~Too Blessed, To Be Stressed! 
Take a look at this picture, and the title of my letter really says it all.
This is my life this week!
Now do not think for a minute that I am partying it up here in Monticello.
Wait, I really am though. When I say party it is more of a Positive Attitude on hard work. This is the hardest I have studied in a long time. I am tracking my hours and studying about 25 hours on average a week (a week being 7 days). It will be bumped up to about 40 after a while.
7 seems to be the number of choice this week.
We read and discussed Thomas Jefferson Education By: Oliver DeMille this week.
It was really a unique experience to have Dr.Brooks there and adding in his insight from all of his and Oliver DeMilles research together.
The basic principles of the book are described in 7 keys:
- Classics, Not Textbooks: Meaning getting our knowledge from the original sources that people wrote. For example: If you want to know about God you would read from the Bible. If you want to know about government you would go to the experts thought history that knew government, (Locke, Machiavelli, Marx, Bastiat etc.)
- Mentors, not Professors: Someone that can teach and guide you personally in a specific subject.
- Inspire, not Require: Unless we really take education to heart we will never learn anything. So it is up to me the student to learn.
- Structure Time, Not Content: Planning when to study, not what. Now Dr. Brooks has challenged me to get as many books read as I can. But I personally structure what I read when I study. It is not forced upon me.
- Quality, Not Conformity: On matter what we are unique individuals with strengths and weaknesses. That is why we are only judged in the sense “What have you learned?” and “How are you improving?” Not being graded as a comparison to others. “Are you doing better than Sally? Or worse than Johnny?”
- Simplicity, Not Complexity: Read the book, Write about it, Discuss it with the group. “Do you understand what is going on in the book and how does it apply to life?” “What can we learn from what we read?”
- You, Not them: I am the only ones that can gain an education for myself. Not,anybody else. So I cannot compare myself with others strengths.
Now, this in my interpretation of what Oliver DeMille wrote.
We finished our pull up bar for our physical training. The bar is about 7 feet. Needless to say I am not able to jump that high. So I get my own special stool. It is really funny. I am not quite
able to get a pull up. But I will be when I leave here, I can do a half so far.
This is not a pretty picture but does illustrate the “struggle is real.” 
We also go piglets yesterday. One Boer and one Show, they are pretty cute as far as pigs go. We will be getting another show later in the year. We are trying to as Dr Brooks says “Humanize them.” Get them used to humans. The vote that we did to name them ended in the Boy being named Aristotle, the girl Lysistrata. I am not much of an animal person. Which makes this experience so great. Because I get to see how to have stewardship over God’s creations.
We also have been working on our running trail. Getting the sage brush out so it is a little safer to run on,so you can better see the rocks. 
I often during the day sit and think “WOW! Why am I so blessed? This is the best school ever!”
It is so much work, but it is also the most rewarding thing ever, it does not even feel like work at all. When a mission is calling you. You say as did the prophet Samuel “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.” (1 Samuel 3:9)
To find out more about
Monticello College go to.
Also Visit my mentor
Dr. Shanon Brooks Blog at
