Homeschool Connections Summer Courses

Maureen Wittman asked me to post this. I am excited about this opportunity and will discuss with my teens which course they will want to take!

Homeschool Connections is offering summer courses. We use webinar technology for our online courses. The students can see and hear the professor via a webcam and microphone. In turn, the students can communicate with the professor through the chat room or their own microphone. There is also a Power Point presentation that is viewable on the same screen. The teens love the technology.

This is an awesome opportunity to keep teens engaged and learning over the summer. These particular courses have been designed for summer time with no or light homework. Also, all classes are recorded so if you're away on vacation for a week or two, and can't access the Internet, you can simply watch the recorded event later. In fact, registered students have access to the recorded classes for 6 months for review. This is a great value for the price!
All courses require high speed internet (non-dial-up).

If you want to register, just go to https://homeschoolconnections.webex.com/. Please don't hesitate to send me questions or suggestions: Maureen Wittmann, mwittlans@aol.com.

Here are the descriptions with the instructors' bios at the end. Note that both of the instructors have experience teaching at the kitchen table as well as in the ivory tower. I've talked to several moms whose high school children have taken their courses. Both men are loved by their homeschool students and come highly recommended.

Course Title: Beowulf and Christ
Course Description: This great mini epic will be explored as an allegory that te aches the Anglo-Saxon world how to transform pagan heroic ethos into a pattern for Christian heroism and how to re-envision blind Fate as Godly Providence. The Charles Kennedy translation is suggested. Be careful not to get a web version that cuts out the Christian elements. This is a book that lies behind J.R.R. Tolkien’s depiction of Edoras as well as the warlike virtues of Gond or. Suitable for any high school student who can read the poem and enjoy it. It is preferred that student have pre-read the poem before the first day of class. There will be no homework assigned for this course.
Instructor: Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Fee: Four-week course for $60.
Dates and Time: Classes will begin Monday, June 1, 2009 and meet every Monday through June 22, 2009. The time will begin 10:00 AM Eastern and end at 11:15 AM Eastern.
Enrollment Period: Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 25 students.)
Course Materials Needed by Students: Beowulf, preferable the Kenned y translation.
Equipment requirements: Students are required to have a headset with microphone.


Course Name: The Space Trilogy of C.S. Lewis
=0 A Course Description: This is a seminar in which we will discuss the Space Trilogy of C.S. Lewis—Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. The first session will be an overview. Then we will spend two session discussing each volume. The final session will be a discussion of the entire trilogy. Juniors and seniors.
Instructor: Robert Gotcher. Ph.D.
Fee: Eight-week course for $120.
Dates and Time: Classes will begin Tuesday, June 16, 2009 and meet every Tuesday through August 4, 2009. The time will begin 11:00 AM Eastern and end at 12:30 PM Eastern.
Enrollment Period: Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 15 students.)
Course Materials Needed by Students: The Space Trilogy by C. S . Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideou s Strength)
Equipment requirements: Because this is a discussion course, students are required to have a headset with microphone.


Course Title: Catholic Living for Young People
Course Description: In our complex and changing world, with its serious cultural challenges, how does a young person structure and organize his life so that he can grow in his relationship with the Lord? Themes covered include prayer, study, social life, recreation and entertainment, technology, and decision-making. Lecture and discussion. The student will compose a rule of life tailored to his own situation. High school.
Instructor: Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Fee: Eight-week course for $120.
Dates and Time: Classes will begin Friday, June 19, 2009 and meet every Friday through August 7, 2009. The time will begin 11:00 AM Eastern and end at 12:15 PM Eastern.
Enrollment20Period: Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 25 students.)
Course Materials Needed by Students: None
Equipment requirements: A headset with microphone is preferred but not required.


Course Name: College Writing
Course Description: What are the characteristics of excellent writing in the eyes of college professors? This course will use the rhetorical arts to help turn competent writing into impressive writing. What are the essential components of an excellent piece of nonfiction writing? How does one write a compelling introduction and conclusion? How does one argue effectively for one’s position? What are important mistakes to avoid? The course will work with previous writing samples of the students, as well as composition exercises, culminating in the writing of a short argumentative essay. Juniors and seniors.
Instr uctor: Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Fee: Six-week course for $120.
Dates and Time: Classes will begin Monday, June 22, 2009 and meet every Monday through July 27, 2009. The time will begin 12:00 PM Eastern and end at 1:15 PM Eastern.
Enrollment Period: Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 20 students.)
Course Materials Needed by Students: None
Equipment requirements: A headset with microphone is preferred but not required.


Course Title: The Short Stories of J.R.R. Tolkien
Course Description: In this course we will discuss in seminar (discussion) format five short stories by J.R.R. Tolkien in light of his essay called “On Fairy Stories.” The stories are “Smith of Wooton Major,” “Farmer Giles of Ham,” “Leaf by Niggle,” “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil,” and “Roverandom.” All five stories and the essay are available in one volume, called Tales from the Perilous Realm by J. R. R. Tolkien. The assignment will be to write your own fantasy story by the end of the six weeks. High school.
It is preferred that students have read Lord of the Rings before coming to this course, but not required.
Instructor: Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Fee: Six-week course for $120.
Dates and Time: Classes will begin Wednesday, June 24, 2009 and meet every Wednesday through July 29, 2009. The time will begin 11:00 AM Eastern and end at 12:30 PM Eastern.
Enrollment Period: Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 15 students.)
Course Materials Needed by Students: Tales from the Perilous Realm by J. R. R. Tolkien
Equipment requirements: Students are required to have a headset with microphone.


Course Title: The Mass Explained
Course Description: In order to participate fully in the Mass, we need to understand it better. The Bible provides many images and ideas that are the basis for the structure and prayers of the Mass. This course looks at these Biblical ideas and explains how they are realized and fulfilled in the celebration of the Mass. Some of the images include the Trinity; temple, priest and sacrifice; the Passover and the Exodus; and the bridegroom/bride. In this course we will look closely at the prayers and structure of the Mass in light of these images and ideas. This course will not require written assignments. It will involve reading from the Bible. High school.
Instructor: Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Fee: Six-week course for $90.
Dates and Time: Classes will begin Thursday, June 25, 2009 and meet every Thursday through July 30, 2009. The time will begin 11:00 AM Eastern and end at 12:15 PM Eastern.
Enrollment Period: Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 25 students.)
Course Materials Needed by St udents: A Catholic Bible
Equipment requirements: A headset with microphone is preferred but not required.


Course Title: The Catholic Shakespeare: MacBeth
Course Description: The course will explore the play on four levels: 1) What is literally happening and why that is often surprising; 2) What main Christian moral messages are being embodied in the play; 3) The Biblical references that enrich the meaning of the work; and finally, 4) How Shakespeare is presenting the challenges and duties of the Body of Christ within the Elizabethan police state. Suitable for anyone who can read the play and enjoy it. It is preferred that students have pre-read the play before the first day of class.
Instructor: Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Fee: Four-week course for $60.
0A Dates and Time: Classes will begin Monday, June 29, 2009 and meet every Monday through July 20, 2009. The time will begin 10:00 AM Eastern and end at 11:15 AM Eastern.
0AEnrollment Period: Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 25 students.)
Course Materials Needed by Student: MacBeth by William Shakespeare
Equipment requirements: Students are required to have a headset with microphone.


Biography, Henry Russell, Ph.D.
Dr. Henry Russell is Headmaster of the St. Augustine's Homeschool Enrichment Program founded with his wife Crystal. The program began in Fall 2005 with 20 students in two living rooms and now tutors more than 70 students.

A graduate of Princeton and South Caroline (M.S.), Dr. Russell completed his graduate work at Louisiana State University. Formerly the Chairman of Ave Maria College's Department of Literature, he has also been a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Wake Forest University. He is a founding faculty member of the St. Robert Southwell Creative Writing Worksho p held in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Dr. Russell's works include The Catholic Shakespeare Audio Series. He was the Associate Editor of The Formalist from 1990-2004 and his writings have been published in various journals. He was honored to edit Dr. Alice von Hildebrand's groundbreaking volume , The Privilege of Being a Woman.

Dr. Russell and his wife Crystal homeschool their children in Michigan.


Biography, Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Dr. Robert F. Gotcher most recently served as Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kathy, are raising their seven children in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dr. Gotcher has been actively involved in the home schooling of his children, especially in the junior high and high school years. He has taught Latin, literature, physics, astronomy, and religion to homeschooled students. He has a special devotion to the classical trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric, especially as they pertain to the written arts.

Dr. Gotcher graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies. He received his M.A. in Theology of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Marquette Universit y in 2002. In his adult life he has done everything from volunteering with the poor in Appalachia, to religious education and youth ministry, to desktop publishing and computer related responsibilities at a law firm. At the seminary he taught introduction to theology, the doctrine of God, one and three, theological anthropology (creation, sin, redemption, grace, four last things), life principles, and human sexuality and has given=2 0public presentations on Vatican II, the encyclicals of the pope, social justice, life issues, human sexuality and the theology of the body. His publications focus on family=2 0issues, lay spirituality and issues related to the Second Vatican Council. He is involved in the secular Franciscan order, home schooling, and pro-life activities in the Milwaukee area and nationally.

Dr. Gotcher blogs at Heart, Mind & Strength, Classic Catholic and Love2Learn.