Admitted to the bar in 1746, George Wythe was probably America's first great law teacher directing the legal studies of young scholars, notably Thomas Jefferson. Wythe and Jefferson maintained a lifelong friendship, first as mentor and pupil and later as political allies.

Based upon the principles in which George Wythe mentored Jefferson, the Thomas Jefferson Education method advocates mentoring your child with a reliance on the classics across the curriculum.

When employing this method, the child reads or is read the classics. After reading the material, the child is led to discuss the content learned with the parent/mentor. As the child matures, he or she is challenged to write critical responses and join in group dialogues while examining these works. Lastly, the child will then apply lessons learned through those classics to real life.