Homeschool classes this Summer

Every now and then I like to put in a plug for Homeschool Connections, the online homeschool company I tutor for (see here for an explanation of what Homeschool Connections is). I just wrapped up a 12 week course on the Middle Agesand am about to start to brief summer "boot camps" in June and July.

The first, running June 6th to June 9th, is on the Great Depression. This course, designed for 9th-12th graders, will examine the development of banking in the United States as a backdrop to the events of 1929, study the Wall Street Crash of October 29th, 1929 and its consequences. It will also follow the unfolding of the Depression around the world and the United States' attempt to mitigate the disaster. This class will also lead students in comparing the financial markets of 1929 to those of today and speculate on whether or not another disaster of the magnitude of the Depression could happen again. If you are looking for something as good transition from history into a study of economics, this could be a good course. If you live in a state that has to keep track of credits, this class counts for 1/3 credit with the homework for high school history or economics.Click here for info on class times and cost; this class starts next week, so sign up soon.

The second class, July 11th to 14th, is titled Understanding the Second Vatican Council. This class is for 9th to 12th graders and also counts for 1/3 credit for high school history or Church history. This course will guide students through the history of the tumultuous years surrounding the Second Vatican Council. We will study the important events and persons of the Conciliar years and dig into the sixteen documents promulgated by the Council, including Lumen Gentium, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Gaudium et Spes, Nostra Aetete and Dei Verbum. This class does not come at the Council with any particular agenda, although, following our Pope, I will be course looking at the Council in the context of a hermeneutic of continuity rather than a hermeneutic of rupture. Basically, we'll just be studying the history of the Council itself and focusing in on what some of the key documents say (and don not say). Click here for info on class times and cost.

If you want to see an actual sample of what a Homeschool Connections class looks like, Click here. This is a recording of my Christian Historiography class, which I did last summer (depending on your computer, clicking on this link may download some software that will enable you to watch the class). This link allows you to see how a Homeschool Connections class is conducted, although there are some features not visible (like the chat box with all the students' identities).

Okay, that's enough plugs. Next month is the 4th year anniversary of this blog, and to celebrate, June 2011 will be French Month - every post will be about France and Catholicism all month long. We've got a lot of great stuff coming up: Jansenism, Masonic conspiracies, French consumer cooperatives, the bizarre French "convulusionary" movement, the French clergy in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Catholic-Lutheran ecumenical talks of the 1690's, the relics of Joan of Arc, Gallicanism and anything else I have time for. If you want to see anything specific, let me know in the combox, or become a follower of the Unam Sanctam Catholicam Facebook page.

Whew! This post is one big pitch. I'd better knock it off and go to bed.