Between the ages of 10 and 13, brain development reaches a threshold that allows for the beginning of abstract reasoning. But just because the brain is capable of a new skill doesn’t mean a person automatically knows how to use it. This year-long course will use the literature and history of the ancient world — Homer’s Odyssey,Gilgamesh, plays by Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and much more — to begin teaching students how to read and write critically. We will emphasize rigorous attention to the text without reference to personal ideas, feelings, or thoughts.