ms Ellen's Welcome
Ellen Ahlberg: Author of the Life in America Curriculum and Co- Founder of TLE Christian Academy.
My husband John and I opened TLE over six years ago, and I can honestly say that God has richly blessed us and the students. We now have a beautiful new facility in Kennesaw’s downtown, wonderful graduates that still stop by to see us, and a student body that we really enjoy teaching.
TLE ‘s unique format is the our attempt to join academia (my background) to reality (John’s background). As the author of a national standard based complete curriculum and the Christian Education Advisor for homeschool.com, I was an educator with access to the best curricula for almost any course, (k-college). All you need to start a school. Right?
John's perception of students’ educational needs was much more broad than mine. John had spent twenty-five years in business. One of his projects is still studied at Harvard. Business executives know that current educational models leave students unprepared for corporate life.* In response to the situation Harvard developed what they termed, “The Curriculum of Necessity.” It does not resemble any curriculum I have ever seen – just a list of ten thinking strategies. Yet these are the necessary skills for success in college or career. We have intertwined these ten strategies throughout the course work.
John is moreover a committed Christian with a deep desire to serve the local community. He is excited that our new downtown location allows students to quickly connect with the world around them. Students need to learn to be good stewards and solid citizens. TLE is becoming a hub, with students reaching out and speakers coming in. Some students will be working with the museum to prepare and present historic teachings, to their visitors. So this dream is also coming into focus.
John is also European, therefore he thinks more globally. A few students may need to be prepared for global business, but we all have a global purpose. God’s word demonstrates this purpose from Genesis to Revelation. We had a speaker come in who showed them how to work in international missions without leaving metro Atlanta.
TLE Christian Academy seeks to be about her Father's Business. Every son and daughter has a Kingdom purpose. Each child is gifted with the talents to fulfill God's plan. Often those talents come to the surface through struggles. We give our students of all ages, principles to stand on and problems to solve. Over 60% of TLE students list math as their favorite subject - about the same number listed math as their weakest area coming in. One student had only managed to get half way through Algebra I in three years of high school. At TLE he finished Algebra II in two months, and Geometry in two weeks. He is currently a math major at SBSU. Another boy came to us at twelve. He was struggling with third grade math. He is now fifteen, earning a 4.0 in College Algebra. It is not uncommon for ten year-olds to begin learning Latin, because no one has told them that it is too difficult for them. All our high school students learn to write at college level. They can, all that is needed is one on one attention.
A Study of Recent High School Graduates, College Instructors and Employers states that: Fewer than 25 percent of graduates feel they were significantly challenged in high school. These high school years are the perfect time to challenge students. Teens believe that they are invincible. Why not take advantage of it. Dee Lentch, (TLE Career Counselor), tells the students to do the hard thing now - you can always do the easy thing later. She also reminds them that serving as a Missionary is wonderful – serving as a Missionary doctor, lawyer, or engineer is better still.
While I am excited about the academic achievements of our graduates - it is more thrilling that they are all still in church. A loving stable environment fosters faith. The students work hard but we laugh a lot too. Stuart Cathay says, “Love your job and you will never have to work again.” I am a teacher that loves her job. Some of the students love their jobs as well, especially those who entered TLE when they were young.
My dream is to provide a "Musement Park.” To muse is to think, if you couple that with the prefix "a” – without you get amuse. Therefore the word “amuse,’ which we aquate with fun, literally means - without thinking. Fenalon warned educators in the nineteenth century against separating fun from learning. Instead of, “finish your school work so you can go out to play,” why not learn to enjoy musing. Board games, team challenges, bingo for cheesy prizes, and chess are only a few of the ways that we enjoy musing. Students write and produce films, lead bands, create art, they even read books.
We also encourage parents to discuss deep things with their children through a program called "table talk." My father discussed politics, freedom, and economics to me at a very early age. He also taught me the value of problem solving. Life is filled with problems that do not present themselves with a multiple-choice list. This is why it is essential to learn and beable to apply principles.
Richard Maybury, (author of Whatever Happened to Penny Candy and Clipper Ship Strategy) shares that the current educational system does not teach principles. Young people need to know principles in order to create value systems. Without value systems they have no way to screen data. The outcome is an inability to find solutions.
TLE is not for everyone. We are small and plan to remain that way. There are lots of great schools for students who want to be apart of something great, but children who want to BE something great will find fertile ground at TLE to grow into their dreams.
Blessings,
Ellen
*"It's very clear that there's a skills gap that needs to be addressed when it comes to the expertise needed to assure business continuity," commented Bob Williamson, Vice President for SteelEye Technology. *Many American high school graduates are unprepared for the work world or college, according to a recent survey by Achieve Inc..
