In praise of Schola Classical Tutorials

Great Books Year 1
(With apologies to Homer - we couldn't find The Illiad for the photo op.)

This has been my oldest daughter's first year of studying the Great Books with an online tutor, Wes Callihan of Schola Tutorials. It has been a fabulous success. She has read (and read, and read); she has written and reflected on each class, each book, and many interesting topics. She has gleaned much from Mr. C's depth of knowledge, delightful humor, and his overall exuberance about life and learning, all the while making some good friends from around the country.

Each Monday afternoon, the audio was turned on, and we all listened as Wes held forth on the current book, guided the student discussion, and answered any questions the students had. We had thought that earphones would be used to keep the house quieter, but huge protests convinced me to allow the speakers to be on. It was a fantastic year of study for my daughter, and we got to listen along.

So, this is my plug for Schola Classical Tutorials. From their website:

"Schola Classical Tutorials offers live group tutorials over the internet in the subjects of a classical liberal arts curriculum: the classical languages, the great books of literature and history, and rhetoric. These are the subjects that teach students the skills of thinking and learning and that teach them the history of the ideas that have shaped our culture. These skills, and a knowledge of these ideas, are the foundation for further study and for a lifetime of learning and intelligent participation in our culture."

This next year will mean Great Books II, which covers ancient Roman literature and history, and my daughter has pleaded to be able to take Anglo Saxon as well. She'll share the cost, so we agreed.

Wes is also coming down to our area this summer to lead a week-long intensive study of Latin. The class (which will include our daughter) will go through the entire Wheelock's Latin textbook in five long days. If you're going to do crazy things in your youth, this might as well be one of them, eh?

By the way: there is a Great Books for Adults course available. You can find the course description here. This is on my "one of these years" list. I am sure it would be very helpful, enlightening and fun.

If I had made a list of qualities I would want a tutor to have, I would have listed (naturally) a knowledge of the material and an ability to relate to students. If I was dreaming big, I would include a healthy sense of humor, a delight in learning new material, and a passion for whatever topic was being discussed. Wes Callihan fills the bill for this dream list; we couldn't recommend him highly enough.