Audentes Fortuna Iuvat: Intermediate Level Latin (Part Four)

I fell in love with classics as an undergraduate. During high school, I had taken a few Latin courses, and I had a genuine interest in the language (as a child, I had even attempted to teach myself Latin from a book, which didn't go so well, but clearly I had an attraction to Latin from an early age!), but it wasn't something I imagined myself pursuing in any serious way in higher education. In the first semester of my freshman year at college, however, due to a mix up with my schedule, I ended up in a Roman history course, and it transformed my world. I was entranced by both the subject matter and the teacher, and when the second semester came around, I made sure to sign up for as many classics courses as I could take. By sophomore year, I was learning ancient Greek and declaring my major in classics. I received my BA in Latin Language and Literature (with an undeclared minor in ancient Greek) from Oberlin College. 

During my senior year of college, I made the decision to apply to graduate school. By that time, I had decided that I wanted to share my excitement for the classical world by becoming a teacher, and given my passion for classics, I preferred to deepen my knowledge of the subject rather than to attend a master's of education program. I received a merit-based classics fellowship from the University of Virginia, from which I received my MA in Classics. 

I began my Latin teaching career as an undergraduate, when I was selected by Oberlin College's Department of Classics to teach a month-long, intensive Latin language course (six hours a day) for fellow undergraduates. This intensive course was intended to replace Latin 101 for students who could not fit the traditional, semester-long course in their schedule; those students who completed it were then eligible for the Latin 102 course. I also began my work as a Latin tutor during my time as an undergraduate. I have been a Latin language tutor for my entire adult life, and I have taught Latin language and literature courses on the college level at both Oberlin College and the University of Virginia. I also worked as a Latin teacher at a private school in Virginia for many years, and as such, I taught Latin language and literature courses (intro Latin all the way through AP Latin) for middle schoolers and upper schoolers; because the school gave teachers control over course curriculum, I structured my classes so that mythology, Roman history, and classical civilization played an integral role. I am a classicist, not only a Latin teacher, and while Latin language instruction is a big part of what I do, the study of classics demands an intimate knowledge of classical literature, ancient Greek, Greek and Roman history, mythology, classical art history/architecture, classical culture, and much more. 

Successful language learning requires consistent student effort outside of class. Students may be assigned textbook reading, composition exercises, or other activities in between class meetings. Such assignments should be completed on a consistent basis in order for learners to get the most out of their language learning experience. Students are also strongly encouraged to "touch" the material every day, even for short (5-10 minute) periods; the teacher is happy to provide suggestions as to what activities might be helpful, but students are also encouraged to explore what works for them. Formal homework assignments could range from an hour to two hours outside of class each week, with "touch" activities left to the students' discretion.

I strive to provide individualized, narrative-style feedback to learners and/or parents. I assess learners largely based on their performance in class; I am less concerned with what a learner can do on a formalized assessment than I am with how they show up to class. If a learner is engaged and demonstrates to me that he/she/they is/are understanding the material, to me, that is a success. My priority is for learners to feel that we are a team--I may be imparting new information and helping learners to process and assimilate it, but the learner is invited to take ownership of his/her experience by asking questions, participating in class exercises, and completing the assigned homework. A learner's performance during class exercises and discussion, as well as his/her/their performance on the homework assignments, tends to say a lot about a learner's understanding and progress, and learners receive personalized feedback around this. If a learner does wish to have a more formalized assessment (take tests or quizzes, have assignments that are submitted for a letter or percentage grade), that can be arranged by special request.

55 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 1 - 2 hours per week outside of class.