General Syllabus: Greek 3 (Readings)

2009-10 School Year – Synoptic Gospels

Instructor: Dave Spotts	email MrSpotts@pottersschool.org
Office Hours: TBA	Skype: MrSpotts

PREREQUISITES:

Completion of the prior level of TPS course work or equivalent as assessed by TPS instructor.

DESCRIPTOR: In this, our most advanced Greek course, students who have already covered the basics of Greek grammar and who have begun reading texts with help continue to develop their fluency by reading, translating, analyzing, and commenting on extended passages of the New Testament. We rotate readings from year to year, so students may repeat this course multiple times. In the past, it has not been uncommon for Greek readings students to be a mixture of high schoolers and adults. We welcome anyone who wishes to have the accountability of a weekly time together to read the New Testament in Greek! We especially encourage adults to participate in order to nurture intergenerational investigation into the Scripture.

TEXTS: Students will want to have a copy of Sakae Kubo's A Reader's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament ISBN 0-310-26920-2, available at the TPS bookstore or from Zondervan Publishing. They will also need to be able to type and read text prepared using the Polytonic Greek keyboard layout. Instructions and samples of texts prepared using that keyboard layout are available on my web page www.pottersschool.org/MrSpotts/GreekHelps . No additional textbooks are required, but students may enjoy having their own Greek New Testament. I would recommend the most current critical edition available from the United Bible Society. I don't recommend use of an interlinear Bible.

Between Classes: Students will have a passage of their biblical text to read and understand. They will also have a passage of an English language commentary to read (differing from student to student) and summarize, as an aid to discussion. Most students by this stage are able to complete their reading assignment in a relatively short period of time, though adequate outside research, theological reflection, and prayer for any given passage is guaranteed to take a lifetime.

During Classes: Students are to arrive punctually with their equipment in good working order. Without a working microphone it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for the student to participate adequately in class. This is a course involving a great deal of material to cover each day in class. Everybody’s preparation and cooperation is necessary to make this a good course for everyone. Students are not to engage in off-topic chatter in the classroom. After a quick mic check and opening our class in prayer, we will plunge into our text for the week and see how far we get. Typically we will cover about a chapter of Scripture in any given week. If we do not arrive at our stated ending verse, we will simply pick up where we were the following week.

Projects: Students will prepare one major project each quarter, agreed upon individually between the student and the instructor. The first project is due before Thanksgiving, the second at the end of the first semester, the third before Spring Break, and the fourth at the end of the year. These projects will reflect outside research and reading as well as reflection upon the material covered within class sessions.

Grading: While the parent is responsible for preparing student transcripts, for purposes of this class the instructor will count evidence of student preparedness 40% of the grade, projects as 60% of the grade. Cut-offs are as follows: 90% A, 80% B, 70% C, 65% or below F. I would like to set students up for success. I wish to follow progress on a weekly basis, allowing me to zero in quickly on areas of student difficulty. Parents are responsible to follow-up with the instructor if they have reason to believe there is anything in error in the gradebook, including scores reported but not posted. Please retain evidence of submission of and scores on all assignments until they have posted in the gradebook.