Educating the heart, mind, and soul in the Catholic tradition with online classes

Faith ~ Excellence ~ Passion

Friday, November 30, 2012

The First Amendment High School Online Classes

With the recent HHS Mandate and other assaults on our fundamental rights as Americans, this course comes at the perfect time. It is vital for our high school students to understand the American Constitution. Taught by a lawyer who has a real love for American history and the Constitution, this course will prepare your student as a citizen. Mrs. Stanley is a vibrant instructor who brings a joy of learning and an excitement of her subject matter to the classroom.

(click on the course title to register)

Class dates: Thursdays, January 17 to March 7, 2013
Total classes: 8
Starting time: 1 pm Eastern
Duration: 1 hour
Prerequisite: Basic understanding of American government
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th
Suggested high school credit: 2/3 semester
Fee: $120.00
Instructor: Alison Stanley, J.D.
Course description: This class will explore why the First Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights and what freedoms it protects. Landmark Supreme Court cases interpreting the First Amendment will be studied to help flesh out the meaning of this critical freedom. Also, during this class, we will debate the constitutionality of the HHS Mandate.
Course materials: Instructor will provide free materials on a weekly basis.
Homework: This class will not have a significant amount of homework. Prior to each class, the student may be required to read an abridged Supreme Court opinion and answer a few questions.

Instructor's biography: Alison Stanley has a B.A. from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan. She loves to study history, especially how it pertains to legal and political issues of today. Mrs. Stanley is a mother of five children, all who have been homeschooled at some point. Mrs. Stanley teaches law and American history for Homeschool Connections.

Equipment requirements: Classes are online, live and interactive. Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone, which can be found as cheap as $12.
Misc: Mrs. Stanley will be available via email or phone in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.

(click on the course title to register)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

English Literature and Composition: Online Classes

This is an upper level English course with writing and literature that will prepare students for college.

(click on course title to register)


Prerequisite: Experience writing formal essays, ability to read 20-25 pages per night, some high school theology
Suggested grade level: 10th to 12th grade
Suggested high school credit: 1 full semester
Fee: $165 for all 11 classes
Duration: 1 hour
Course description: What is the capacity for good and for evil in the human heart? Are some people more prone to evil than others? This course is not for the faint of heart but for the sincerely curious, openly inquisitive, and eagerly industrious. In this class we will read works which plummet the depths of the human heart and from our discussions we will think carefully about the capacity of the virtue and vice within it. We will look at what some of the best literature has discovered in terms of free will and its difficulties. We will begin with the catechism and some short readings by Aristotle and Augustine to look toward a definition of evil and then work our way through Iago in Othello, Kurtz from Heart of Darkness, Mr. Hyde, Ralph and Jack in Lord of the Flies, and some of O'Connor's humorous but wicked villains in order to explore the twisted sinews of the heart, but also to contrast the hopeful characters which arise in all these works as antidotes to the villain. How does evil come about in a person? What choices give way to it? How is it endured? How is it avoided? These questions will be explored through study question activities, weekly lectures and small written responses (one 12 sentence paragraph-which will be taught throughout the course) as well as three papers devoted to a particular theme within these works. Though the paragraphs will be given some feedback, the three major papers will be used as their major grades for the course.

Course outline (subject to minor changes -- will confirm two weeks before the first class):
Week One: Readings from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Aristotle, and Augustine
Week Two: Shakespeare’s Othello
Week Thee: Conrad's The Heart of Darkness
Week Four: Conrad's The Heart of Darkness
Week Five: Conrad's The Heart of Darkness
Week Six: Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Week Seven: Golding's Lord of the Flies
Week Eight: Golding's Lord of the Flies
Week Nine: C.S. Lewis, Peter Kreeft
Week Ten: Faulkner short stories
Week Eleven: O’Connor short stories

Course materials: Shakespeare's Othello, Conrad's The Heart of Darkness, Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Golding's Lord of the Flies, variety of short stories by Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor, readings by Aristotle, Augustine, C.S. Lewis, and Peter Kreeft.


(click on course title to register)

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Ancient Roman History for Middle School

We have added a second middle school history course for the spring semester.

(click on course title to register)

Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade: 6th to 8th grade
Dates: Tuesdays, February 12 to May 7, 2013. No class March 26.
Number of classes: 12
Duration: 45 minutes
Fee: $160 if you register on or before December 1, 2012. $180 after Dec. 1st
Course description: This middle school class will trace the origins and development of the Roman people from their birth as an iron age tribe on the banks of the Tiber to their emergence as a world empire. Besides conventional history, the course will also look at the cultural life of the Romans (religion, art, literature) as well as show how the early Church was born out of the Roman milieu of the first, second and third centuries. Towards the last few weeks, Roman history and Church history fuse together as the world transitions from Rome to the Middle Ages.

Course outline:
Week 1: The Dawn of Rome: An assessment of the Etruscan and Greek cultures and their contribution to Rome, as well as a look at Rome's early history, both historical and mythological, through the time of the Founding of the Republic.
Week 2: The Conquest of Italy: Tracing Rome's path of conquest from its days as a small City-State to its domination of the Italian peninsula.
Week 3: Punic Wars: How Rome's expansion brought it into conflict with the maritime power of Carthage, leading to the greatest conflict of the ancient world: the Punic Wars
Week 4: Dissolution of the Republic: Rome is master of Europe, but her power has corrupted her Republican government and the Republic fails amidst the jealousies and quarrels of rival generals.
Week 5: The Julio-Claudians: Peace is restored under Augustis, the grand-nephew of Julius Caesar, who inaugurates one of the most bizarre and memorable ruling dynasties in world history.
Week 6: The Antonines: Synopsis of the century of peace under the 'Five Good Emperors.'
Week 7: Roman Culture, Religion and Society: An in depth study of Roman cultural customs relating to marriage, war, peace, commerce, slavery and much more.
Week 8: Crisis of the Third Century: The near-collapse of the Empire in the third century leaves Rome in a precarious position and ready for thje transformation that will be brought about by Diocletian, the most ambitious emperor since Trajan.
Week 9: The Glory of Constantine: The Great Persecution and subsquent legalization of the Christian Church under Constantine.
Week 10: Church and Empire: The great struggle between Church and Paganism as the Empire slowly becomes Catholic and the barbarians begin to flood in.
Week 11: The End is the Beginning: A look at the tumultuous fifth century, as the western empire crumbles and falls while the east moves out of the Latin sphere permanently.
Week 12: The Roman Contribution: despite the efforts of Justinian, the west is lost forever; yet the imperial ideal will never die, and in Rome's demise the new civil

Course materials: The Romans by Anthony Kamm
Homework: Homework will consist of readings from the text, primary sources provided online, and online quizzes done weekly. Plan on at least 1 to 2 hours per week.

Instructor biography: Phillip Campbell holds a BA in European History from Ave Maria University and a license in Secondary Education through Madonna University (2010) with majors in Social Studies and English. He has a background in youth ministry and currently teaches history for the St. Augustine Homeschool Enrichment Program, as well as Homeschool Connections. Mr. Campbell and his wife of eleven years home school their four children. He is also Mayor of his hometown of Howell, MI. Mr. Campbell teaches history and economics.


(click on course title to register)

You Too Can Refute Richard Dawkins

Watch and learn how you too can refute Richard Dawkins:

 

To register or learn more please click here:

Philosophy: Natural Theology (Philosophy of God) 

Sunday, November 11, 2012

American Sign Language Online Class

NEW! Our ASL I course this semester has been going splendidly! Next semester, we'll be offering both ASL I and II. Here is all the scoop on ASL I starting in January 2013. I hope you'll be joining us!

Foreign Language 
(click on the course title for registration)

Note: This is a 2-part course. We will be offering ASL II immediately following this course if there is an interest. 
Class dates: Tuesdays, January 15 to March 5, 2013.
Instructor: E. B. Conroy
Total classes: 8
Starting time: 11:00 am Eastern (10:00 am Central)
Duration: 50 minutes
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 6th to 12th -- appropriate for ALL beginners!
Fee: $100 if you enroll on or before December 1, 2012. $120.00 after Dec. 1 for all 8 classes.
Course description: This course is a beginning American Sign Language (ASL) course for those who would like a strong foundation in learning to communicate with American Sign Language. Students will learn and practice fingerspelling, identifying and signing words used in everyday life; asking questions; special structure of sentences in ASL; the role of expression (non manual markers) in communication; the foundations of ASL’s history; Deaf culture; and practice words and sentences. IMPORTANT! This course is a video course; it is a requirement that you have a web cam, so that you can interact and sign within the course learning time—with immediate feedback and encouragement.
Course outline:
Class 1: Fingerspelling and Greetings
 Class 2: The Family and Deaf History
Class 3: Around the House and Deaf Culture
Class 4: Numbers and Time
Class 5: Questions
Class 6: Building Vocabulary: Nouns
Class 7: Building Vocabulary: Verbs
Class 8: Conversations
Course materials: A working web cam is required (most newer computers have them built in). Everything else is provided FREE online from Professor Brown Conroy
Homework: Weekly practice of the signs and conversations covered in the course, watching videos of signing, and review within signed conversations during class time.

Foreign Language 
(click on the course title for registration)