Dear friends,
It is a new year and there is much to look forward to! I trust that you, like myself, have committed your plans to the Lord. I am not speaking of typical “new year’s resolutions” which are usually discarded before February hits, but godly ambitions to do great things in service to his people and for his glory! If you have not made such plans, there is no time like the present to set a goal to do your part to build up Christ’s kingdom.
I am just coming off of a three week break during the Christmas holiday and I am now back to work teaching my students. I am thankful to have had this break because I enjoyed lots of good time with my family and also was able to be very productive towards my doctoral dissertation. I was able to write more than 80 pages over the break which is tremendously encouraging to me. Lord willing I will get to finish my dissertation this semester and defend it this upcoming summer term. Once that is completed I will be able to give even more time and attention to creating Great Books curriculum (including hard copy editions) and other classical education curriculum (I am hoping to do my own logic material as well).
In the meanwhile work will still continue here at STGB as it has. It is my goal to serve you, my fellow teachers and learners, by continuing to produce useful study guides for Great Books. I have added a new page to the site which will be updated every time a new study guide is complete. I am listing the study guides on this page alphabetically by author and then title. The picture below shows you where to click to see those completed study guides. There are presently 9 study guides which have been completed and are totally free to access online and there are several more currently in development.
This year paid subscribers will begin gaining access to PDF Student and Teacher editions with even more resources than the free online versions. Additional resources in the PDFs will include vocabulary and key term lists with definitions, character lists and descriptions, information about key places and events in the text, and suggestions for how to use the study guides to greater effect in the classroom or for personal study. Teacher editions will also include suggestions for writing assignments and other projects based upon the text.
Paid subscribers will also have opportunities for live online hangouts to discuss Great Books and classical teaching methods. In December we did two Google hangouts discussing Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I would love to hear from you about which books (or short stories) you would like for us to discuss together in the future. I am also considering doing some “crash courses” in Logic, Rhetoric, Socratic Discussions, etc., and I would welcome hearing of your interests about such training.
Here is to a great new year full of falling more in love with, and fighting for, the true, good, and beautiful!
-Jacob Allee