The Lukeion Project Brings Greece, Rome, and Latin Back to Life

Website: www.lukeion.org

“Dust-free antiquity” is not just a catchy trademark for students learning their Greek and Roman history at The Lukeion Project.  Gathering in the online classroom before class, they “chat” with students from across the country, watch a review of their last session, or work through an online review game.  Once class starts their computer screen lights up with images of classical Greece or Rome, and the voices they hear coming from their computer speakers belong to real, live archaeologists who hated history in high school.  That won’t happen to these students.  They ask questions, vote in class polls, and respond to the instructor either privately or by drawing or typing on the “screen” for all to see.  This is not just another online tutorial.

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But Regan and Amy Barr are not typical home educators.  “We got our hands dirty so you don’t have to,” joke the instructors.   They spent 10 years traveling, researching, and excavating in the Mediterranean region.  As they pursued advanced degrees in Classics, New Testament, Latin, and Classical Archaeology, they also buildt a wealth of unique experiences, impressive resumes, and a library of proprietary images that they bring with them into the online classroom.

The Barrs’ teaching experience includes the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Christian University, Miami University (Oxford, OH), and The Ohio State University.  They’ve been speakers for the Cincinnati Art Museum Lecture Series, the North American Christian Convention, the Institute for Learning in Retirement, and they were participants in a Congress on Cypriot Archaeology held in Göteborg, Sweden. Recently they’ve been speaking at homeschool conferences on the east coast spreading their infectious enthusiasm for the classical world.

 “We actually became engaged on the island of Crete after an excavation season in Greece,” said Regan.  “For years we immersed ourselves in the literature, lands, art and artifacts of the Greeks and Romans.  We even immersed ourselves in their dirt,” he chuckles.   The Barrs are true “dirt archaeologists,” who excavated in Jordan (a Byzantine site), Greece (a Bronze Age Mycenaean citadel), and Turkey, at the legendary site of Homer’s Trojan War.  Their three seasons at Troy culminated in articles for the journal Studia Troica, devoted entirely to studies of the Trojan world.
The Barrs, who have homeschooled their own three children from the beginning, launched The Lukeion Project in 2005.  One of the many benefits of homeschooling is the ability to seek out innovative learning venues and expert instruction for children.   “We’ll teach our children Latin, History, and Mythology.  We’ll find someone else to teach them Physics or Economics.  It’s what co-ops have done for years, sharing expertise to take our children farther than we can by ourselves.  We just share our expertise online.”

A portion of the American excavation team at the site of ancient Troy:  Regan Barr bottom far left, Amy Barr, bottom second left

So why are The Lukeion Project classes live?  “Well, it’s not because it’s lucrative or easy,” laughs Amy.  “It’s easier to write a workbook, make some copies, and sell it.  But our classes are unique because our students interact with people experienced in the Mediterranean world who are passionate about the material.  You can’t communicate that through a workbook.  And we’re inter-disciplinary – we do history, archaeology and literature together, which is a more interesting and well-rounded way to learn about the past.  Just doing literature, for example, gives you the perspective of the upper classes, but to know how the other 99% lived, you have to ask an archaeologist. ” 

“CDs and online tutorials don’t do what we want, either,” says Regan, “because our students ask questions that canned presentations can’t anticipate.  And students love the classroom interaction that learning alone can’t give you.  Also, many people are surprised to learn that our understanding of the ancient world is changing all the time.  We still don’t have all the facts, and one important discovery can radically change our understanding of something we’ve known for years.  Archaeology is constantly surprising us.  We share those new finds in our classes and we send them out in our email newsletter.”

Besides the online classroom experience, students also have access to a class web page that includes review games and activities, as well as diagnostic quizzes and exams.  Today’s technologically savvy students enjoy the reinforcement that comes through fun, online games.

The Lukeion Project offers two types of classes.  Full Semester (17-week) classes are considered high-school level “college-prep” courses and require short papers as well as a mid-term and final.  The best papers, after undergoing the editorial process, are published in The Lukeion Project journal at the end of the semester.  Subjects include Greek and Roman History, Latin, Mythology, Art & Architecture, and Greek & Latin Word Roots.  Auditing is available for younger students and adults who do not wish to take on the full workload.  Sibling discounts are available for those families who have multiple students occupying a single seat in the classroom.  All classes are vibrantly illustrated.

The Lukeion Project also offers briefer 4-week monthly enrichment workshops which require little or no outside work and accommodate a broader age range.  Topics include the Iliad and Odyssey, Classical Geography, Great Personalities (Cleopatra, Caesar Augustus, Alexander the Great) and Great Sites (Athens, Rome, Jerusalem, Ephesus).  Workshops are also richly illustrated, and include a class web page with review activities.

So where does the name come from?  “The‘Lukeion’ was the school in Athens established by Aristotle, in which he encouraged personal investigation and a broad array of research tools.  It was a school without walls, since he often wandered through Athens with his students gathering around as he walked and lectured.  We thought his approach to education and the mobile metaphor fit an online learning environment,” says Amy.  “Now we’re looking for more over-educated experts on Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the rest of history to join our teaching staff.  And the great part is, it doesn’t matter where they live!  They teach from home.”
For more information or to sign up for The Lukeion Project Newsletter, go to http://www.lukeion.org or email info@lukeion.org. ■