowledge is up to the student.

One of the quotes I really liked was by none other than Neal A. Maxwell (and this is not an LDS book, so I just thought it was cool that he was in here, but that's not why I liked the quote)who said, "The goal is not to get through the book, but rather to get the book through you." And it explains that so much of our education these days is just route memorization of facts to put down on a test and forget about a week later. But how if we slow down and actually learn something, the lessons will stay with us throughout our lives and we will be better people because of it. I feel like this point rings true, at least concerning my own education. I don't remember a whole lot from high school, or even from college...but I got good grades. But the things that do stand out in my mind are the good teachers, and the reasons they were good is because they guided me while I learned something for myself. And those are the things I remember.

I've also been doing a lot of research lately about homeschooling, and this book fits into that about 110% But I don't believe that only people interested in homeschooling would find this book helpful. I think everyone could get something out of it, and that is why I am highly recommending it. :) Oh, and it's only 200 pages long, so it's a fast read and well worth the effort.