Spring enrollment is open · See the catalog
The ratification debate, read as a debate
Publius on one side, Brutus and the Federal Farmer on the other, and a class that has to decide for itself who had the better of it.
New this term. Reviews from students and parents appear here once families have taken it.
Students read the Constitution first, all of it, out loud, over two meetings, and only then the arguments made for and against ratifying it. Each week the room is split, and each student is required at least twice to argue the side they did not choose.
This course accumulates. The class reads the same pages at the same pace and each meeting picks up the argument where the last one left it, so joining halfway means joining an argument already in progress.
Because there is a whole body of work at the end of it, this one is graded (letter) and can be carried to a transcript. Enroll before the second meeting.
Weeks 1–2
The Constitution read aloud in full, clause by clause, with questions logged as they arise.
Weeks 3–6
Federalist 10 and 51, the extended republic, and separation of powers.
Weeks 7–9
The Anti-Federalist case: distance, standing armies, the necessary and proper clause.
Weeks 10–12
Federalist 70 and 78 against Brutus XI–XV on judicial power.
Weeks 13–15
The Bill of Rights compromise and a full-class ratifying convention with assigned states.
The Federalist Papers (selections)
Hamilton, Madison, Jay
Public domain; provided as a formatted reader.
The Anti-Federalist Papers (selections)
Brutus, Federal Farmer, Centinel
Public domain; provided as a formatted reader.
None. Any student in the age range can enroll.
Deliberately two-sided. The Anti-Federalists are treated as serious constitutional thinkers who lost an argument, not as a footnote to the winners.
Read our academic philosophyMeetings are recorded and released to enrolled families for fourteen days. Recordings capture the instructor and shared materials; student video is not published.
Full refund up to seven days before the first meeting; inside seven days, everything paid is credited to your Lyceum balance. No refunds or credits once the class has begun. Cancel any section from your parent account.
These describe how this instructor has been trained, reviewed with educators and accessibility specialists. They are not a diagnosis and not a marketing claim.
Students and parents review separately, on different questions, and the two aggregates are never blended. Every review is verified and moderated.
No parent reviews for this class yet.
Reviews from students are published as “Student, age 13”, never with a full name. Photo and short video reviews are supported and moderated before they appear.
Great Books
A whole book in six weeks · Three mornings a week
Homer’s Odyssey read whole across one summer, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the same hour. Meeting three times a week is what makes finishing it possible.
Mr. James OkadaNew this term
Reviews appear once families have taken it.
$24/wk
$144 in total
$57.60 for add’l siblings
American History
True stories, told simply · Ages 6–9
Eight true stories about Americans who did a hard thing. Washington at Valley Forge, Harriet Tubman on the road at night, the men who would not leave the fire.
Mr. James OkadaNew this term
Reviews appear once families have taken it.
$6/wk
$42 in total
$16.80 for add’l siblings
Constitution & Founding
How should a constitution be read?
Scalia and Breyer in their own words, two real cases, and students arguing interpretive method rather than outcomes.
Mr. James OkadaNew this term
Reviews appear once families have taken it.
$8/wk
$32 in total
$12.80 for add’l siblings
