<p>I'd appreciate some input. For example, what kind of material do 6-8 graders read typically in this summer program? Is it academically at least a little bit challenging? fun? etc. Thanks.</p>
<p>D looked at the program and was completely uninterested. It seemed like a slog, and the readings didn’t appeal. (Too much like schoolwork.)</p>
<p>that is really disappointing sound. my friend wants to go…</p>
<p>yeah…</p>
<p>My son has attended the Great Books Summer Program at Amherst College for the last few years and he loves it! The readings are done in the evening and then are discussed the next day in a group setting. There are classics as well as modern authors, and its different each summer. There are a variety of readings, so it keeps it interesting. The kids have a great time talking about what the author meant and why it was written the way that it was. What is terrific is that everyones opinion is important. There is plenty to do outside the discussion groups with electives (music, art, theatre, etc) and other camp-type activities. I think it is a great balance and keeps the kids busy and interested.</p>
<p>The college program sounds interesting – what my D looked at was the official
“Great Books” program – as an example, the readings for this winter semester start:</p>
<p>17 Medea, Bacchae - Euripedes (Jan. 19)
18 Peloponnesian War* - Thucydides (Jan. 26)
19 Peloponnesian War * Thucydides (Feb. 2)
20 Fragments* - Presocratic Philosophers (Feb. 9)
21 Ion, Meno - Plato (Feb. 16)</p>
<p>and so forth. D just didn’t find the list of particular interest.</p>
<p>I attended the Great Books Summer Program twice in High School, and those four weeks that I spent at Amherst were some of the best weeks of my life. The readings are amazingly engaging, and the lecturers/discussion leaders are extremely knowledgeable and accomplished in their fields (some of them are even widely known college professors), but the best thing about GBSP is that it is NOT school. The people running the program do not want it to operate like a CTY program defined by classes, tests, and grades. Everyone is at the program because he or she wants to be there, and the discussions and lectures are interesting, fun, and thought-provoking as opposed to anything like school-work. </p>
<p>In addition, as myword1 explained, the actual discussion/lecture portion of the camp is not the only activity. Both arts and literature electives break up the day, and fun activities at night such as ice-cream socials, a quiz bowl, and guest lecturers make the camp an amazing experience.</p>
<p>The Intermediate Program (grades 6-8) and the Senior Program (HS) typically read the same works - usually short stories and poems, you can find a sample reading list on the website - but they typically attend different lectures. I believe that the topics of the lectures are different, geared more towards the specific age range of the kids. In addition, the two programs are essentially separate (at least at Amherst) with different dorms, different counselors, different lectures, etc. However, each morning and night both programs convene for activities such as voluntary poetry recitations or the aforementioned quiz bowl or ice-cream social.</p>
<p>If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask! Great Books is a wonderful environment, and really helped me get to where I am today (a freshman at Dartmouth College).</p>
<p>Here’s a thread which may be of interest to you. I wish we had known about these when my oldest was in high school. He would have loved them.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/452008-what-about-great-books-summer-program.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/452008-what-about-great-books-summer-program.html</a></p>