Sometimes we refer to the educational philosophy at TLE Academy as a PULL philosophy. We get to the point where the students have a desire to learn so it is pulling knowledge, vs the more common PUSH philosophy where the institution is pushing the student through subjects and grades. That is why we put such a lot of emphasis on Know Yourself, and Apply Yourself. The third component is Commit Yourself. As students grow / mature and can show in action that they are able follow our values, Diamonds, then they have the opportunity to move up our career ladder. At this point it is not any written in stone ladder but, the students know that once they are receiving Diamonds they have an opportunity to get more responsibilities such as:
- Independent study in a certain subject. This means that a student also has shown such a motivation and study / organizational skills that he or she may take on an additional course. This means that the leadership teams commit to acquire the necessary tools and devote necessary tutoring/instruction time while the student has to commit to follow a certain schedule for tests.
- Teaching Assistant. This means that a student has shown such ability and interest to perform a certain teaching but it can also be an administrative task that he or she is allowed to devote time from regular class to complete. This is for instance how our Suzie became the instructor for Latin I and II and Chemistry with such a student acclaim that she also received High School credits for the work. To be an assistant means that the Leadership Team commits to take time to train the student in the task acquired and the student commits to make up lost work in class with home work in order to get the chance for this training.
- Table Leaders. This means that a student has shown such maturity and respect from other students that he or she can be assigned a certain table. Each table often consists of four or more students from various grades and learning styles. The Table Leaders responsibility is to serve their fellow students by being sure that they know what the assignments are, that they do not talk or get distracted, and to supervise and direct students during chores. The Table Leader also works as an authority monitoring for any student that is not living up to TLE Academy's values so that he or she can intervene and the student or students are expected to obey. If not, they are taken to Mr. John's office for a discussion. This position means that the Leadership Team is committed to support them, train them in leadership skills, and meet with the them every Friday for lunch; every second of which the leadership team pays for the lunch. At these events cultural issues, behavior issues and also leadership/coaching issues are discussed.
It is important to note that the additional assignment is an opportunity and not a privilege. This means that the assignment is pretty much renewed by quarter, and if an assignment is canceled the student has been involved in numerous discussions with Mr. John prior to its cancellation.
TLE offers an additional venue to support students, primarily juniors and seniors, to show their commitment to their continued education and that is in the community service they engage in. In general, any student who does community service and reports it accordingly will get acknowledgement in their transcripts. In addition, students are given the opportunity to learn more skills in addition to serving the community within three project areas:
Local Business Community. Students engaged in this project will be serving local businesses to help them get more customers or just assist them in their business. Some of the skills they acquire in this project include: Social Networking, Design, Web site work etc.
Local Voting Community. Students engaged in this project will serve all voters in the Kennesaw by showing them the voting record, experience or character of assigned officials. They will be the TLE Academy "expert" for say the Governor, Senate or House Representative for both the incumbent and the challenger. They will be expressing their finding in a Web blog called, Know Your Vote.
Local Historic Society. Students engaged in this project will take a lead position in interviewing, administration of interviews, filming and/or production of a TLE Academy movie about the history of Kennesaw. The people interviewed are primarily old family members who share what Kennesaw was like years ago.
In addition, we are constantly looking for people who would like to mentor a student. If you are interested, please contact Mr. John directly.
