World Revolutions & World Literature
World Revolutions: Political, Philosophical, & Religious
Russian, African, & English Literature
Humanities & Great Books Program for 9th -12th Grades | Literature + Rhetoric + History + Logic/Philosophy + Oratory All in One Program
In this program, students in 9th- 12th grades, will reach beyond their everyday world and learn to recognize and appreciate truth, goodness, and beauty in the great books, art, ideas, and nations of our vast and diverse world. In response, students will discuss, write, create, recite, and contemplate. This year a few of the core questions we will ask include “What is a revolution?” “What is the difference between revelation and revolution?” “How does change occur?” How do we create change that is good? Where does the idea of good come from? And more! It will be an engaging, exciting, and restfully rigorous year.
In literature, students will learn to carefully read a variety of Russian, English, and African Literature. They will gain the knowledge they need to understand the books, the times, the nations, and how to read them according to their nature. They will learn to express their experience and understanding through writing, discussion, and other projects.
In history, students will study world history centered around the great world revolutions, including political, philosophical, and religious revolutions. They will learn how to notice different modes of inquiry in the various works they read. They will learn how to trace the political, cultural, and geographical history of the various nations and events we study. Students will respond to their reading through writing, discussions, notebooking, and projects.
In writing, students study classical rhetoric and poetics. In classical rhetoric and poetics, students learn how to master coming up with what to write about, arranging their writing appropriately, and expressing their ideas in the most fitting and beautiful way. The content of their writing is whatever they are studying in history, literature, and philosophy.
Logic/Philosophy is an integrated and hands-on class. Students will learn about and practice the skills of logic and philosophy by practicing traditional and material logic exercises and closely reading and responding to articles, essays, and works of philosophy related to the literature and history, in the community and with the teacher’s guidance.
In Oratory, students learn how to become intimate with short selections of writing, how to get an empathetic sense of the piece, how to memorize it, and how to perform it in a way that embodies the truth of the piece. Students practice this with selections from literature, speeches, plays, and poems and perform their selections at various times throughout the year.
The Books
SUMMER READING BOOKS
- Read by the first day of class: Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Optional: Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
SCHOOL YEAR BOOKLIST
- Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
- Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy (Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, ISBN: 0143035002)
- Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
- Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
- That Hideous Strength, by C.S. Lewis
- The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis
- Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, Folger Edition
- Traditional Logic I by Memoria Press Student Workbook and Text
- The Age of Revolution by Winston S. Churchill
- The Black Jacobins by C.L.R. James
- The Russian Revolution by Sean McMeekin
- Note that students will need an additional biography for history reading. Students will select the text themselves or choose from a list provided in class.
- Selected fine art, music, myths, speeches, poems, essays, and primary documents (Provided by Teacher)
- Rhetoric & Poetics Reading Guide, by Paideia Academics (Provided by Paideia Academics)
- Rhetoric & Poetics Writing Guide, by Paideia Academics (Provided by Paideia Academics)
The Logistics
Who: 9th – 12th-grade students. (Depending on their skill level, 9th graders can enroll in either the middle school or high school program.)
When: Monday- Thursday 11:00am – 12:15pm EST (8:00-9:15am PST; 4:00-5:15pm GMT)
Calendar: 33-weeks, August 22, 2022 – May 26, 2023; Parent Orientation: Thursday, August 18th, 2022, 8:00pm
Breaks:
– Labor Day Holiday: Monday, September 5th, 2022
– Fall Break: October 10th – 14th, 2022
– Thanksgiving Break: November 21st – 25th, 2022
– Nativity/New Years Break: December 19th, 2022 – January 9th, 2023
– Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday: January 16th, 2023
– Winter Break: Monday, February 20th – Friday, February 24th, 2023
– Easter/Pascha Break: April 3rd – April 14th, 2023
Where: Zoom for Live Classes & Canvas for our Virtual Classroom
Teachers: Mrs. Angela Burke and Ms. Jennifer-Ruth Dow
- 5 hours of Live Classes (Instruction, Discussion, and Community) Weekly (1hr 15min daily, M-Th)
- Weekly Threaded Written Discussions in our virtual classroom
- All Classes are Recorded and available in our virtual classroom.
- All assignments, materials, and class correspondence are available in our virtual classroom.
- All syllabi, assignments, projects, teaching, assessment, and record-keeping are completed by the teacher.
- Transcripts and course descriptions made available at the end of the year for each student
- Total High School Classes/Credits: 3 High School Credits
1. English/Literature, 1 Core Credit
2. World History, Early Modern Revolutions 1 Core Credit
3. Philosophy/Logic, 0.5 Elective Credit
4. Oratory, 0.5 Elective Credit
Tuition: $1747 (Five Classes, One Program, One Price)
Pay all at once, by the semester, or in 10 monthly installments.
Seats Available: 16
High School FAQ
What is a Good/Great Books-style humanities program?
A Good/Great Books-style humanities program means the ideas and the literature lead. Practically this means that coaching writing and reading skills in the context of reading great books take center stage. The class will seek to see the common thread of ideas woven through both history and literature and respond to these ideas with writing, discussion, and other projects or activities.
Does my High School student need their own books?
Yes, especially the literature books and a student planner. Students may be asked to take notes in their books or highlight various passages. They need their own copies of books so they can do these things.
Does my student need to take additional literature, history, and writing courses?
We ask that you not sign your student up for additional core classes in these areas. In our experience, extra courses in these areas tax a student unnecessarily.
If you would like to give your student some independent study to make the course an honors-level course, we do provide several quality suggestions that work with our course and educational philosophy. Simply reach out to your teacher.
How much time will my student spend working outside of class?
High School students can expect to spend around 7-10 hours per week outside of class on their work for this class. If students are taking longer, we can work with your students to refine their focus and study skills throughout the year.
How do you handle grades and transcripts?
High School mentors/teachers will assess your student’s work in two ways. First, by using a mark of complete or incomplete with written feedback about what to improve. Second, they will use rubrics and traditional grades where fitting. If a student receives an incomplete and they turned it in on time, they have the opportunity to fix their error and turn it back in for a complete. Parents will receive an end-of-semester report outlining all completed, in-completes, and late work. At the end of the year, the teacher will translate everything into a concise transcript with letter grades. Parents can choose whether to share that grade with their students.
What classes do I need to teach at home? Do you have suggestions for online or local classes for these additional courses?
- Mathematics
- Science
- Foreign Language
- Additional Electives, as needed
Note: As much as possible, a liberal arts course of study should include Living Books on various topics related to and integrated with the above studies, and written & oral narrations in response to readings in the number of at least 1 per day.
Remedial Work (If Still Needed)
- Spelling (if still needed)
- Handwriting & typing (if still needed)
- Formal grammar (if still needed)
At the Paideia Fellowship, we recommend the local dual enrollment programs to help fill in the other classes students need to take locally. Online, we recommend the Classical Learning Resource Center, which offers almost every class you could think of, The Raphael School, which offers Greek and Orthodox Catechesis, Polymath Classical Tutorials, which offer outstanding liberal art mathematics classes, and Memoria Press Online Academy as well as The Schole Academy, by Classical Academic Press, both of which offer a large variety of classes.
What do you suggest for annual and college entrance testing?
The PFHC recommends the Classical Learning Test. Woodcock-Johnson Testing to comply with state Annual testing laws if it is required in your state. For Information about PSAT (usually in 9th grade) and SAT/ACT (usually in 10th-12th grades) visit collegeboard.com for info and testing locations. With that said, there is a new standardized test that many colleges are now accepting in place of the SAT and ACT, which aligns with our values and course of study more than the ACT and SAT. It is called the Classic Learning Test (CLT). You can read more about it on its website, Classic Learning Test, and see which colleges are currently accepting it and how to prepare for it.
What supplies will my 9th-12th Grade student need for PFHC?
You will receive a complete and finalized book and supply list no later than August 1st.
Can you tell me more about PFHC’s approach to writing?
Students at Paideia Academics Academy will receive consistent and developmentally appropriate instruction and assessment in the art, practice, and particulars of writing, rhetoric, and logic from 7th -12th grades. Instruction in writing begins with narration and ends with classical rhetoric. A complete outline of the language skills taught in each class is provided in the syllabus for each class provided on the first day of class.