The Phases of Learning

Thomas Jefferson Education speaks of various phases of learning that children will naturally progress through if allowed to.

Core Phase is roughly age 0 - 8. This is when children learn values. The lessons of this time is to learn the difference between good and bad; true and false; right and wrong. This is done through the curriculum of work and play with family. Academics do not need to be stressed, pushed, or required. If they are pursued, they are in the form of playing and working with the family.



As time goes along, children will transition into a Love of Learning Phase. People in the phase will develop many interests. The interests my last a week or several years. Think of an educational buffet as children sample and test many topics and subjects.



Around the age of 12 or 13, that love of learning gains more structure as the child progresses into Scholar Phase. This is when things start to look a lot more like school. Children are developmentally ready for more rigger in their studies. They start to gain a sense of mission. They may not yet know what they want to do in their lives yet, but they begin to feel the urgency to prepare



Depth phase is more of the college age. By this time they have a general knowledge of what they want to do in their lives and are ready for the in depth preparation to get ready.


There is more, like Mission phase and Impact, but this is good enough for now.


Once one transitions to another phase, they do not leave the previous. They build on each other. I have heard several analogies of how to visualize this, but my favorite is the bicycle tire. The core is the center of the hub. The spokes represent love of learning; the more the merrier. The rim is scholar and the tire is depth.