Agenda:
1. Principle-centered learning discussion from this video
(Importance of parent involvement)
2. Some Purposes of Vanguard
3. Evolution of Vanguard so far
4. Goals of Levels
5. Example on Blog
6. Mentors Overview
7. Announcements
8. Q&A
Some purposes of Vanguard:
-To give youth a place where they can discuss and present
the great ideas/truths they are finding in their studies.
-To offer guidance in what to study and discuss
-Mentor feedback in addition to parent mentors
-To inspire a quest for truth (true principles)
-To motivate skill improvement
Vanguard does not try to:
Teach them all they need to know
To cover everything in a subject
Goals of Levels:
Core:
Questions: What does a principle look like/feel like? Why
do I want to learn about this? How does this relate to me? Why do I care? Showing evidence for the principle
Purposes:
Inspire, Serve
Journeyman:
Questions – How do I find principles? How do I find evidence for these principles? How do I communicate those effectively? How
can I learn to think and organize my thoughts?
Purposes: Freedom
to research knowledge of interest. Tools
for learning and finding principles in what is learned and for communicating
that truth
Master:
Questions – How do I present principles and their evidence in a beautiful way?Where do I go for the best education? How do I serve others with my education?
Purposes:
“Become” a classic by studying classics (not necessarily books), finding
principles and evidence for them and applying those principles. Communicating
those principles in an effective and beautiful way.
We discussed how youth should not feel pressured to attend every master class. Reaching master level for one favorite class per month might be a good goal for many of them. There are also some for whom it might be best not to attend any yet until they have a solid foundation for finding and applying principles.
We then discussed some of the pro/cons of the different formats of Vanguard so far and how we hope this change in January will help address some of the issues we have seen so far this year. The following numbers are for some major changes that took place (they are not intended to represent Vanguard years)
Evolution of Vanguard:
1. Vanguard is started with Mary observing a need for a group that teaches service-oriented leadership - many young students
2. Journeyman is added as youth wanted to know more
3. As parents caught the vision, more parents were able to help – 4 hours Vanguard each week plus extra day for journeyman - 4 more hours each week.
Pros: More
preparation for each class because more parents were able to help
Cons: "School
bell" problem – choppy in class as we moved from topic to topic
Every journeyman class in one day (1 hour for History, 1 hour for Leadership, 1 hour for Writing and 1 hour for Eureka) so study at home was also rushed and choppy
4. (Last year) Lens approach
– 1 subject per week – core, journeyman and master in that subject
Pros: More
depth in class and in study at home
Freedom for mentors to be inspired and inspiring in preparation and in class
Cons: Lacked
flow and interconnectedness (didn’t get big picture of the principle)
A lot of reading, not enough thinking and acting
5. (This year so far) Lens approach with master class taught by one continual mentor
Pros:
Connecting everything to the principle
Skills taught in a continual basis – mentor could watch
improvement
More time for depth with one book per month
Cons: Could
not choose level depth each week because master class required a monthly commitment
Mentors couldn't go into the depth they wanted b/c they
lacked the master class (fuzzy goal)
6. (Approach we will take in January) Core class with
one mentor instead of master class, more freedom in journeyman for depth into their interests
Pros: Connect
everything to principle and core book for everyone
Principle foundation for all our lenses to build from
One core book per month
Teaches how truth (true principles) feel/look - prepares
them to find it on their own
Gives them the opportunity to think more and find their own principles
Can choose the level they will reach each week
Mentors have a clear goal
Cons: To be
discovered :-)
Time changes:
We will meet from 9:45-12:15 for Core class on Fridays at the Presbyterian Church (gathering time will be at 9:30). Vanguard Youth will eat lunch at 12:15, Key Academy and Boys groups will go until 12:30 and will then be dismissed to their parents (to eat lunch before choir or to go home).
Journeyman classes will be from 10am-12pm on Wednesdays followed by Master class from 12:30-2:30. We will send out a list of those who have qualified for Journeyman and for Master by Tuesday night each week.
Cultural Literacy:
We will have a list of 25 terms from the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy that the youth may choose to memorize (not required for coming to class). Those youth who make cards and work on memorizing the terms each week will be invited to a monthly Cultural Literacy Contest Party (we will try to align this with other activities to avoid the driving back and forth)
New Books:
Most books will remain the same. A few new books have been added, but most are free online. Sis. Edwards compiled a list of books that she handed out at the meeting. I will ask her to put it on the files section of the yahoo group. If acquiring new books is a big issue for you, please let me know - we are willing to do scholarships for books for those in need.
The blog addresses below have links to all of the class blogs and writing tools we will be using next semester:
Blog Address: http://wethevanguardyouth.blogspot.com/
Parent Blog: http://vanguardmentors.blogspot.com/
Again, let me know if you have any questions. Thank-you all for how much you do!
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