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"The tradition of the West is embodied in the Great Conversation that began in the dawn of history and
that continues to the present day. Whatever the merits of other civilizations in other respects, no civilization is like that of the West in this respect. No other civilization
can claim that its defining characteristic is a dialogue of this sort. No dialogue in any other civilization can compare with that of the West in the number of great works of the
mind that have contributed to this dialogue."
- Robert M. Hutchins
The Great Books Academy (GBA) is a homeschool and charter school organization dedicated to liberal education based on the
classic great books of Western Civilization. Liberal education, based on the Liberal Arts, takes its name from the Latin word liber,
meaning free. This dedication to liberal education is borne of the understanding that it is liberal education, traditionally understood,
that leads men to freedom and happiness. Hand in hand with this understanding of liberal education is the acknowledgement that
freedom and happiness do not mean license and pleasure. Rather, freedom and happiness are found in the life of virtue. The GBA has
been inspired by the educational initiatives of Dr. Mortimer J. Adler, who sees in classical liberal
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Meet the Chairman of the GBA:
Max Weismann (left), life-long friend
and colleague of Mortimer J. Adler (right), with whom he co-founded the Center for the Study of the Great Ideas in Chicago of which he is Director and
President, has dedicated his time and talents to promoting the philosophical and pedagogical ideas of Dr. Adler. Besides recently editing Dr. Adler's
most recent book: How To Think About the Great Ideas, Max serves as Chairman of the Great Books Academy.
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education not only the means necessary to imbue students with
the skills to become excellent life-long learners, but also the means to be fully engaged citizens, exercising civic duties from a
principled understanding of the issues which confront them daily. These too are all qualities shared by free and happy men.
We owe a great debt to Dr. Adler for devoting most of his life to developing, editing, promoting, sustaining and perfecting the Great
Books educational reform movement. He has done this from 1921 to the present day. Several of our directors were present at a
Socratic Discussion seminar presided over by Dr. Adler as recently as May, 2000. Besides editing the 60 volume Britannica Great Books set (last revised by Dr. Adler in 1990), he has
published over 50 books on philosophy and education, including the Great Ideas, which are those ideas contained within the Great Books that make them worth reading and rereading (for example:
beauty, truth, goodness). Our Chairman, Max Weismann, co-founded (with Dr. Adler) the Center for the Study of the Great Ideas, in Chicago, which is still promoting this study.
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Meet the President of the GBA:
Patrick S.J. Carmack, B.B.A., J.D.;
after earning his Juris Doctorate, completed numerous additional courses in psychology and philosophy. A former Administrative
Law Judge at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, and President of an independent
petroleum company for many years, Pat lives with his wife Elisabeth and their four homeschooled children in Piedmont, OK.
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In addition to the great debt owed to Dr. Adler, the GBA
unabashedly credits St. John's College (Annapolis, MD and Sante Fe, NM) and the Pearson Integrated Humanities Program (no
longer extant) at Kansas University as the models upon which its curricula are based. Working from these models, the GBA
maintains that a genuine liberal education requires a study of the greatest books in the Western tradition, ordered not only in its
method, but also toward realizing human happiness and wisdom. These books are the discussion throughout the history of Western
Civilization regarding all the aspects of men's souls, science, and experiences. This discussion has taken place within the written
works of writers such as Plato and Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas, Galileo and Newton. Based on statements and responses, proposals and contradictions, these works are an
ordered discussion which spans three millennia. They examine man's relation to himself, his community, his world, and his
Creator. To take the time to listen to this discussion by reading these great works, one cannot help but be led to greater
appreciation, greater wonder, and greater understanding of what it means to be human.
The great books which have formed men, communities, and even
nations, have done so in different forms. Whether that form is the philosophy of Aristotle, the poetry of Shakespeare, or the politics
of Rousseau, readers are continually challenged to grasp, evaluate, and judge works of great depth and complexity. Yes, these works are often hard to read. Yet, just as a blade is
sharpened on a hard stone, so too are intellects sharpened on hard books. The result is the ability to cut through the noise and
confusion found in the world, and see in its place order and understanding. However, if one only reads these works, one is participating in a one-sided conversation.
Calling the body of work known as the great books a "conversation" is obviously not entirely metaphorical. There is
indeed a written conversation within these books. Yet, it is the very real verbal conversation regarding these works, that takes place
between students today, that advances the knowledge and understanding of our students, our community, and our culture. As with most lofty and profound matters, the Great Ideas are
understood best in discussions and disputations. It was Professor John Erskine who initiated the Socratic (questioning) discussion
group manner of delving into the contents of the great books discussing a given text, usually read beforehand, among 15 to 25
students in round-table seminar format with a moderator, rather than listening to lectures. The participants profited enormously
from this approach (made famous by Socrates and Plato), and thus in this country was reborn the Socratic method of learning.
Likewise, St. John's College conducts discussion groups as the primary means for learning. The GBA follows these leads with its
own optional discussion groups, being the first homeschool organization to do so, using the Internet and other means.
The GBA has a fully developed homeschool elementary curriculum
for grades nursery through 8th, selected eclectically for the very finest materials available from numerous publishers. This
conventional curriculum is organized for easy viewing at The Great Books Store by grade level or by subject (eg. math, history).
Additionally, the GBA is presently developing an alternative
homeschool elementary curriculum which is literature-based and thoroughly integrated, along the lines suggested by the former
Pearson Integrated Humanities Program ("IHP"). Only foreign languages and the higher math and sciences will be separated.
Since this program is based on the "Good Books" literature already in use in the existing curriculum, transition into this integrated
elementary curriculum will be easy for our students electing to do so. This curriculum will be available in approximately one year.
The high school Great Books program already largely follows this integrated approach, but it too is being similarly revised.
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