The Story Behind Our Socratic Approach

Prague

Blacksmith's shop at Sutter's Mill

The History of a History Company

Paul Revere's Statue

In 1997, John De Gree experienced the problem with history education in America firsthand. As a public school teacher in California, he saw that history books were boring. Moreover, they did nothing to impart an understanding of Western Civilization or the story of liberty. Instead, revisionist history was accepted as the truth, even though it was full of untruths.

Students were tuning out.

This inspired John to create his first history book with a Socratic approach. After bumping heads with the American education system, the De Gree family entered the homeschool world with their seven children.

John continued to teach at his public school and did his best to help all his students. But he also began to teach history to his own children and their homeschooler friends. Then, John asked all of the moms of his students how he could better serve them. They all said the same thing: “Make a DVD curriculum that teaches your Socratic approach to history and go to the Ohio homeschool convention to reach more people.”

From that moment on, John and his wife Zdenka have developed history games, curriculum, online homeschooling programs, and teacher training seminars that serve families in public school, private school, and homeschool settings.

Hiking in the Rockies

After creating Socratic discussion curriculum and games that teach history, John was soon asked to create history textbooks, as well. There was a need for good history books that explain the development of Western Civilization and America’s role in it. So, John started writing and publishing history textbooks to offer complete history curricula. He also launched the Online Academy to provide online homeschooling classes to families across America.

The history card games are Zdenka's creation. Since the Socratic discussion workbooks are designed for grades 6–12, she wanted to create fun history games for younger kids. As a mother of seven, she knew that kids love games, but she couldn't find any that teach history. Our Go Fish games and Memory games are the result of her hard work.

Boston - Samuel Adam's Statue

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Hiking to Thousand Island Lake

Who Are We?

Family Photo on a Windy Day in 2020

John De Gree was born and raised in Southern California. He studied at the University of Redlands, CA, and then in Austria, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. Throughout his studies, John credits conversations with his Dad for the development of his Socratic discussion curriculum. Zdenka De Gree was born and raised in Communist Czechoslovakia. Her firsthand experience of oppression and radical Socialism/Communism greatly influences all Classical Historian materials. Zdenka studied at the University of Economics in Prague. After the Wall fell, John and Zdenka met, married, and lived in Turkey for six months and Czechoslovakia for four years before moving to California. John and Zdenka homeschooled their 7 children, have been married for 33 years, and are proud grandparents.

At Classical Historian, John develops new curriculum, speaks at conventions, provides customer service, and runs logistics. Zdenka is in charge of everything technical, is the visionary for curriculum, directs the business, and designs new products and services.

Adam De Gree is our online homeschool teacher. While he grew up in Southern California, he now resides in a Czech village with his wife Tessa and their two young children. Adam and Tessa hold Master's degrees in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from CEVRO Institute, a Central European university. Adam and Tessa love learning about philosophy, history, and culture, and enjoy the Czech lifestyle.

Jessica De Gree runs the My Life Under Communism podcast. She graduated from Hillsdale University and lived in Spain for a time, playing professional basketball and mastering the Spanish language. She is currently teaching at a classical charter school in Southern California

Hiking in Mammoth Lakes

The De Grees love the great outdoors, and family sports contests get pretty competitive. They also love spending dinnertime arguing about current events, history, politics, and society, with a healthy dose of semantics thrown in for good measure. Each summer, the De Grees host a summer camp in the forest for friends and families. The highlight of their year, the camp teaches Christian virtues through a mix of history, forest games, cooking competitions, brave walks, and arts; not to mention storytelling, songs, and games around the campfire. John and Zdenka are grateful for all the children they’ve been able to work with and are excited to see Classical Historian continue to grow.