Ancient History for Middle Grades

This course introduces the students to the ideas, events, and cast of characters that molded the social, political, religious, scientific, economic, and technological history and literature from the Ancient and Classical World. Students will learn to understand people of the past by reading what they read. this integrative experience of history and literature is one of the benefits of the classical model.

I believe that the Biblical mandate to “love thy neighbor” extends even to human beings that came before us. We desire t know and understand how people in the past lived, what they valued, and how they made sense of the world. Augustine wrote that humans are defined by their loves. We can get a sense of the “loves” of past people and cultures by studying their world and by reading the works that they read. This is an act of Christian charity or love that should stir us to humility and gratitude. Students will be seeking truth, beauty, and understanding through history and literature. My hope is that students come out of this course with a historical mindedness that produces a deeper love of God and love for our neighbor.

The main geographical focus of this course will be the Classical Mediterranean and Europe, but will also include portions of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas when relevant. Classical civilization did not exist in a vacuum but was shaped by exchanges and encounters with the broader world before it became the cultural tradition that we inherited. Each class period is intended to be primarily seminar/discussion style. The instructor may open a history class with an occasional 15-minute lecture to provide historical background and context, but the intention is to keep the class dialogue-driven.

Students are asked to consider and engage carefully crafted questions as their window into “the Great Conversation.” Students are assessed for their curiosity, participation, and diligence during discussions, as well as by means of short response papers, essays, and occasional quizzes.

This class is paired with our middle-school course on ancient literature, taught by the same teacher, and scheduled back-to-back with that course in a “block.” Students who take both courses receive a discount. This course may also be taken as a standalone history study. Because of this arrangement, and the nature of history and literature, there will necessarily be overlap between the two classes.

Placement: Please read about our new process above.

This course is suitable for rising 7th–9th graders. Students are expected to have proficient reading and writing skills as well as the interest and capacity for engaging in discussion about literature and history. Students suited for this course will also be cultivating the following scholarship skills:

• Actively and independently engage in note-taking: I expect that students will need to grow in this skill as note-taking is not always well-developed among rising college students. Students should be generally aware of this skill and willing to flex this muscle.
• Apply teacher critiques
• Adhere to deadlines
• Be responsible for class and project preparedness
• Take initiative to ask questions for understanding and comprehension: This is very important for discussions and classical learning. It can be daunting for students who are less outgoing. Regardless of where a student’s natural abilities are in this area, the student needs to have a willingness to develop this skill.

**How much time will students spend on homework? **
I aim to give around 2 hours of homework every week for each class (a total of 4 hours of homework for both history/literature). Most of this will be reading, annotating, short assignments, etc.

**How does this course compare to the upper-school ancient history course? **
The chief differences between the middle-school and upper-school levels for this course are noted below. While there will be some overlap of content taught, the upper-school course will be much more challenging and assume a more mature student with more background knowledge and greater reading, writing, and scholarship facility.

**How is faith integrated with these courses? **
These seminar-style discussions unfold organically. One could approach the texts with a focus on defensive critiques of classical authors. By contrast, we seek to read charitably. We treat classic authors as if they were friends, gleaning every available truth while also examining them from a robustly Christian perspective.

At Scholé Academy, we have carefully considered how we should engage our contemporary culture as those who believe that Christ is the Truth (John 14:6), and that all truth has its source in him. We think it is important to provide our upper school students (in grades 7-12) with tools and opportunities for critically examining various cultural trends, issues and mores through the lens of orthodox, Christian beliefs. Being confident in the truth revealed to us in creation, the Scriptures, and the tradition of the church, we are not afraid to follow the truth and its implications nor to address error and falsehood. … Read more about our Faith & Culture.