Great Books Tutorials

If you could take only ten books to a deserted island on which you were to be marooned for the rest of your life, what would they be? As Mortimer Adler says, this is no game--we are all in precisely that position. We are simply unable to read all the books there are; therefore, we had better choose well. Some books exercise our minds by their rigor and move our spirits by their beauty with every reading, some books help us communicate with our culture because they have been a common element in education for centuries, some books aid our understanding of the physical world by a clear exposition of careful observations by powerful minds, but only a very few books do any of these things well. And as C. S. Lewis says, old books give us a radically different perspective on life and our assumptions, and no modern books can do this at all, no matter how good they are. 

As Christians, we understand that ours is an historical faith, one that originated, developed, and grew in certain times at certain places. To study and understand the long stream of history and thought, and to comprehend our place in that stream, is to increase our appreciation of our cultural inheritance, our ability to use wisely and build faithfully upon that inheritance, and our ability to understand and respond to God's work in history.

The conclusion we may draw from all of this is that the old books are best, and the best of the old books are the best of all. That is why we read the Great Books.

The first year covers the great works of the ancient Greeks, the second year those of the ancient Romans, the third year those of the medieval and renaissance periods, and the fourth year those of the last three centuries. The students will be expected to read the assignments carefully, to participate fully in discussions, to write essays based on the reading, and to have the required editions of the books. 

Great Books I is best suited for students who are about fourteen years old. Students must begin with GBT1 unless special arrangements are made.

To see the complete 4-year list of readings, go to the Schola Bookstore and look at the Great Books required books lists.

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Please see "Internet Tutorials" page for hardware/software requirements, other courses offered, and other necessary information.

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