Learny Stuff

 This week I started "auditing" an online course called The Ancient Greek Hero. "Auditing" sounds pretty fancy, for what will really just be watching some video lectures each week (or, more accurately, trying to remember to watch them) and doing some readings. I have no interest in writing the papers or taking the tests. One of the things I Love about being a grown-up is not having to take tests, and my kids wouldn't be dazzled even if I did earn a Certificate of Mastery (although... do you suppose it would say "Harvard"? Because that would be kind of cool!)  But anyway, Professor Nagy seems personable, and the assigned reading is all stuff I need to read (re-read, in some cases, since I read The Iliad and The Odyssey over the summer, but another time through will only do me good!) to prepare to teach the kids. And the course comes with two free e-books! One of them -- the Sourcebook -- still isn't up, but the other one, The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, seems pretty good (though I've only just started it).

And since everything is better with More Books (plus, I was going to read them anyway), I'm starting in on Michael Wood's In Search of the Trojan War and Finley's The World of Odysseus as well. And just the other day my dad was telling me about The Riddle of the Labyrinth, by Margalit Fox, and it sounded so marvelous that my wishlist is now one book longer! (It is So important to read current books on a topic, as well as the classics!)


Finally, I've recently started a new Teaching Company lecture series --Ancient Greek Civilization, by Jeremy McInerney -- which is Excellent (though his speaking style makes me think a bit of Draco Malfoy's father. But nice!)

In other news, I have Not completed the readings in Genesis and Exodus I have to have done before Monday. Or the history. Or graded the papers. I don't know where the time went! Oh. I guess I do. So tomorrow I will be all about Bible stuff. No Greeks. Well, maybe just a little Greeks!