Mentoring in the Classics

Homeschool.com’s Product Reviews

Mentoring the Classics
Adults
$20 (or less) Per Month

Mentoring in the Classics is a class for you, the teacher. It helps you light YOUR fire, so you have the excellence and the inspiration you need, to teach your students effectively.

Each month, the mentoring class focuses on one title/book. You can see the schedule below (you may join at any time, and continue for as long as you’d like):

  • Introduction (all subscribers receive this mentoring content): Dumbing Us Down, John Taylor Gatto
  • Orientation: Gifts from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  • September: “The Inner Ring”, C.S. Lewis
  • October: A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe, Michael S. Schneider
  • November: Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
  • December: Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder

2015

  • January: Leadership Essentials Series,Turn the Page
  • February: Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place
  • March: Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
  • April: William Strauss and Neil Howe, The Fourth Turning
  • May: L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
  • June: Louis L’Amour, Bendigo Shafter
  • July: DeMille, Learning Styles and TJEd (soon to be published)
  • August: Louisa MayAlcott, Little Men 
  • September: Leadership Essentials Series, Mentoring Matters
  • October: Gene Stratton-Porter, Laddie 
  • November: William Shakespeare, Hamlet 
  • December: Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows

When taking a class, at the beginning of the month, you receive the following:

  • An introduction to the work in a downloadable mp3 audio
  • A PDF downloadable study guide with recommended resources, additional readings, discussion questions, etc.Throughout the month you receive:
  • Moderated online support and discussion. Online discussions are hosted on a dedicated Facebook group, and are moderated by TJEd mentors. Each book in the schedule has a searchable discussion thread.

Toward the end of the month you receive:

  • Downloadable mp3 audio debriefing which includes answers to questions from the online discussion.
  • The above information helps you progress through the 5 Levels of Engagement with the classics. Per Oliver DeMille, the five levels are–
    1. Is the work “good” or “bad”??
    2. What are the positive lessons I can take away from the good in this work? (make a list of things you agree with/disagree with)?
    3. What are the lessons I can take away from the “bad” in the work, or the things I disagree with?
    4. What great messages does this great classic have specifically for me, my needs, and my effectiveness in my roles and purpose?
    5. What, for me, is the “Big Idea”– the overarching, transformational theme of this work?

There are a number of things I appreciate about this course:

  • The five levels just mentioned. Looking specifically for this information, makes the classics personally relevant.
  • The chosen titles are selected from multiple genres. This provides a good array in terms of exposure and experience with the classics.
  • The titles chosen for the series are designed to be progressive in nature (you’re not starting off with Hamlet!). Plus, on months when a weightier title is on the schedule, the preceding and following titles are a little less demanding.
  • You can save the audios to your computer and listen to them at your convenience. Very nice!
  • What you learn is easily sharable with your students.
  • The price is certainly a plus. Just $20/month. Plus, there is special pricing for book discussion groups (up to 10 participants) – just $100. Or my favorite—you can combine this course with a This Week in History subscription. Both subscriptions can be purchased together for just $23.99/month. That seems like quite a deal!
  • So, maybe you’d like to take a little time for yourself—with Mentoring in the Classics!