Artesian Wells Classical Tutorials is a live, internet tutorial service offering classes in Latin, Hebrew, Logic, Rhetoric, and the Great Books.

Class pages for 2008-2009 will be up soon. Registration is currently open to families already taking classes from Artesian Wells. Open registration begins March 1.

The classes offered for the 2008-2009 school year will be:

Introduction to Latin: This course is for students 13 years old and older who would like a solid foundation in Latin before starting the high school Latin I course. It will cover Wheelock's Latin at a slower pace than the regular Latin 1 courses (approximately chapters 1-12). It will emphasize vocabulary, paradigms, and basic grammar. The course will require about 45 minutes to an hour of study time per day (apart from class time) for most students.

Latin 1:
The Latin I Tutorial covers most of basic grammar and syntax and includes readings in Latin, beginning with short passages about ancient history and mythology and progressing to short selections from many ancient authors, including the Vulgate (Latin Bible). The course will include some cultural and historical study about the Roman and medieval world.

This online class will include quarterly tests, memorizing the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed, and they will be provided with help in preparing for the National Latin Exam in March, if they wish to take it (the NLE is an optional event, in addition to the regular Latin class, which covers some basic Roman History, dress, customs, conversational Latin, common Latin Sayings, ancient Roman geography, etc.).

The course will require about 45 minutes to an hour of study time per day (apart from class time) for most students.

Prerequisite: This course is for students 14 years old and older.

Latin 2: This course covers the remainder of the grammar in Wheelock's Latin and include readings in classical and medieval Latin, including the Vulgate Bible.

In addition the students will be given quarterly tests, will will memorize the Magnificat and the Prologue of the Aeneid in Latin, and they will be provided with help in preparing for the National Latin Exam in March, if they wish to take it (see Latin 1 for description of NLE).

The course will require about 45 minutes to an hour of study time per day (apart from class time) for most students.

Prerequite: Latin I or equivalent (recent completion of the material covered in chapters 1-25 of Wheelock's Latin).

Latin 3: The emphasis for this course is to enable students to read a wide variety of ancient Roman and medieval authors. Most of the readings will be prose, but there will also be some poetry as well. The students will also review grammar, learn rhetorical forms of speech, and memorize Latin poetry and fun sayings (for all their party needs. They will be provided with help in preparing for the National Latin Exam in March, if they wish to take it (the NLE is an optional event, in addition to the regular Latin class, which covers some basic Roman History, dress, customs, conversational Latin, common Latin Sayings, ancient Roman geography, etc.).

The course will require about 45 minutes to an hour of study time per day (apart from class time) for most students.

Prerequisite: Latin 1 and 2 or their equivalent (completion of Latin grammar).

Hebrew 1: Students in Biblical Hebrew 1 will cover at least half to three-fourths of Hebrew grammar and vocabulary, using Fuller's Invitation to Biblical Hebrew. Students will learn (and take regular quizzes and tests on) the Hebrew alphabet, noun and verb morphology, syntax and translation. By the end of the year they will be reading passages from the Old Testament in Hebrew, as well as memorizing Hebraic Scripture.

The course will require 45 minutes to one hour of study time on non-class days; or, in other words, approximately three hours of homework per week. (No homework will be assigned for Tuesday and Friday, since we will be meeting together on those days.) The main difference between class and recitation is that the new material will be presented in class on Tuesday, and drilled together in recitation on Friday.

Prerequisite: This course is for students 16 years old and older.

Hebrew 2: In Biblical Hebrew 2 students will complete Hebrew grammar and devote the rest of the year to translating a book of the Old Testament (determined by the students’ interests), while also writing compositions in Hebrew.

Prerequisite: Completion of Biblical Hebrew 1.

Introductory Logic: This course for students 13 and up will teach students the basic principles of logic, both introductory and intermediate. It covers basic logical syllogisms and fallacies, and symbolic logic.

Prerequisite: Students must be 13 years old or older.

Rhetoric: This class for students 15 and older will introduce the students to the principles and structures of classical Rhetoric. This includes reading Aristotle, Plato, and other classical authors, as well as some modern texts. The course is designed to teach the students how to speak and write clearly and persuasively, while maintaining a Biblical perspective on how such skills ought to be used.

Prerequisite: Students must be 15 years old or older.

Introduction to Great Books: This one year course will prepare students ages 13 and up for the Great Books tutorials. Students will learn the historical and cultural context in which the ancient Greeks and Romans wrote, including the important people, places, authors, battles and stories which influenced the authors and content of the Great Books course. The Ancient Greek and Roman World texts will be our anchor texts, supplemented by the Famous Men books, maps and timelines and primary source excerpts which will be provided online, and historical novels (which will be optional, but available at most libraries). The course will require about 30-45 minutes of study time per day (apart from class time) for most students.

Great Books 1: This course for students ages 14 and up covers ancient Greek literature and history by reading the ancient Greek authors themselves. These authors include Homer, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, and others.

Prerequisite: Students must be 14 years old or older. Introduction to Great Books is highly recommended.

Great Books 2: This course covers Roman literature and history. The authors for this year include Virgil, Cicero, Livy, and others.

Prerequisite: Great Books 1 (or by special arrangement).

The format: Artesian Wells uses WebEx, a live conferencing software. The format makes use of chat, audio, and other teaching tools such as a interactive whiteboard.


The tutors:
Aaron Wells was born and raised in Bishop, California. He has a B.A. in Liberal Arts and Culture from New St. Andrews College in Moscow, ID. He was home-schooled through high school, while also taking classes in the Great Books, Latin, and Rhetoric from his father-in-law Wes Callihan of Schola Classical tutorials. For the past three years, Aaron has taught Latin, History, and Literature at Logos Christian Academy in Fallon, Nevada. This will be his second year of teaching online. He especially enjoys good literature, history, and baseball.

Emily Wells has studied Latin for over 9 years with her father, Wes Callihan, and successfully completed the intensive Latin and Greek courses led by the classical languages professor at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho. She has taught Latin for 8 years in homeschool classes, tutorial sessions, and at Veritas Academy (a classical Christian school in Lancaster, PA); this year will be her sixth year of teaching online tutorials. She learned Biblical Hebrew at New Saint Andrews, where the students covered all of Hebrew grammar in the first year, and moved to composition and translating the Old Testament in the second. She also enjoys ancient Greek, modern Italian and travel.

For references, either of the tutors can put you in contact with the following people:

Wesley Callihan
Dr. Peter Leithart
Tim Tucker
Jeff Wells