Great Books Education

Back in the days of the ancient Greeks (we are talking well over 2000 years here. Actually it was more like 2500 years ago) - in the age of Aristotle, Socrates and Plato - education was a privilege and at that time it was only allowed for boys and free men. Girls were not educated, neither were the slaves.

Greek education was based on 7 subjects- divided into 2 sections.

The first section was called the Trivium and it taught the basics of grammar, rhetoric and dialectic. These days we use different words to describe these areas.

Grammar = language and memorization.
Grammar can be best described as the art of inventing symbols (alphabet) and combining them to express thought (writing)

Rhetoric = persuasive argument and debate.
Rhetoric can be described as the art of communicating thoughts to another (by writing or speaking)

Dialectic = logic and organised thinking
Dialectic can be described as the art of thinking

The second section was called the Quadrivium and consisted of the following 4 subjects.
Music
Mathematics
Geometry (as in Euclids)
Astronomy

In these modern times, school subjects are usually divided up into the following groups.
Arts and Humanities (Fine Arts, Literature, Languages)
Social Sciences (Geography, History, Anthropology)
Natural or Pure Sciences (Maths, Astronomy, Biology)
Medicine (Medicine, Psychology)
Philosophy (Philosophy, Theory of Knowledge)

Image Source - Ancient Greek Boys in class

Great Books can be used in all levels of education. It doesnt matter when you start your Great Books reading. You can start in elementary, middle school or high school level. You can use it at any time if you are homeschooling.

I have seen lists of books for elementary school, middle school, high school AND for college and university as well. The reason for this is because books can be adapted for all age levels and reading levels. Great Books can also be taught at home for the homeschooler as well.

Some kids don't do any Great Books at all while they are attending public school. But they choose to start their Great Books education when they do enroll at college.

There are a few specialised liberal arts colleges (in the USA) that use ONLY the Great Books curriculum. And some colleges have a degree in Great Books as part of their classics program, along with all the other common subjects.

The whole point of reading these books is to discuss them. Learning is done by discussion, not by listening to one person lecturing. Students in a Great Books program make notes in order to understand what they are reading amd discussing.

Image Source - Flickr - The Great Books Library Jefferson County Public Library - Monticello - Florida. There are some publishing companies that print Great Books volumes.

The Great Books Program is based on reading lists - lists of classics. And by classics, I dont just mean the Greek and Roman books, I also mean those books written throughout history. Some of the books on the list were even written in the 20th century!!! These lists will vary slightly from place to place, but they usually end up having the core classical books listed with some variations.

Back in 2008, the Globe and Mail Newspaper here in Toronto published it's definitive list of the 50 greatest books ever. A good 40 of those books would be also be on any Great Books list as well.

I blogged about that list back in 2008 and earlier this year (2011) I wrote a lens about those books.

This will give you the basics of what makes up a good list. Although many of the resources I have linked to below, will also have excellent reading lists.

Image source - Homeschool Classroom