Grow as a Thinker: Adult Courses in Classical Literature and Humanities Open Now

Academy for Classical Teachers December 5, 2025 -

The Academy for Classical Teachers (ACT) is now enrolling for the 2026 Spring courses. But these online courses will offer professional development that feels less like a requirement and more like a return to the joy of learning. This is your invitation to think deeply, linger over great books, and engage in spirited conversation with fellow lovers of wisdom.

Offered by the Great Hearts Professional Development team, the spring lineup features five courses, each anchored in a classic literary work or figure. Participants complete readings at their own pace and join live Zoom seminars. These courses are held at various times between January and May, with four to six Zoom sessions scattered throughout a four-to-eight-week period, making it easy to find one that fits your schedule.

Courses are open to the public at reasonable tuition costs, and Great Hearts employees may take them for free. Whether you’re seeking to enrich your teaching, reconnect with the humanities, or simply read more deeply, the Academy for Classical Teachers is designed for you.

This season’s courses include:

Chestertonian Education facilitated by Wayne Keihne
In this course, participants will read one of G.K. Chesterton’s seminal works, Orthodoxy, along with selections of his essays. We will use these to explore many themes that occupied Chesterton’s thoughts, such as the human being, storytelling, paradox, tradition, wonder, and joy. His wit and wisdom have a timeless effect, for, as Chesterton himself wrote, “What a man can believe depends upon his philosophy, not upon the clock or the century.” And thus, a century later, we are left to ask ourselves: How might our schools—and our culture at large—recapture some of this Chestertonian ethos.

Curdie Finds His Wayfacilitated by Bethany Hunter
In this course, we will read The Princess and Curdie closely, appreciating George MacDonald’s beautiful descriptions of the natural world and observing Curdie’s evolution as a human being who comes to know Truth. The goal of this course will not be how to teach the book, but rather what it can teach us as we mentor and guide the developing human beings in our care.

Journeys in Classical Geographyfacilitated by Robert Thornett
In this course, we will explore the nature and value of geography and ways to incorporate it in K-12 classical education. We will explore an eclectic selection of readings and maps, and in each session, we will discuss key geographic concepts and specific ideas for activities and projects to use in the classroom.

The Road Goes Ever On: Embracing Teaching as a Journeyfacilitated by Tony Cruz
In The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien invites us to join Frodo Baggins on a personal journey that will not only change the course of his life but also influence the lives of those around him as he explores the idea of Power and Responsibility. Ultimately, these first two books that make up The Fellowship of the Ring form a rich literary backdrop for an introductory exploration of cooperative and virtue-based leadership for educators of students.

Through key readings and reflective activities, teachers will examine their own calling towards education, marked by self-sacrifice, service, moral courage, humility, and strength found in the leading of self and of others. The course emphasizes the importance of pursuing a calling from conviction, faithfulness, and temperance, while addressing the real challenges of authority, failure, and solitary decision-making. In the end, teachers can expect to be able to articulate a personal teaching mission, learning to identify and leverage student strengths, and have faith in future filled with hope and not always seen.

A Journey with the Brontë Sister facilitated by C. Suzanne Meledeo
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 Brontë 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.

To learn more or register, visit act.greatheartsamerica.org or contact PD@greatheartsamerica.org.

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.