GBA Updates and FAQs

We have heard from thousands of homeschooling families this year, and we are growing very rapidly and now adding new students literally every day we are open. Our offices are open Monday-Friday, 9-4 CST. We have students across the country and in a few other countries and expect to add several more countries to that list this Fall.  

Our new web site - greatbooksacademy.org - is up, though not quite entirely completed. Our Great Books Store is posting scanned images of the covers, tables of contents and sample pages from every book in our curriculum. We are busy preparing book summaries to add as well. The web site will soon offer a parent forum and a student forum, as well as a page for student assignments and essays on various subjects, together with a forum to discuss the essay. A "GBA News" bulletin board will contain the latest developments, events and announcements from the Academy.  You can now order books and enroll online.

Our first online Socratic discussion groups will end next week. We are the first and only homeschool program to offer that live-audio option to students. They begin in early September and end in late May each year. Despite a few technical glitches, overall the discussion groups worked far better than we had hoped for a new program like this. The first high school group will finish the year of the ancient Greeks (Freshman grade level) next week with oral exams online. Next year they will begin the ancient Romans. Also next year, or perhaps the following, we hope that technology will allow us to add full-motion video to our live audio-discussions. At present it is simply too choppy and distracting. But the live-audio works surprisingly well, since it requires minimal bandwidth.

Our staff keeps growing to meet your needs. We invite you to meet them on our website. We have met some of our students and their parents, around the country at homeschooling conventions we attend, the most recent being the Oklahoma Christian Home Educators convention in Oklahoma City, and the School of Abraham convention in Seattle. Our website lists our convention appearances. One of our GBA familes is pictured on this page.

GBA Student David Chambers and family members

We wish to express our gratitude for the support, enthusiasm and patience with which the first year of our Great Books, classical homeschool program has been received. We look forward to another year of growth - helping more homeschooling families understand and be enabled to find the best available materials for their classical homeschooling needs.

As many of you now know, we consider this program a service. We regard parents (not us) as the primary educators of their children. They - not the government, not us - know best about their own children. We are here merely to help homeschooling parents and students, in any way we can, but principally through providing the best materials available for their use, together with simple lesson plans, tests, grading, record keeping, advice, optional online discussion groups, Britannica online, and so on. Our standard answer to parents who call with one or another request is, "yes". This surprises many, who seem to expect to find us rigid and bureaucratic - perhaps because that is their experience in public schools. On the contrary, we try to be flexible in every way possible in order to encourage homeschooling and those families resolved to educate their children well. God bless them. Again, thank you for the opportunity to be of service in this vital, classical, homeschooling movement.

Following are some frequently asked question about the GBA.

May I buy materials without enrolling?

Yes. Anyone may purchase our materials.

If enrolled, may I substitute courses from one grade for another?

Yes. Parents are the primary educators of their children. You may choose as many or as few courses as you wish, from whatever grade levels you wish, for any student.

If I substitute with my own courses will I still get a grade from the Academy?

Yes. You need only to send us your child's average quarterly grade and quarterly test grade and we will give a grade and keep a record of that grade for you.

What are the benefits of enrolling in the Academy?

We offer many services to enrolled parents.  We grade quarterly tests and book report forms and keep permanent school records.  Parents are free to chose any of the courses from any grades for their child. We provide you with daily lesson plans -- custom made for your child.  We offer consultation throughout the year with trained staff who understand the courses we offer.  We are the only homeschool program to offer both the Good and Great Books of the Western world.  We have optional online Socratic discussions for enrolled or non-enrolled students. We are also the only homeschool to offer a BA at the end of our four year Great Books program.  Enrolled parents are free to contact (by email, mail, fax or phone) the staff at any time of the year with questions, comments or need of help. If enrolled, you will also receive a free membership to Britannia online. 

How will I know where to place my child in the Academy?

We offer a placement test, free of charge, for parents who do not know in which level to place their children.  It is up ultimately to the parents to chose what grade level(s) to place their children. 

How do your lesson plans work?

We have daily lesson plans for every subject on our list.  The lesson plans are kept simple so the parents do not have to read needless information.  Most of our courses come with a detailed teacher's manual to help the parents understand the lesson, if needed. Our lesson plans are also simple enough to be used by even younger students, when the parent is too busy to sit down and explain the lesson.  If your student is enrolled and already has one of the books you will be using, simply let us know and we will send you a set of lesson plans.

What is included in your Good Books Literature lesson plans?

The Good Books program comes with a 2-3 page cover sheet explaining the Good Books and offering tips on questions to ask while reading the books.  We also include a number of book reports for each grade level (varying in difficulty from Nursery - 8th grade) for the student to fill out as a book is completed.

Your program seems advanced, how hard will it be for my child?

We often tell parents our program is as hard or as easy as you want it to be, since it is the parents who chose the courses and levels they want for their children.

Do we have to use Academy materials exclusively for our homeschooling?

No.  Again, parents are the primary educators. We are here to aid them. While we believe our materials are the finest available we understand that in some circumstances parents may wish to continue using some materials they already have.

Do I have to buy the entire literature package for each grade?

No. You may buy each of the books, from any grade level, individually.

The literature list seems advanced for the age groups listed. Why is this?

The listings are a rough guide for parents.  Certainly, in the younger grades, the parents will be doing some, or most, of the reading. This is not only acceptable but also beneficial for the students, even for older students, as they learn how the language "should" sound and also helps the student learn to listen well. It is a good thing for students [for all of us, in fact] occasionally to read a book that is difficult and makes them "stretch" intellectually. It is for this reason that some of the books are listed where they will be a challenge to the student. Of course, not every book should be difficult as this would be discouraging. In any case, the parents know best what the student is capable of and the choice of books is up to them.

May I mix and match books from the Academy?

Yes. You may chose whatever books you wish from any grade level for any student.

Do we send in our daily work to the Academy?

No.  However, the quarterly and semester tests and book reports of enrolled students may be sent to us for evaluation and grading.

What is your schedule for quarterly and semester testing?

We test on your schedule, not ours.  One of the benefits of homeschooling is the scheduling flexibility it offers. Our Lesson Plans divide the courses into four sections of approximately nine weeks each (36 weeks per grade level).  However, you are free to go through the course material as quickly or as slowly as you wish.  We send the tests to you with your lesson plans.

How long per day does it take to homeschool a student?

The amount of time will, of course, vary from student to student and family to family, but, on average, homeschool students spend only about 2 to 2.5 hours a day studying and still surpass students in schools.

What is your goal in education?

As Dr. Adler has written:  "What is the ultimate goal toward which every part of schooling, or education, is directed?  It is wisdom.

Is the BA you offer a real BA?

Yes. We believe most colleges will accept the BA we give to students who have completed our four-year Great Books program because it will be worthy of their respect and acceptance, whereas many they now accept are not. Homeschooling itself initially faced this same challenge. Homeschoolers are now actually being recruited by many top universities.

May Adults Enroll?

A number of adults have made this inquiry already. Our answer is: yes. As Dr. Adler has written (quoted above):  "What is the ultimate goal toward which every part of schooling, or education, is directed?  It is wisdom. But how long does it take to become wise?  The answer is: a lifetime. Hence if wisdom is the ultimate goal of the whole process of learning, then the process must go on for a lifetime...the decline in the mental abilities of adults is functional; it results from disuse and not from organic degeneration." We also plan to establish adult Socratic groups following the four year Great Books program, leading to the BA degree tests.

Does my child have to take the BA test at the end of high school?

No.  It is up to the parents and student to chose this option.

Are you accredited?

Yes. We are accredited through NILE (National Institute for Liberal Education) and we are affiliated with the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE). 

When do you accept enrollments?

Students are enrolling at all times of the year. Again, one of the benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility it affords.

Do you have a payment plan?

We accept credit cards, money orders and checks. We do not have a payment plan.

What if I get my books and I do not like them?

We have a 30 day book return policy. You will get a full refund, less a 10% restocking fee. Lesson plans and enrollment in the Academy and school are nonrefundable.

May a student participate in the seminars without enrolling in the Academy?

Yes. Students may be enrolled for seminar participation only. See the enrollment fee schedule for the cost of this option.

May a student begin participating in the seminars at any time?

Students in 3rd through 8th grades may join a seminar group at any time, September through May. The readings that provide the basis for those discussions are not sequential - meaning that knowledge of the previous readings is not necessary for full participation in the current discussions. Because the high school great books reading program is a four-year course, with successive readings building upon the knowledge and understanding acquired during the previous readings, all students start at the beginning of the freshman year.  Once a seminar group is started, new students go on a waiting list until the next high school seminar group begins.

When do the optional high school seminar groups begin?

They can begin whenever the current waiting list fills. So a new group may begin at almost any time of year. 

If I enroll, do I have to participate in the online discussions?

No.  This is an optional service.  You are free to chose this option or not. Non-enrolled students may also wish to participate in the online discussions. 

I have a 10th grader, can I enroll her in the 10th grade discussions?

We can give your daughter a test to see if she is ready. If she is not, we will place her in the 9th grade discussions and she can continue on with her 10th grade math and science, and whatever other subject she would like to take.  As a general rule, the Great Books readings build on each other.  So it is best to start with the first year to get the most out of these great works.

How do you get the students together for the seminars?

The seminars are conducted over the Internet, with live-audio, so the students participate through their computers using a simple microphone and speakers, at regularly scheduled times.

Does my 3rd grader have to be able to type to participate in the seminars?

No.  The seminars are "live" audio.  Using the software is simple. Even our youngest students have no trouble with it.

Do I have to buy any software or hardware for the seminars?

The software is free.  You will need speakers and a microphone - or a headset. A good headset can be purchased for less than $20.00. The computer can be, by current standards, old and slow. It should be a minimum of 200 MHz with a minimum 28.8 BPS modem. 

Does the software work on a Mac?

Not at present.

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