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Greek Classics, Student Guide

Questions for the Thinker Student Book

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Greek Classics, Student Guide
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Product Details
Authors:
Format:
ISBN:
H x W x D:
Manufacturer:
Date:
Pages:
 Fran Rutherford, James Rutherford,
Discuss Catholic books. Spiral Bound
0-9743869-7-9
11"  (27.9 cm) x 8 1/2"  (21.5 cm) x 1"  (2.54 cm)
Mother's House Publishing
2005
196

 Our Description

Fran Rutherford's two-volume Greek Classics (Student Book and Teacher's Guide - sold individually) provides an ideal course for parents who homeschool high school students and for teachers of secondary education who wish to introduce their students to the great books of Western civilization, "the best that has been thought and said," in Matthew Arnold's famous phrase.  The choice of great books is appropriate, balanced, and coherent-each book illuminating an important facet of Greek thought and culture and embodying the moral wisdom of the Greek mind.  The course covers Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, selections from the histories of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon, Aeschylus's trilogy The Oresteia, Sophocles' Oedipus trilogy of The Three Theban Plays, Aristophanes' The Clouds, and Plato's Republic-a rich banquet for the mind that integrates history, literature, and philosophy for a beginning humanities student.

Comprised of brief but substantive introductions to the authors and to the works, the book then poses simple but penetrating questions about each chapter or major part of the book. It also presents probing questions for further reflection and discussion.  For example, the questions at the end of a chapter test simple reading comprehension: "How does Odysseus convince Penelope that he is who he says he is?"  "What proof of his identity does Odysseus give his father?"  The questions for further thought are contemplative and thought-provoking: "What do you learn about Greek beliefs from Odysseus's visit to Hades"?  and "How is our notion of hospitality different from that of the Greeks?"  The Teacher's Guide of course offers the answers to the factual questions, but it provides special insights to address the questions for further though.  How does the modern practice of hospitality differ from Greek customs?  "Another difference is that the Greeks thought strangers were sent from the gods, so they had a religious duty to be hospitable.  That idea was also expressed in the scriptures-notably in Hebrews 13:2: 'Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares'."  The questions and answers are always lucid, straightforward and penetrating.

The other features of the book that make it a valuahble resource are the maps, illustrations, vocabulary, and explanation of technical terms.  The maps of the Greek world and the Persian Empire, a diagram of the Greek theater in the round, the "words to know section" at the end of each chapter (e.g., "suppliant," "sycophant," "libation," "paean"), and the definition of Greek words like parados, agon, and deuterogonist all broaden the mind and provide breadth and depth to the course.

In short, these two volumes provide a bone fide traditional, classical liberal arts education that introduces students to the reality of philosophical or universal truth, to the unchanging natural moral law that explains the nature of tragedy and the events of history, and to the Greeks' passionate love of knowledge and desire for glory.  It transmits to students the patrimony of Greek civilization-the culture that discerned the difference between living and living well, between being "civilized" and being "barbaric".  For students to know these perennial truths about human nature and the human condition is the beginning of wisdom-the goal of all true education.

Review from the Love to Learn Blog:

This one volume, written especially for homeschooled high schoolers, provides study questions to reflect on while reading the Greek classics. The study questions are simple and aid in comprehension. If you read the questions before reading the related passage, they give you a sense of what to look for, thus helping you stay focused on challenging subject matter. They're also helpful in discussions with an adult afterwards to help make sure that the student has comprehended the book and as starting points for further discussion on important ideas contained in the book.

I was grateful to discover that the author has skillfully avoided the all-too-common problem of questions that pre-digest the story for the student or take on a condescending tone.

Study materials are included for:

  • Homer's Iliad
  • Homer's Odyssey
  • selections from the Histories of Herodotus
  • History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
  • Anabasis: A History of My Times by Xenophon
  • The Oresteian Trilogy by Aeschylus
  • Three Theban Plays by Sophocles
  • The Clouds by Aristophanes
  • Plato's Republic

Detailed study questions are included for each segment of each work, and include line numbers to relate easily back and forth between the book and the study guide. There are "Questions for Further Thought" that emphasize certain parts of each book or summarize at the end. These could be starting points for writing assignments as well as fodder for discussion. Answers are included, as are timelines and a pronunciation guide.

This resource was written by a very experienced Catholic homeschool mom who has designed the program for ease of use by parents, even those with little knowledge of the classics. The questions reflect an understanding of the concepts and values that make these works worthwhile to Catholic homeschool students of the 21st century.

Reviewed by Alicia Van Hecke (3-3-07)
 

 General Description:

Greek Classics - Questions for the Thinker Student Book
Fran Rutherford
Illustrated by James Rutherford

This study guide is written for high school curriculum, grades 9 through 12. Its simple question-and-answer format breaks down the barriers to understanding the texts for both student and teacher. Vocabulary development, research topics and frequent Questions for Further Thought, the hallmark of Fran Rutherford's Questions for the Thinker (tm) Series, are included throughout. A complete answer key is found in the companion volume Teacher's Guide. It is recommended that a book be purchased for each student. Not only will it facilitate writing answers to the questions, it will serve for years as a valuable resource for other high school and college classes.

Four Units Of Study

  • Epic Poetry
  • History
  • Theatre (drama & comedy)
  • Philosophy

Study Titles

  • Iliad by Homer
  • Odyssey by Homer
  • Selections from The Histories by Herodotus
  • History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
  • The Persian Expedition by Xenophon
  • The Oresteia (Agamemnon, The Choephori, The Eumenides) by Aeschylus
  • The Three Theban Plays (Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus) by Sophocles
  • The Clouds by Aristophanes
  • The Republic of Plato

Words Of Praise:

 

"First of all, let me introduce myself.  I am the founder and director of
St. Thomas Aquinas Academy, a Catholic liberal arts homeschool program.  I
have been the lead advisor for our school for 11 years now, working with
about 300 to 350 families and their students per year.  Our program is
written as a liberal arts program for the gifted student, but our advisors
personalize the programming to each student, to each family to make a
liberal arts education available for any child, whatever their age and
skill level.  (The late Dr. Mortimer Adler's series The Paidiea Program
was the foundational inspiration to our school's curriculum and method of
learning.)

"We were honored to be a part of Fran's children's homeschool education-and
it truly has been an honor.  Fran is a delightful lady of beautiful
Catholic character, a hard worker and a loving mother.  She thinks and
speaks with such kindness, clarity and intelligence, which is evident
throughout her book.

"Greek Classics is the book we've been waiting for for the seventeen years
we've been homeschooling in the liberal arts.  The readings chosen are the
core pieces necessary for introductory Greek studies.  Each lesson has a
clearly identified reading assignment, then comprehension-style questions,
then some analytical thinking questions, then a short vocabulary list.
There are Catholic and scriptural references included throughout.

"While we at STAA usually avoid comprehension questions, since we feel that
they serve neither to draw the student into the readings nor draw
analytical or creative thought out of the child but only prove that the
student has read the assigned text, we find Fran's comprehension questions
to be just what is needed to be sure the student has understood the high
literary tones, the ancient imagery, the culturally-specific issues and
aspects as well as can be done from a first reading of these pieces.
These comprehension questions help the student zero in on key features of
the readings, and also serve to distract him or her from the more racy
passages.  Nice job, Fran!

"The critical thinking questions are remarkable!  Here the student is asked
to make judgments based on his own experience of the readings, leading him
to develop his own voice, and helping him think through his own belief and
moral systems.

"Our favorite feature of Greek Classics is Fran's concise, but insightful
answers to all of the questions.  An answer key to Greek studies-a first
in Greek studies for the high school student!  Thank you, Fran.  Now
parents can teach Greek studies with confidence-even the ones that don't
have the time to read every page and passage themselves!

"The one aspect (and I think it is the only one) we really miss in this
program is that it has no discernable pace.  We can't tell how many weeks
to plan for to cover this study well.  We can't tell whether to use it as
a stand-alone history & humanities course, or whether we need to break it
up into separate history, literature and drama courses to give the student
the time he needs to enjoy the works.

"While we will be sad to refer parents away from our own course plans for
Greek history (we love our critical thinking questions and the oral
narrations we ask for), we are planning on re-working our recommendations
and course plans to offer Fran's book as an alternative central text.  And
we can't wait for her Roman Classics volume!

"The hefty price tag is difficult to swallow, to be sure.  Homeschooling
families are usually living on a single income so we are very cautious in
expecting our STAA parents to use materials this expensive.  But this is a
wonderful resource for helping to re-build the liberal arts and humanities
in today's world and well worth the investment when possible.

God's blessings to you,
Mrs. Deborah L. Yonan, Director
St. Thomas Aquinas Academy"

 

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