Our Courses
All ACT courses fit into one of two categories: live, virtual courses that meet via Zoom and are typically held during the summer and fully asynchronous courses that are available year-round through our partnership with ClassicalU. Scroll down to view information on both summer and year-round courses.
Summer 2026 Course Offerings
The courses below are available for the Summer 2026 season. Learners in these courses complete assigned readings and then meet virtually on Zoom to discuss the reading assignments in a seminar.
| Course Title | Description | Schedule | Facilitator | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory, Meaning, and the Necessity of Books in Fahrenheit 451 | This course proposes to read together two texts perhaps not likely to find cause for pairing on the basis of a glancing or cursory consideration: Dorothy Sayers’ The Lost Tools of Learning and Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. And yet, upon further deliberation, the case for reading the texts together becomes pressing. Though the literary genre varies Sayers writing in essay form in 1947, while Bradbury expresses his concerns dramatically through fiction in 1953, both authors express their alarm at the decline in true learning under the regime of “modern education.”
Sayers’ Lost Tools treatise seeks to remind us of what we have lost in the throes of what she calls “modern educational methods,” and what we might gain through a recovery of the education children were more likely to receive in the Middle Ages, the education revived today as “classical education.” Ray Bradbury’s novel – a parable for our times – prophetically describes what occurs when a society ceases to read of its own volition. The powers of society, both social and political, seize control of the chronicles of human knowledge and history when the people relinquish the willingness and ability to think through the ideas and arguments for themselves. This course consists of a series of readings along with regularly scheduled seminars held on Zoom. All materials and important links can be found on this course homepage. While Brightspace is the hub where all course materials can be found, learners will also receive an Outlook invitation to the live Zoom seminars. The seminars can be accessed via the Outlook invitation or by clicking the corresponding link in Brightspace. |
6/1, 6/3, 6/8, and 6/10 from 10:00-11:00 AM (AZ time) | Dr. Carol McNamara | Click Here to Register! |
| Overview of the History of Art: Renaissance to the Modern Day | In this course, participants will look at great works of art from the Western Cannon of Art History. Each session will focus on a particular century and cover trends and artistic styles that emerged across that century. The participants will engage in discussion surrounding the works and learn about the artworks, artists, and periods of history. If you love appreciating art and spending time looking at great paintings, this course is for you. There is no homework and there are no assignments outside of the virtual sessions.
This course consists of regularly scheduled seminars held on Zoom. All materials and important links can be found on this course homepage. While Brightspace is the hub where all course materials can be found, learners will also receive an Outlook invitation to the live Zoom seminars. The seminars can be accessed via the Outlook invitation or by clicking the corresponding link in Brightspace. |
6/2, 6/9, 6/16, and 6/23 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (AZ time) | Brighton Demerest-Smith | Click Here to Register! |
| The Faces of Aslan | Throughout C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan instructs, guides, and guards the children in various ways. Sometimes severe and sometimes buoyant, he is always loving, and does not hesitate to apply whatever remedy is needed in the moment. In this class we will look together at Aslan’s major appearances throughout the series, attending to three aspects of his interactions: his judgment, his pain and consoling of pain, and his playfulness.
This course consists of a series of readings along with regularly scheduled seminars held on Zoom. All materials and important links can be found on this course homepage. While Brightspace is the hub where all course materials can be found, learners will also receive an Outlook invitation to the live Zoom seminars. The seminars can be accessed via the Outlook invitation or by clicking the corresponding link in Brightspace. |
July 1, July, 8, and July 15, from 1:00-2:30 PM CST | Dr. Junius Johnson | Click Here to Register! |
Fall 2026 Course Offerings
The courses below are available for the Fall 2026 season. Learners in these courses complete assigned readings and then meet virtually on Zoom to discuss the reading assignments in a seminar.
| Course Title | Description | Schedule | Facilitator | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey of Ancient Philosophy | This course is for those who had little or no philosophy in their education and feel they would benefit by filling in that gap. It is also for those who already love philosophy and want to discuss some rich texts with like-minded colleagues. We will meet weekly over Zoom for seven weeks and discuss a different philosopher or school of philosophy each week. This Fall our focus will be on ancient Greece and Rome (if all goes well there will be a spring course on Medieval Philosophy and another one in the summer on the Moderns). We will spend three sessions on the ancient Greeks (the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle) then another four on the ancient Romans (Skepticism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, and NeoPlatonism). | 8/24, 8/31, 9/7, 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, and 10/5 from 6:00-7:30 PM (CST) | Dr. Michael Vendsel | Click Here to Register! |
| A Journey with the Brontë Sisters | The Brontë sisters, Agnes, Charlotte, and Emily, each contributed significant works of literature to the Western canon, following Jane Austen’s influential works. In this course, we will go on a journey through some notable works of the three Bronte sisters through seminar. We will focus on Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
This course is for Educators who love diving into literature and uncovering the truth, goodness, and beauty within those texts. |
9/14, 10/5, 10/26, and 11/16 from 4:00-5:30 PM MDT. | C. Suzanne Meledeo | Click Here to Register! |
| The Chronicles of Narnia | C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia are among the most beloved and symbolically rich books in all of children’s literature. Drawing deep upon various aspects of Lewis’ classical education, the books explore betrayal, oppression, sacrifice, honor, and forgiveness, and the character necessary to successfully navigate such dynamics in the world. This course will be attentive to the influences on the series and to its symbolic world, unraveling the layers of its meaning. This course consists of regularly scheduled seminars held on Zoom. | 9/15/26, 10/13/26, 11/10/26, 1/12/27, 2/9/27, 3/23/27, and 4/13/27 from 5:00-6:30 PM (CST) | Dr. Junius Johnson | Click Here to Register! |
Year-Round Course Offerings
The courses below are available all year long through our partnership with ClassicalU. These courses are self-paced and fully asynchronous.
| Course Title | Description | Facilitator | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials of Drawing | In this course, Brighton Demerest-Smith (a classically trained artist and veteran educator with Great Hearts Academies) moves from how to teach the elements of drawing up through still life and master study. Grounded in fundamentals and close observation of subjects, his methods of teaching drawing are traditional and time-tested. | Brighton Demerest-Smith | Click here to register |
| Classical Theorems and Proofs: An Introduction to Elegant Mathematics | In this course, veteran mathematics teacher and leader Jake Tawney provides a clear and engaging introduction to the beauty of Mathematics. This course does not propose a specific curriculum. It does, however, present a list of “those things from mathematics you should have learned but probably didn’t.” In the opening lessons of the course you will hear that truth is effusive. Upon its discovery truth demands to be shared, and the mathematical proof is the medium through which mathematical truth is communicated. There are certainly no results in this course that Jake Tawney claims as his own, and many of the mathematical proofs are centuries old. These proofs represent, in a small way, some of the best that has been said within the discipline of mathematics. | Jake Tawney | Click here to register |
| The Teacher’s Playbook: Practical Pedagogy for Classical Educators | As Great Hearts has grown from one school of 140 students to 32 schools with over 20,000 students by 2021, Jerilyn has had the opportunity to capture the best practices of teachers across multiple contexts and share those practices with each new campus. Teachers are truly at the center of every school and teaching is the work of practical wisdom—it is neither a pure philosophical endeavor nor a utilitarian social science. Newer classical school teachers often find it difficult to visualize what good practice looks like in one’s own particular context. Such teachers often hear talk about the Great Tradition, truth beauty goodness, and Platonic ideas but aren’t sure what means in particular for planning tomorrow’s lesson on fractions.
At the same time, practical teaching handbooks that are full of techniques and strategies aren’t easily harmonized with a classical pedagogy. How can we know how and when employ techniques from these sources? Using classical rhetorical ideas and real-life anecdotes, Jerilyn seeks to bring together the great philosophies of classical education with effective, practical methods that good teachers employ every day. In these sessions, Jerilyn lays out a vision for practice—a description of what good teaching might look like, and how teachers can organize their ideas around the framework of rhetoric. Along the way, she gives some advice for your ongoing journey in learning good pedagogy, practicing, and getting feedback. Toward the end, she also gives advice to leaders who seek to help guide and develop effective classical teachers. |
Jerilyn Olson | Click here to register |