SOLO CLASSES
Worth one course each. Solo courses like Logic, Equip, and Inkwell emphasize acquisition of skills that help students prepare for our unified courses. Our Wealth course is primarily discussion-based, but we recommend it as a supplement to the America course.
UNIFIED CLASSES
Worth 3-4 courses each. This sequence of courses combines studies in history, literature, philosophy, and theology to help students learn in context. Class time is focused on Socratic discussion of primary texts.
CINEMA | 10-12th Grade
Cinema is a one-semester, one-per-week class that counts for 5 credits of Visual Arts. We recommend that students take it alongside America or Apostles.
Join us for a one-semester course exploring the history and grammar of film! Students watch and discuss weekly films selected from the canon of great films of the 20th century, spanning the 1920s-1960s. Learn about the visual art of storytelling and key cinematic techniques of the 20th century. Filmmakers include Walt Disney, Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, John Ford, Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, and Stanley Kubrick.
This course is open to all 10th through 12th grade students.
LOGIC | 9TH GRADE
Logic is a year-long, once per week class that counts for 10 credits of Logic or Critical Thinking. We recommend that students take Logic alongside Equip as a prequel to Inklings.
This course trains students in the skills which are necessary for thorough and creative thinking and for effective and winsome communication. Your student will learn the language of formal logic, analyze arguments for their validity, and recognize how logical argumentation is implemented in everything from advertisements and apologetics to poetry and literature. Logic is the most traditional of our courses, with lecture-based classes, quizzes, and tests; however, Logic is classically-oriented in that it gives students the foundational skills and aptitudes which will prepare them to become excellent discussion participants and writers.
EQUIP | 9TH GRADE
This year-long, once per week class is worth 10 credits of English Literature & Composition. We recommend that students take Equip alongside Logic in preparation for Inklings.
Equip is a classical writing revolution.
Equip offers students an in-depth study of form, content, and style to help them overcome their fears and hang-ups about writing. Through reading, writing, discussion, and in-class, mentor-led workshopping, students will become confident and capable writers, producing original and insightful writing of high caliber.
This 10 credit solo course complements the Logic course and helps prepare students for ECA's unified courses.
ATELIER | 9-12TH GRADE
This year-long, once per week class is worth 5 credits of Studio Art and 5 Credits of Philosophy of Aesthetics. We recommend this class to 9-12th grade students, and this class can be taken simultaneously with any of our other classes or on its own.
Atelier offers a holistic classical art education.
What is so Beautiful about Truth and Goodness? Atelier offers students training in the skills of drawing and painting alongside an in-depth study of the philosophy of beauty. Students will learn the fundamentals of art such as perspective, proportion, values, color-theory, compositional design, etc. and become acquainted with the philosophical ideas that have created art movements such as ancient classicism, realism, and impressionism. Students who complete the Atelier class will emerge as confident and competent artists who delight anew in beauty and the world around them.
WEALTH | 10-12TH GRADE
This one-semester, once per week class offered in the spring semester counts for 5 credits of Economics.
Prepare your students to flourish in society as they learn concepts of finance and go beyond the numbers to analyze how different economic systems and choices line up with Christian principles.
Grounded in the Great Books tradition, your student will read influential economists and theologians and discuss their philosophies in Christian community, guided by an experienced tutor. Each student will leave this class prepared to better steward their resources and use them wisely, responsibly, and charitably.
Wealth is open to all 10th-12th grade students.
INKLINGS | 10TH GRADE
This year-long, twice per week course counts for 30 class credits: English Literature & Comp (10 credits), Critical Thinking (10 credits), and Bible/Theology (10 credits).
Grow in wisdom and virtue by encountering the rich Christian literary heritage of "The Inklings." In this course, your student will engage with the works of this twentieth-century group of Christian writers and thinkers. Designed to spark a passion for critical thinking and for the beauty and wonder of the Triune God, the content of this first-year ECA class focuses on issues of faith, learning, human relationships, and culture. Through reading, discussing, and writing in community under the guidance of an experienced tutor, students will develop their skills as academic thinkers and communicators while cultivating deep friendships.
Inklings is open to all 10th-12th grade students, but we highly recommend taking it before enrolling in America or Apostles. Inklings students are required to enroll concurrently in Inkwell, a supplementary writing seminar that helps students pick up the skills they need to succeed as entry-level writers in ECA classes.
AMERICA | 11TH GRADE
This year-long, twice per week class counts for 35 high school class credits: American Literature (10 credits), American History (10 credits), Bible/Theology (10 credits), and Government (5 credits).
In America, students enter a community that challenges them to develop a holistic understanding of responsible American citizenship by learning about the political philosophies that influenced our nation's founders. While reading and discussing texts that span from thinkers like John Locke and Thomas Jefferson to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Frederick Douglass, they encounter those who model well-rounded loyalty to this country we all call home. Your student will leave the America course prepared to claim a place in their country characterized by courage and biblical justice, and knowing that a true love of country necessitates a love for its people.
America is open to all 10th-12th grade students, though we highly recommend taking it after Inklings and before Apostles. Students who take America without taking Inklings first will need to concurrently enroll in Inkwell, our supplementary writing seminar.
APOSTLES | 12TH GRADE
This year-long, twice per week class counts for World Literature (10 Credits), World History (10 Credits), and Bible/Theology (10 Credits).
A capstone to the Inklings and America courses, Apostles challenges students to be transformed by their faith. Students will seek to gain nuance in their convictions as they consider the implications of their beliefs in dialogue with the greatest thinkers of the Christian tradition. The Apostles curriculum traces the history of Christian literary and theological tradition from the Gospels to the Reformation, and it invites students to enter the world of scholarship through research, presentation, and critique in community.
Apostles is open to any 12th grade student, or any 10th-11th grade student who has completed Inklings or America. However, we highly recommend taking Apostles after completing both Inklings and America. Students who take Apostles without taking Inklings or America first will need to concurrently enroll in Inkwell, our supplementary writing seminar.
INKWELL
Required Supplemental Writing Seminar for students taking their first unified class
This live, online Writing Seminar meets once per week to help prepare students for the writing coursework required for Inkings, America, and Apostles. A skilled writing mentor will guide students through the basics of crafting weekly assignments, formatting, and term paper development while providing time for students to ask questions and get feedback. (Live sessions will be recorded for students who cannot attend.) Brief supplemental assignments will aid students in their unified class coursework.
Students enrolled in their first unified class are required to take one full year of Inkwell concurrently with their unified class. Inkwell supplements the composition component of the unified classes and does not count for class credit on its own.