What are the signs of transition from one phase to the next? Oliver DeMille says “you never actually leave Core Phase, or Love of Learning Phase or the others, once you have reached them. Students in Depth Phase still apply the lessons of Core, Love of Learning and Scholar.” Knowing that, I would say that one doesn’t transition into the next phase, one grows. But there are a few signs to look for that shows one is ready for the next step in learning.
A Core phase student builds a foundation for learning. He learns right and wrong, good and bad, true and false and builds relationships through work and play. He will eventually play in ways that look like learning.
After a solid Core phase a child will logically move into the Love of Learning phase. Here he will fall in love with learning and study anything that interests him. As he continues through this phase and is surrounded by an inspiring environment he will begin to do more independent projects and spend more time reading and studying than playing.
Then he will be ready for the Scholar phase. In this phase he “begins a rigorous, disciplined survey of classic works and real life application.” He willingly studies subjects of his choosing for 8-10 hours a day and submits to a mentor who will help him understand the importance of other subjects.
After gaining a scholar education, a student is ready to move into the Depth phase. This is usually done at a college or university with a more demanding mentor. Students with solid Core, Love of Learning and Scholar phases will be prepared to become leaders and statesmen during this phase.
These phases occur over the course of one’s childhood--from birth to young adulthood. If the environment is right and the keys are applied the growth between phases will be natural.
