Ian Cox: education

Showing posts with label education. Show all posts

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Whose Policy?

By Ian Cox

In my recent studies I came across a question that took me back: “Who actually decides government policy?”

I have to be honest, I’ve never looked deeply into the answer to this question. Digging in, thinking it over, and actually asking myself this question led me to some very powerful insights.

This is the United States of America, so my knee jerk response was “We the people,” of course! We elect representatives who vote on law and enact policy. If we don’t like what they do, we remove them, right? Well, currently just over 80% of federal incumbents are reelected even with around a 14% approval rating. This is the part that is seen. We get politically involved in issues and causes we really care about. We call our representatives, send our representatives letters and emails, and march on the capitol either in support or in protest.

The people have the most potential energy in setting policy, but we’re often found dormant. It’s usually too late to stop the momentum by the time most of the populace is aware of what is happening.

This brings us to that which is often not seen.

Qui bono?

Who benefits? Interest groups are what I found at the end of the money trail. The well organized and funded interest groups end up with most of the policy making power. They have the most successful lobbyists and broker the best deals.

The Dodd-Frank Act is a great example of the power of the auto industry. They won several special exemptions and treatment in the act. When Elon Musk’s new electric car hit the market nationwide many states passed legislation to make it illegal to sell Tesla vehicles. The auto industry united under a common purpose, funded and organized lobbyist groups to gain the benefits they wanted.

Why are interest groups so powerful in swaying policy?

Vigilance Is A Must!

When a single act of congress, the president, or judge can be your downfall, wouldn’t you protect your interests more effectively? We the people are always in such a predicament, freedom is a fragile thing that requires much care and vigilant oversight.

Most of the kinetic energy of policy making is found within these interest groups. They understand if politicians want to win their election or ensure their reelection they must have a corner on the media market. That’s who wins. Interest groups “hire” politicians through support of their organization and by funding their campaign.

Potential Energy

Those who put forth the time and effort gain the greater reward. Wherever government is involved in business and day to day microeconomics, interest groups will be greatly involved in setting government policy.

As the case may be, who still holds the most potential energy for freedom?

Never before have the tools and information been so available to be informed and connected with local, state, and national government proceedings as it is today. More citizens demand more value of their vote, hold the line on excellence, and aren’t afraid to try a new representative until they get the one they actually want. If there isn’t approval, clean house!

More than interest group funded media must be studied for this to be successful, but aren’t your interests worth the investment?

Will you, America, become interested in your freedom again?

If you won’t, who is lobbying for you?

Whose policy will it be?

Monday, June 29, 2015

Our Book List of Lists

A good friend of mine recently asked a very thought provoking question. She wondered, “What five books, outside of your religious book, would you take if you had to pack up and leave home?”

My wife and I got excited about the challenge and got into a discussion that lasted three days.

Through this dialogue we realized what was happening: we were defining what a “classic” meant for our family. We have a long list of classic books that we love, have learned from, and would like to take with us, but being limited to five pushed us to refine our answer of what a classic really is for us.

Simply put, a classic is something you can read over and over again and learn from it every time. There at least two different types of classics: personal classics and cultural classics.

Personal classics are subject to personal opinion—anything could be a classic to anyone, really. A cultural classic generally rises when many people consider it a classic. Thus the Harvard Classics, the Great Books set, the Thomas Jefferson Education classics list, and many other collections of some of the greatest works from history. Cultural classics are works that pass the taste of time, when generation after generation read and re-read these works and still pass them on to their children.

What are the great classics in your family culture? Your nation’s culture? Your religious culture? These are powerful questions to think about, discuss, and answer. I’d love to share in your thoughts and discuss what the core cultural classics are for your country in the comments below.

Consider the impact and widespread influence of the writings of Aristotle, Shakespeare, Homer, the Bible, and other such works. How many lives have they impacted over centuries and millennia? This is incredible to me! That is serious influence.

To fulfill this little project, Emma and I had to separate those classics that are good from the truly great.

We wanted the best classics for our family and the coming generations.

We realized as we discussed some of the most influential classics, that we need the greatest and best classics for us. That meant that we need to share what is ours. It doesn’t need to be the most “classically acclaimed,” but it does need to be something that we care about deeply. It needs to be something we get excited and passionate about, something that we deeply connect with.

A classic like this will naturally instill a passion for the love of learning in all those we come in contact with. We realized we must take the classics that are a part of us because we would be able to inspire those around us to use these classics and make them a part of who they are as well.

When you’re excited and passionate about something, those around you can’t help but gain some interest or curiosity (if not fall head over heels in love) with the subject. This is a powerful thing, the power of love. This is key to a great education, a great society, and great success: share your love for what is yours.

Think of a book that is considered a classic that you’ve tried to read but just had a hard time engaging. Such a book would be hard to get excited about and share with others. I wouldn’t pick Galileo’s Two New Sciences over Euclid’s Elements, because I get excited over studying Euclid but didn’t have the same experience with Galileo.

Maybe I could end up falling in love with Galileo’s works as much as Euclid’s if that’s the book I had, but if I had the choice I wouldn’t want to risk it on something I didn’t already deeply care about. Being able to instill a love of learning and thinking in others is much more valuable to me than taking something that is considered a “better classic” by others.

What are your top five books that you couldn’t help but share?

I’ll share what Emma and I came up with. We ended up making two book lists. The first is if we are pioneering somewhere and so our book options are limited for a time, but not forever. The second list is if there is a great disaster and the likelihood of ever getting more books is slim. We discussed these two scenarios and decided we would have different needs and a different focus depending on the availability of more classics. We chose the scriptures for both lists, these five books are in addition the scriptures.

Our first book list:

The United States Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom by Oliver DeMille

We picked this one for its invaluable list of principles needed for founding a great, free, and successful society. Also how it teaches and directs the reader to think, analyze, discuss, and read is a powerful teaching tool.

2. Jane Austen’s Complete Works

Austen shows the principles of freedom, merit, and character in action. It doesn’t talk about the importance but shows the importance in action. They are brilliant stories that depict manners, morals, and grace.

3. The Complete Works of Shakespeare

The entertainment value of Shakespeare provides for some spice and great community productions. Memorizing the stories and lines strengthens the mind, the depth of characters teach powerful life lessons, and the breadth of ideas covered supply ample opportunity for study and discussion.

4. The Hunger Games Trilogy

This series gives a variety of styles and types of books for a different flavor. We decided on this set to stand as a reminder, a warning, and a call for greatness, mission, and paying the price for freedom. We must found a new society that will guard against such tyrannical rule. This supports many similar themes from Shakespeare, Austen, and 196 by DeMille.

5. Herbalist Book of Home Remedies

Founding a new society we must work as a community, and it requires a lot of self-sustainability. Having a great reference book of different helpful plants could be the tipping point of our success or demise. Let’s stack as many odds in our favor as we can!

Our second book list is as follows (the first three are the same as before):

1. The United States Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom by Oliver DeMille

2. Jane Austen’s Complete Works

3. The Complete Works of Shakespeare

4. The Complete Works of C.S. Lewis

We have been greatly moved by Lewis’ works. His insights, questions, principles, and styles of teaching are powerful. We have a very close relationship with Lewis and would be able to pass on a great passion for learning through his works.

5. Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

This book shows what the American Founding society looked like. And the type of people that produced one of the greatest nations in the world is analyzed and described in this great work. This is another book that Emma and I feel passionate about, a book with which we could spread the love of learning and freedom.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Climate and… Freedom?

A great leadership book on reading like the top leaders of our day, entitled Turn the Page, teaches about the power of arguing with the author of the book you’re reading. Needless to say, I have had a couple run ins with Montesquieu.

When I first read his Spirit of the Laws I was surprised by his thoughts about the impact of the climate of a nation. He said that tropical climates which require little work to obtain the necessities of life tend to raise people who are weaker, less moral, and generally less free. Montesquieu broke down the history of these nations and showed they would often be conquered by more hardy northern nations who had all the seasons. These northern people had to struggle to live, they had to store up and think more long-term. The Carthaginians were conquered by the Romans, and the Romans defeated by the Gauls. Or—in a modern example—the northeastern Ivy League schools tend to be more scholarly, while the Arizonian or southern Californian schools are considered the nation’s party schools.

The book gives great historical examples and case studies for this common thread. I thought it was pretty funny at first. I didn’t take him seriously in the least and often joked about it with some of my peers and students I was mentoring at the time.

I was left wondering why brilliant Montesquieu would say this. I kept asking, “What am I missing? What am I not seeing here?” So I’d laugh and wonder at the oddity of climate influencing freedom.

My reconciliation came slowly, with much more reading and discussion. But I’ve come to understand that he’s onto something here. He’s not saying that you can’t have freedom if your life isn’t really really hard in order to survive—because there are ample cases to the contrary. But climate does matter. We see this dynamic between the islanders of the Pacific being very communal, relaxed, and peaceful as tribes, as opposed to the conquering Vikings far to the north who lived much by a survival of the fittest type of culture, even within in their own society. Climate absolutely has great effect on people—both societal and familial.

Summer naturally drives family outdoors to work, play, and build. Fall naturally inspires preparation, harvest, and gathering for feasts. Winter naturally tends toward rest, family stories, and study. And spring naturally produces unrest, new birth, and new energy. It’s different if you only have summer and spring, or fall and winter. You must make adjustments, checks, and balances to hedge against the weaknesses of each season and exploit their strengths.

This is simply another piece of the freedom puzzle, just as Montesquieu argues that for a Republic to be successful it must be based on the principles of public virtue. Looking closer at the founding of the United States—and a similar thing will be found in the founding of any great and free people—the effects of their climate, their natural resources, and their position in the world, geographically as well as politically, important. In order to establish a successful new nation, or a new business, a new family, a new move, a new phase in life, these things should be considered.

Do we too seldom notice the power and influence of our environment? The culture of the society you’re in, the temperament of the climate around you, the type of soil you reside on, the neighboring military powers, the business competition down the road, the addictions one is faced with, the customs and manners of a region or society, etc. etc. etc. Understanding the environment is a powerful tool in finding the right answers to make anything a success.

So, how does your climate affect you, your family, and your government?

Friday, June 12, 2015

Course: Leadership Education for Teens

with Ian Cox

About this Course

When you fall in love with learning, something magical happens in your education. Not only is learning more fun, it also becomes more meaningful, more effective, and even easier! When you have a mentor who loves not only teaching but learning itself—a mentor who’s dedicated to helping you find your inner genius and connect you with your purpose in life—learning to love learning is practically a given.

Ian Cox is just such a mentor. In this class, he will share some of the greatest success stories from history and some of the most important things that made all the difference in their victories, all the while helping students see themselves in what they learn and read.

The power of a mentor-guided study of the greats is quite possibly unparalleled in terms of actually equipping students with the foundation of a lifelong love affair with learning, and the tools and principles requisite to a truly superb education and a highly successful career in any field.

Ian’s passion for learning can’t help but rub off on anyone who gets around him, so jump in and let’s get ready to rub shoulders with some of the greatest men and women in history!