The Harvard Classics are a 50-volume anthology of nonfiction works and a 20-volume anthology of fiction works chosen to represent the best of Western literature and thought. The collection, first published in 1909, was assembled by the president of Harvard University, Dr. Charles W. Eliot, as a response to a challenge issued by his academic peers. Dr. Eliot had repeatedly stated in public that an individual could attain the basic tenets of a liberal university education by reading the best literature in Western culture for a mere 15 minutes a day. A thorough and multidisciplinary reading list, the collection has been favored for self-improvement and education by such notable figures as President Theodore Roosevelt. The Harvard Classics remain an excellent foundation for a well-rounded home-school education.
Instructions
- Decide on the academic approach that would best suit your students' interests, ages and preferences. The Harvard Classics can be read in a variety of ways. A home educator may choose to approach these works in the order in which they are published; the collection's first volume is Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, which is an accessible work for many younger students. The anthology also lends itself to thematic study, such as particular periods in history or regions of the world. An immersion in the Greek and Roman empire would find plenty of fodder in the works of Plato, Homer, Marcus Aurelius, Sophocles and others; a survey of fairy tales would be well-supported by the volumes' inclusion of Hans Christian Andersen, Don Quixote and tales from "A Thousand and One Nights," the latter of which would also lend itself to a study of Middle Eastern culture and history. Divided by academic subject, there is enough material to supply a rich foundation for several years of science, philosophy, literature, literary and art criticism, religion, history, drama, poetry and civics.
- Choose which parts of the collection to include in your study. Though the anthology was carefully designed to be a thorough survey of Western literature and thought, there is no law that says you have to include every single work in your study. Some authors and subjects, such as Middle Eastern culture, are scarcely represented, while Greek philosophy, English poetry and American history all have much representation in the collection. A student could complete a brief survey of these subjects without reading every single selection.
- Determine how long you intend to study the collection in your home school. Adults have read the entire collection in a year, but this is likely too ambitious for children, even very voracious readers, and doesn't allow much time for analysis of any of the works. If you're going to read all or most of the works in the anthology, it's best to spread out their study over two or more years. If your home school follows the classical model of home education, the Harvard Classics fit comfortably into a four-year study of history and literature. A study of the modern era will need some supplementing, as the collection is limited by its publication date of 1909.
- Select the supplemental reading. The Harvard Classics are a snapshot of what the editors and publishers considered to be the best of Western writing at the time; the anthology is as much a reflection of their preferences and biases as anything else, and there are several glaring omissions that a home educator may wish to address. Where appropriate and available, include notable works of your choice by women, African-American and Asian authors. Another significant gap in the collection is in the area of science. The works of Darwin and a handful of other scientists are collectively just a survey of scientific philosophy, and a home educator may opt to supplement them with more formal laboratory studies of the natural sciences. The collection does not include mathematics, music or other extracurriculars; your home school should supplement these areas according to your students' interests, goals and abilities.
- Divide your reading selections according to the length of time you've determined for your study. Your students can decide the pace at which they read various works, or you can divide the reading evenly over a set period of time based on page numbers or chapter selections. Select realistic blocks of reading. When in doubt, it's best to allow students to read selections slowly in order to ensure they're not just "plowing through" the material, but truly absorbing and meditating on it. Allow time for make-up work in your schedule, in case of illness, family emergencies or other interruptions.
Plan your home-school lessons. They can be as detailed as your teaching style and your students' learning styles require, outlining several activities and exercises for each day, or they can just be general academic and personal goals for the day, the week or even the month. Use the Harvard Classics for daily copy work and handwriting practice; supplement the scientific reading with science projects; tie in a study of Latin with the Greek and Roman reading; have
your children reenact famous battles with action figures for history. There is no end to the creativity with which the anthology can be used in a home school.
