About Us
Why We’re Unique
We are excited to be celebrating our 22nd year! For over two decades, the Great Books Summer Program has brought together outstanding middle school and high school students with distinguished educators and bright counselors from top colleges to enjoy the kind of intellectual experience most can only dream of during the school year.
Teaching Method
At Great Books, we take up the debates of timeless questions and classic works of literature. We teach by asking questions. Our approach to sparking dialogue with students is called Shared Inquiry, and it dates back to Plato’s teacher, Socrates. This teaching method helps young people practice reflective reading and develop their critical thinking skills, to recognize their own best thoughts, and to develop their ideas with care. Read more about our teaching method here.
The faculty of Great Books Summer Program is led by distinguished college professors from the finest educational institutions in the world—Amherst College, Stanford University, and Columbia University. They are teachers, authors, scholars, and parents who care deeply about sharing their love of great books and big ideas with bright young people. Learn more about our faculty here.
A Prestigious Pre-College Experience
Spending a week or more at a top campus with GBSP gives middle and high-school students a sense of the college experience that lies ahead for them. As one parent expressed it, “When the time came to start their first semester of college, they felt confident and ready.”
A Welcoming Intellectual Community
As educators and as parents ourselves, we believe that maintaining a safe and secure environment is of paramount importance. It begins with building a community of mutual respect, from student to student and student to staff. Listening and paying attention are part of the fabric of life at Great Books Summer Program.
Each young person is assigned to a Program Assistant who is responsible for about eight students. We stay together as a group on campus, and students are always supervised. There are adult staff members present at meals, discussions, and activities. For medical needs, we have immediate access to doctors and facilities adjacent to campus.
With electives in visual art, theater, music, creative writing, philosophy, ethics, and so much more, every day is full of interesting learning opportunities and fun. See what it’s like to spend time on a campus with Great Books Summer Program.
Join Us On-Campus or Online
There is nothing quite like the Great Books Summer Program in American education today. Call or email or request information today!
