Classes with Kevin

  In this Book Club, students will strive to become “mystery masters”!  We will read some of the greatest mystery stories of all time, including tales of detectives such as Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and mysteries by Agatha Christie and others.  We will not only examine the structure and content of mystery stories, but also try our hand at writing our own short mysteries!  Plus mini-mysteries will be read and solved in every class session.  FALL: Oct. 7 to Nov. 11 (six sessions) at 1:00 pm Pacific; 2:00 pm Mountain; 3:00 pm Central; 4:00 pm Eastern on Tuesdays. SPRING: Jan. 27 to March 3 (six sessions) at 1:00 pm Pacific; 2:00 pm Mountain; 3:00 pm Central; 4:00 pm Eastern  on Tuesdays. Age Range: 6th and 7th grade. Offered through Carrier Shell Curriculum ,

This exciting course will explore the Adventure of Writing by traveling through time in American History! This course will be a writing course from the perspective of history; and we will learn to write by reading the best American writers of all time! We will read short selections from stories, essays, news reports and speeches throughout American History - incorporating examples from the various cultures and races that have made up the American Experience. Also, students will both work and play with all kinds of writing by means of fun and engaging weekly exercises. We will learn proper syntax, grammar, punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure – and we will do so by writing book reports, essays, news articles, mystery stories, comedy sketches, letters, poetry and even superhero and fantasy tales! In addition, literary devices, outlining, brainstorming, vocabulary building and spelling will be part of the process of learning how to be better writers – the kind of writers th...

  This course will examine allegorical and epic literary approaches to the Christian "Journey of Faith". The Fall Semester will feature an in-depth examinations of 14 cantos spread throughout the "Divine Comedy" of Dante. The Spring Semester will feature an analysis of John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" In addition to those two major works, occasional class meetings will also focus on the use of Allegory and Parable in the Bible, the use of allegory in the medieval mystery play "Everyman", and examples of 20th Century approaches to Christian epic and allegory, such as that of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. FALL 2025: 14 Sessions - Wednesdays at 11:00 am Pacific; Noon Mountain; 1:00 pm Central; 2:00 pm Eastern from September 3 to December 17, with no meeting Wednesday, November 26 for Thanksgiving Break. SPRING 2026: 16 Sessions - Wednesdays at 11:00 am Pacific; Noon Mountain; 1:00 pm Central; 2:00 pm Eastern from January 14 to May 6, with ...

  The American Theater has a spirit all its own! Students will learn about the History of American theater in the Fall Semester and the History of American Musicals in the Spring Semester. The survey will cover the years 1752 to today. Each week, a different play by an American author will be read (as homework) and discussed (in class). Students will have a chance to read aloud and play parts in scenes from each play during the live class sessions. The context of American Theater in the larger history of Drama will be explored, as will the thrills of Broadway, Vaudeville, Tent Shows and Showboats. Each play will be analyzed in regard to its characters, plot, settings and themes, and typically American recurrent themes will be noted. In addition, the development of American Musicals on stage and screen will be studied, focusing on the relation of American Musicals to other genres of music, inlcuding opera, show hall, pop, rock and rap. FALL 2025: 14 Sessions - Wednesdays at 7...

  Students will learn the fundamentals of spoken communication in this two semester course.  The  focus will be threefold: study, theory and application. The “Study” component will focus on the greatest speeches and debates in history, from the “Apology” of Socrates to “I Have a Dream” and beyond.  These famous speeches and debates will be analyzed from the perspective of argumentation, structure and rhetorical devices, forming the theoretical basis for in-class application. The “Application” of what we learn will consist of several speeches and debates that will be conducted live in class.  Students will present individual speeches and will engage in two-person debates.  Students will be coached in how to avoid common errors, such as saying “like” as a filler word, how to speak extemporaneously when called upon (particularly in an oral exam) and how to be effective and engaging when addressing an audience. FALL: 15 Sessions - Tuesdays at 8:00 am Pacific; 9...

 

  Dystopias are “negative utopias”, man-made hells that seem to come from an attempt to build man-made heavens on earth.  They can be studied in both history and literature, which is what this course will set out to do. From a literary perspective, students will read famous dystopian novels and poems such as 1984, Brave New World, The Giver, “The Waste Land”, “The Second Coming” and more. From a historical perspective, students will examine the concept of hell in ancient and medieval times and will examine “failed utopias” in history, from the ancient Montanists through the early modern Anabaptists, up to the Communist totalitarian states of the USSR and China. The course will attempt to find a theoretical basis for understanding the dystopian strain in literature and history - and will identify active elements of “dystopianism” today. FALL 2024 - 13 Sessions - Wednesdays at 2:00 pm Eastern from Sept. 11 to Dec. 11, 2024, with no meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving ...

  Drama and dramatic literature are at the heart of the human experience.  This course will examine the history of Western Drama, reading plays from Ancient Greece, through Medieval, Renaissance and early Modern times to current Broadway hits.  Drama will be examined from several perspectives: its relation to religious festivals in the ancient and medieval world; its use as a “mirror” that is held up to human nature (in Hamlet’s words); its relation to the history and culture of its various eras; and its ongoing symbolic and ritualistic aspects, even in our current age.   Students will learn the elements of dramatic literature, including staging, plot, character development, catharsis, denouement, etc., and will get a taste of various theories of Drama, from Aristotle to Nietzsche. More than anything, students will be exposed to a survey of great dramatic literature, including Sophocles, Plautus, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Ibsen, Shaw, O’Neil, Miller and others....

What is allegory?  How is symbolism used in literature and myth?  How do writers use imagery to convey themes and moods in fiction and poetry?  How do symbols and allegories express the deepest strands of our psyches? These are some of the questions that will be examined in this course, which will introduce students to Allegory, Symbolism and Imagery through works such as “The Allegory of the Cave” from Plato’s Republic, Everyman, Pilgrim’s Progress, “The Masque of the Red Death”, Animal Farm, Tolkien’s story “Leaf by Niggle”, various poems and more.  In addition, the Symbolist movement in art and literature will be examined, as will Freud and Jung’s approach to the analysis of symbols and “archetypes” in myths and dreams. SPRING 2025: 15 Sessions - Wednesdays at 11:00 am Pacific; Noon Mountain; 1:00 pm Central; 2:00 pm Eastern from Jan. 15 to April 16, 2025, with no meeting on Wednesday, March 12 for Spring Break and Wednesday, April 23 for Easter Break. Age Range: ...

Hobbit Book Club Spring Session (6 weeks, begins the week of January 28, 2025) “My son thoroughly enjoyed his class. He made the class very fun by dressing in costume!! What a GREAT teacher!!” – Homeschool Parent,  Read More Reviews Ages: Grades 6-8 Spring session: January 29-March 5, 2025 (6 meetings) Date and time (PDT): Wednesdays from 1-2 pm Session tuition: $170 ($25 discount for private pay*) *Private Pay: Payable in a lump sum or with 3 installments Watch the trailer to hear more about the book club! Register Register! Instructor:  Kevin O’Brien Openings: Maximum of 12 students per session Course Description One of the most popular books of all time,  The Hobbit  is a masterpiece of storytelling and one of the best examples of children’s literature / young adult fiction ever written!  Not only will we have fun reading and discussing this book during our weekly book club meetings, but we will also be examining the questions: How does this saga teach all of...