MARGINALIA

A Calming Rattle

2011-08-28T14:03:00.004-04:00

On August 23, 2011, at 1:51 p.m., a very rare thing happened. There was a rumble, a small rattle, and then the earth shook for what seemed like 30 seconds. A 5.8 magnitude earthquake, the strongest in Virginia since 1897, was felt from Georgia to Canada. This was such a thrilling, exciting, and frightening event because "we don't get earthquakes like this on the East Coast." The epicenter was located about thirty miles to the southwest near a very small town named Mineral in Louisa County. I understand that folks in California and elsewhere around the planet are laughing at us for our reactions, but we can deal with that.

It was the day before students were to report for school, and I was sitting at my desk and working on a Powerpoint presentation when things began to rumble. At first I (and others) thought that students were running down the hall, an activity that sometimes happens during inclement weather and the cross country team needs to practice (this didn't make sense since it was a bright, sunny day outside). When the rumble continued and worsened, I realized that this was actually an earthquake. Wow! So that's what one feels like! I counted it as an experience.

I poked my head out my classroom door and confirmed with others that what had just happened had been real. After making a few calls on my cell phone (Surprisingly I was able to get through to most of my destinations), I turned on the TV for news and sat back down to work. A short while later the principal came over the intercom and announced that school was to be closed and we had to leave the building. The structure needed to be checked for damages, so this move made sense.

The first day of school was canceled the next day because some buildings, including our own, had suffered light damage, mostly cosmetic, and needed to be reinspected and repaired. Teachers were allowed to report the next day, and since I still had work to do before the students arrived, I took advantage of this opportunity. The only disturbance to my classroom was a sun catcher nick-knack that had fallen out of the window and cracked. It IS a depiction of a Roman ruin after all, so just some character added to the image there. Some books that had been tilted to the right in my bookshelves were now leaning to the left. The most interesting devastation, though, shown in the photograph above, is the toppling of the Golden Bubo on the shelf next my desk. The trinket is the image of owl, the bird sacred to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The Romans would probably consider this an omen. Imagine it! The representation of wisdom falling on its face the day before the start of school! What to do? How to react? After contemplation, I've decided to take matters into my own hands and stand the statuette back on its foundation. This is an easy enough task, to be sure, but I have noticed that the image of the owl is top-heavy, with a supporting base smaller than it could be. After some contemplation, though, I think this is appropriate. The foundation of wisdom may be small, but the embodiment of wisdom is full and well wrought. How fitting that we are called upon from time to time to pick up our wisdom, dust it off, and put it back into place!

What is the outcome of all this excitement at the beginning of the school year? The normal butterflies experienced by this teacher (who, by the way, is entering his 25th year and still gets opening-day jitters) flitted away. The shaking of the earth, causing a fright to millions on the Eastern seaboard, puts everything into perspective. The ground may move, but the school remains and is safe. Come inside, boys and girls, and let's dust off some of our wisdom.

Latin? What are you going to do with that?

2011-08-07T14:52:00.000-04:00

My daughter Sarah is heading off to college in a couple weeks. She will be a freshman at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and she has already decided that she wants to major in Latin and, following in her old man's footsteps, become a Latin teacher. She's excited; her mother's excited; and, of course, I'm excited. All too predictable, though, is the reaction of people when she tells them what she plans to study and then what she plans to due after she graduates. Most are surprised, some are confused, and a couple are even amused. She comes to me with stories of recent conversations with both friends and acquaintances who mean well, but just don't know how to react when someone says that they are pursuing the liberal arts. It is almost as if they are disappointed that my daughter isn't going to be contributing member of society who is out to make a million dollars.

I have had a discussion with my daughter that she will need to harden herself to these types of responses and to get her spiel ready and polished. I was also careful to tell her that she does not need to offer apologies to anyone. She is choosing a course of study which appeals to her and will make her a happy and educated individual. After all, she is going to college in order to receive an education, not to prepare for a job.

Colleges should not be seen as expensive vocational centers training the work-force for the 21st century. What present (and future) employers need are individuals who can think, plan, organize, be creative, collaborate, and communicate. Anyone with these abilities can easily be trained by employers to do what is required in any job and to be a contributing member to society. The world cannot benefit from narrowly-educated, close-minded individuals who are merely out to make money.

We, as educators, need to support and encourage students to pursue whatever field they wish after they leave our classrooms. If a students wishes to go on to college and study math, economics, engineering, and the like, so be it. Likewise, if a student wishes to major in art history, English literature, classical music, or Latin, these are completely valid choices as well. Student who go off to get a degree in the liberal arts should not have to defend or explain themselves. One should never have to apologize for her education.

Down the Roman Road: Part IV

2011-08-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

Question #4: Why are the sidewalks in Pompeiian streets so high?

Stepping stones crossing a street in Pompeii from elevated sidewalks.
Photograph taken by Emily Gilmore, June 2011.

Again, I have read conflicting reports. Most say that the streets are deep in order to contain the mud, muck, and sewage. Others report that the deep streets are for directing and tracking wheeled traffic and keeping it safely away from pedestrians. Concerning the latter there are suggestions that the stepping stones and even the ruts for the wheels are all part of the effort to contain traffic. I have even read that the stepping stones were meant to be speed-bumps, slowing down traffic as it has to negotiate the obstacles.

I believe (like in an earlier post) that some combination of the two suggestions makes sense. I do lean, though, toward the notion that the street itself was an open ditch and that the raised sidewalks and stepping stones are for the convenience of pedestrians.

Bonus question: Are the stepping stones across the streets in Pompeii unique? I wouldn't think that they would be, but I haven't been able to find evidence to the contrary.

Down the Roman Road: Part III

2011-08-02T23:04:00.002-04:00

Question #3: How in the world did traffic navigate those stepping stones in Pompeii?

In my last posting I considered the ruts between those stepping stones in Pompeii and pretty much came to the conclusion that they were deliberately carved in order to direct the carts and wagons between the stones and elsewhere along the route. My question above is directed not at the vehicles themselves but to the mules, donkeys, horses, oxen, and humans that propelled them. Yes, the wheels slip nicely into the ruts but how did one donkey (let's say), bound to the front of a wagon, avoid the stones? He couldn't step around them with the wagon "in the groove" nor could he step over them. Even if he were to step around the stone, how did he not damage his hooves, feet, or legs walking in or over the groove itself? This question tends to give my notion some credence that the grooves were filled with sand or other substance. The same question becomes even more interesting if the wagon was pulled by two oxen. They must have walked been trained to walk between the stones AND avoid the ruts. Furthermore, a cart pulled or pushed by a human would have the same difficulties. Any enlightenment anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Down the Roman Road: Part II

2011-08-01T22:25:00.008-04:00

Question #2: Why are there obvious ruts in Roman roads?

Ruts between the stepping stones in Pompeii

The quick answer is that these ruts are obvious signs of wear and tear. Not so fast, though. Often the quick answer is not the correct one. I have come across conflicting information about those ruts found in the ancient roads in Rome and Pompeii. Some sources do say that they were worn by the continuous passage of wheeled traffic. Even the more sensational sources like to say that they were left by chariots! (Chariots? Hah! That will have to be another post.) These sources claim that the ruts became prominent particularly as traffic edged between those large stepping stones which allowed pedestrians to cross from one side of the street to the other without stepping in something unpleasant. Other sources say that the ruts were carved deliberately in order to guide the traffic more easily between the stones or around certain curves or other obstacles.

Which answer is true? Probably some combination of the two. The problem is that I can't seem to find a definitive source for any of the claims. I would appreciate anyone who can point me in the right direction on this issue.

Something else to consider is that the ruts can be found elsewhere in the roads than between the stepping stones. I believe that they are intentional and that they helped to guide the carts and wagons along the road without incident. While the ruts, or let's call them "tracks" (like a railroad), are useful for wheeled traffic, they do make the road more difficult and dangerous for the humans and animals which pulled/pushed these carts and wagons.

Down the Roman Road: Part I

2011-08-01T10:37:00.001-04:00

I have been thinking about those ancient roads that run through parts of the Roman Forum, the Appian Way, and Pompeii, and have come up with a few questions. I have often walked along or across these roads, paying particular attention not to turn an ankle or fall on my face. All the while I think that the roads must certainly have been more pedestrian-friendly in the ancient world. I have searched for answers by wandering through the tangle of information that is the internet, and I have also been so bold as to post my queries and thoughts on the LatinTeach list and the budding Google+ network. Either it is summer and many who would contribute or comment are lounging at the beach, or more likely my questions interest only me. In any case, I have decided to place my efforts for storage and future consideration.

The Via Sacra in Rome

Question #1: Why are these roads so rough?

While some weathering has certainly occurred over the centuries to round off these stones, I doubt that they could have changed all that much. The roads paved over in large blocks of basalt in the city of Rome are very similar, if not identical, to those which have been unearhted in Pompeii over the past few centuries. I think that it is possible or even probable that sand, gravel, concrete, or other aggregate was certainly added to fill in the gaps betrween the stones, level off the surface, and create a smooth pavement. This filler would certainly have been weathered away on the exposed, paved roads of Rome and the Appian Way. Also, any loose surface material could have been innocently swept away when the streets of Pompeii were being excavated. As archaeologists in Pompeii continue to make their way down a buried street, perhaps they should pause as they get down to the paving stones and see whether something besides ash or volcanic debris can be found on the surface.

My only concern with the use of sand or dirt as a "smoothing agent" is that they would be easily washed away by the rain or waste water which would flow through the thoroughfares.

Imagine That: Roman Litter (the garbage kind)

2011-07-21T13:08:00.000-04:00

I am starting an occasional series titled Imagine That, in which I imagine how things would have been in the ancient Roman world. I welcome all serious contributors!

Imagine that you are walking down a street in ancient Rome. What kind of natural and man-made litter, garbage, etc. do you see in and along the road?

mud and dirt (goes without saying but I said it anyway)
puddles of water
feces and urine from animals and humans
small, dead animals: dogs, cats, rats, birds
bones and other parts/entrails from food: fish, pigs, goats, sheep, chicken, duck, goose
fruit skins and rinds, olive pits, vegetable skins and seeds, spoiled food
broken pottery and sherds
old clothes, rags, and shreds
scraps of parchment, papyrus, vellum (probably not much of this)
sticks (but should have been used as fuel for fire), parts from old brooms
bits of block, brick, stone, terra cotta
broken toys, dolls, small statues/lares
rarely, cool stuff like coins, stylus, glass vial or bottle, knife
what am I missing?

Wrapping It All Up: Translating Into Latin

2011-07-19T10:03:00.000-04:00

At this year's American Classical League Institute in Minneapolis, I attended a session on the Cambridge Latin Course. Having taught for years from the Ecce Romani series, I was well aware of the reading approach to learning (and teaching) language, but I was very surprised to hear the speaker make the emphatic statement that the Cambridge series is not designed to teach the student to translate into Latin, only to read Latin as quickly as possible.

I can think of no better way to review all aspects of learning Latin, vocabulary, grammar, than by having the students translate into the language. To me, a parallel example would be to have a math student solve a word problem by applying all he has learned in map. Moreover, translating into Latin also allows the student to add creativity and test the effects of emphasis and logic by word choice and word order.

Translating into Latin should be handled in two different ways. The first exercise is to have the student take a set English sentence and then turning that sentence into something a Roman would understand. There is a limited range of expected vocabulary and constructions to be used and useful comparisons can be made between examples. The second exercise, and this one is more important, is to have the student generate an original sentence in Latin. The freedom of vocabulary and constructions allows the student to work at his or her own comfort level and in a way that promotes interest.

Different exercises allowing for original writing can include displaying a picture and having the student describe what is happening. This approach lends some focus as the student should limit vocabulkary choice to the subject matter of the picture. Another activity, completely wide open, is to have the student create a comic strip in Latin. Create a handout with four, six, or even eight blocks, and the have the student create whatever comes to mind. The results can be fun, amusing, and sometimes a little strange. This is also a great opportunity for artistic expression, and don't let the student fret if she thinks she cannot draw, tell her that stick figures are certainly acceptable!

The one thing to remember about translating into Latin, particularly if the student is generating something original, is the rule that simple is always best.

The Continuing Adventures of M. Didius Falco

2011-07-15T15:12:00.000-04:00

I finished reading Lindsey Davis' The Jupiter Myth this morning. I began re-reading this series in March and have completed the fourteenth novel; there are six more to go. I have enjoyed reading these books in (relatively) quick succession, but it provides a continuity and context not available when having to wait a year or more between publications. I would always anticipate the release dates for the next installment and must admit that I often ordered the books from Amazon.co.uk. I do remember making this confession to Ginny Lindzey, Lindey Davis' outstanding webmistress, who berated me for not supporting the American market for publication. Alas, I was weak and hooked and could not delay my gratification by reading more about Rome's favorite informer.

By reading these novels together, I am pleased by how they seem to flow together, continuing threads and story lines developed earlier. I don't think I noticed this as much the first go around, and I still appreciate the little reminders Davis faithfully includes about important characters and events.

I am amazed at how well Davis has developed her lead character, Marcus Didius Falco. We are introduced to his charmingly cynical attitude early on, as well as his feelings, relationships, fears, and hopes. He is attractive to the reader and believable as a character. I also appreciate the author's images and descriptions of Vespasian's Rome and Empire. It is obvious that Davis has done her research and labors to include it within the texts without being pedantic or intrusive. I particularly liked her descriptions, and Falco's feelings, about early Londinium, and I was picturing her smirking as she was revealing to her own countrymen and the world her images of the origins of London.

I do think that many of these stories are particularly suited for the big screen or even a television series. Perhaps one day we will see Falco & Partner(s) in action!

Now, back to reading!

Arch of Titus

2011-07-14T11:26:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite sites in the Roman Forum. I remember giving an oral report on this monument when I was a student at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome in the Fall 1985. This photograph was taken by my daughter in July 2007.

Look Up Once in a While

2010-08-28T21:10:00.004-04:00

I was recently informed that adorning the facade of the city hall building in downtown Fredericksburg were two caducei. I was so surprised I had to go look for myself, and there they were, each one flanking the sign identifying the building. Having lived in the area for 47 years and having passed this building countless times, I had never noticed these mythological adornments. Next time we mention this object in class, this will be one of the pictures I display.

Why is the city hall decorated with images of Mercury's staff, you may ask? Well, the building used to be the post office! Makes sense to me!

"... and they are eating snails."

2010-08-26T17:04:00.004-04:00

In my brand new, right-out-of-the-package Latin II classes, I have led off early with an exercise having the students translate an English passage into Latin. The passage goes,

"Look! In the picture is a Roman girl named Cornelia. Also in the picture is another girl named Flavia. The girls are sitting under a tree and they are eating snails."

The students are not allowed to use any books, notes, etc. -- just translate the passage in Latin. They, being eager to impress and please, set off with confidence because this is too easy... until they get to the end. Most remember the passage and translate it perfectly through "Flavia." There are occasional errors in adjective-noun agreement or spelling. Believe it or not, "The girls are sitting under the tree" is a little more challenging to translate cold; and then they get to the end. Some openly question whether we have had "snail" before, others think we must have because (certainly) the teacher would never ask them to translate "snails" (without notes!) unless we've talked about it before. Some think they must have forgotten it.

I then asked for four volunteers to put their Latin passages on the board. Some wave their hands frantically, trying to get my attention, so I oblige and send them up. After they have written their works on the board, I go over the English again and THEN talk about the point of the exercise: "This year in Latin II, we are going to build upon what we have learned before. Some things are going to be very simple, because they are second nature, like 'Look! In the picture is a Roman girl named Cornelia.' Other things will need some polishing and review, like '(there) is another girl.' Some things will need to be retaught, like 'under the tree' or 'they are eating' and some things are going to be brand new, like 'snails.'" Almost right away most are relieved that their teacher really didn't expect them to know 'snail' from Latin I. Hey, good illustration there of what we are going to do in Latin!

The interesting creations for "they are eating snails"?

edent escargoti

cenant snailos

appetizent snaili

and the best,

edunt (drawing of a snail)

Outfitting the Classroom

2010-08-09T15:03:00.003-04:00

I went into school this morning and began work on recreating my classroom. At the end of every school year we are required to pack everything up and move it out. This is a good thing because it requires that I sort through the flotsam that accumulates during the year, and it allows the custodians to clean, wax the floors, and make any necessary repairs.

The first order of business is to find the proper placement for the teacher's desk, the large table in the room, the students' desks, the shelves, filing cabinet, etc. Every year I call upon my inner sense of feng shui and try to find an arrangement that works. I think I have come up with a workable plan... for the moment!

While unpacking, I came across those things I have found indispensable (to me!) for running an organized and effective classroom and I want to pass along my suggestions to any newbies and veterans (in no particular order):

A Good English Language Dictionary with etymological information. Believe it or not, this is the very first thing I purchased for my classroom 23 years ago. I have often referred to my Webster's Collegiate Dictionary when questions of word meaning, origin, usage, or the correct plurals, have come up in class. I often refer students to this necessary reference and even show them how to use it correctly.
A Class Set of English-Latin/Latin-English Dictionaries. I use Traupman's lexicon and these have held up admirably. Not only do they come in handy when we are working on translations (both directions), but they are also good for comparing vocabulary items, finding correct principal parts, and teaching the students how to use a dictionary effectively.
A Good Latin Grammar. This goes without saying, doesn't it? Actually I have an ancient, tattered paperback version Allen & Greenough's New Latin Grammar that has become almost unusable. It is held together with several rubber bands and I believe some pages are missing. It is definitely time to find another one of these most important references.
As Many Maps of the Ancient World/Whole World as you can stand, or have space for. I have a fairly new set of overlapping maps which are mounted on the wall and roll up like a movie screen -- these are often in the unrolled mode. I also have mounted on my walls at least two maps of Italy, three maps of the Roman Empire, and one of the city of Rome. I love maps; I teach maps; and I use maps almost everyday.
A Full Change of Clothes. This is not something I use very often, but you never know when you will make a spill, tear or snag an item, break up a fight, or run into any countless situations.
A Cozy Sweater or Sweatshirt. This is necessary for those chilly days (usually in the winter) when the air system just isn't up to speed... and this happens enough to make this a nice-to-have item.
Paper Towels and Cleanser in a spray bottle. This is useful for general classroom cleaning, but more useful for the students' desks, tables, and floor for food, drinks, doodling, and dirt from a variety of sources. Don't be hesitant to direct the student to the closet so that he can take care of his graffito or latte!
Tissues. There is no way to function without them! There are allergies in the fall and the spring and colds (and worse) in the winter. I have found that if I offer extra credit at the beginning of the year for new boxes of tissues decorated by the student in a classical manner, I have more than enough for the school year. Hint: Don't put the box of tissues on your desk -- that way, the students bring the germs right to your nest. Instead, put the box in the front of the room, somewhere near the pencil sharpener.
An Extension Cord -- the longer, the better. There will always be that mobile projector, overhead projector, CD player, (insert electronic or electric item of your choice here), whose cord just doesn't reach the nearest plug.
Band-Aids. Keeping a supply of these on hand makes for a quick and easy solution to minor problems which always arise, and also cuts down on those lengthy student trips to the nurse's office. In a pinch, tissues and tape will work, and they come with a smile, snicker, or eye-roll!
Antiseptic Wipes/Wet Wipes. It is always handy to be able to clean up messes and face other issues such as, "I still have ketchup on my hands, arms, face, knees, etc. from lunch, can I go to the bathroom?"
A Good Set of Speakers for the computer, i-pod, CD player. Too often I have found a neat presentation online, only to have the students strain to hear it.
Pencils and Paper. I know that the students are supposed to have these items on hand, but it is so much easier to direct them to the store in the front of the room than to argue with a student who knows better but just isn't prepared, for whatever reason. I buy a new pack of pencils at the beginning of the year but add to the supply everyday as I walk down the rows of desks or down the hallway. Also, paper can be had for free when the lockers are cleaned out at the end of the year.
Arts and Crafts Supplies. After 23 years, I have quite a collection. My supply of crayons, markers, scissors, glue, ribbon, string, paper, etc., etc., etc., began in what I called (from the hit, children's TV show) "The Barney Bag," which then grew into "The Barney Box," and now exists as "The Barney Cart." Roll it out and let the students get to work!

New for me this year will be one of those dust bins with a handle and a short broom. All too often there will be scraps from crafts, paper, trash, M & M's, etc. on the floor and it needs to be cleaned up. This type of garbage is not the responsibility of the custodian, particularly after a spirited Latin Club meeting or party. Don't get me wrong, though, I stress strongly to my students that it is their responsibility to clean up their messes, but there really is no way to run an active, busy classroom without generating some residue.
Most of the items mentioned on this list are my own possessions, gathered from teaching for over two decades. My suggestions to the rookies out there is to beg, borrow, or buy these (and other items) over time. Most are for convenience, many for effectiveness, and some are absolute necessities.

The Kalends of August: Time for Reinventing the Wheel

2010-08-01T22:41:00.004-04:00

August has arrived, and, since this is so, I must turn my attention to things academic and scholastic. The first teacher work day is Wednesday, August 18th, and the students report on Tuesday, the 24th. Being an orderly and (at times) obsessive-compulsive person, these odd days for starting seem a bit inauspicious.

I want to take a good look at my syllabi (this plural also bothers me a bit... but "syllabuses" just doesn't work for me either) and make sure that what's on the page reflects what and how I want to teach. Many times in the past I have just updated the ones from the year before. It is very easy to just fall into a pattern and not make adjustments because it makes for more work. This bad habit brings to mind the image of an aged professor, being a fixture on campus, showing up for class with his yellowed and scribbled notes he cribbed together twenty-five years earlier. This class may have been interesting and effective a quarter-century before, but now it is old, tired, and a complete bear for the students to sit through. Teachers should/must make adjustments to their material, content, and delivery up to the moment of delivery and (often) moments afterwards.

The changes I will make will be based upon reflection and review of what worked and what didn't from the year before. I plan to take a look at final grades, the material we covered (and did not cover), and, at least for Latin III and above, the potential roster. I won't receive the actual lists until a day or two before the start of class, but I have an idea of who will be in those classes and what things they know and how they know them. Unfortunately, Latin I and, for the most part, Latin II are always unknown entities because most of the students are new. Moreover, I have found that I really can't get a feel for what type of language students I have for Latin I until later in October. Unfortunately, beginning students usually don't begin to show signs of floundering until that later date. I want to be able to catch signs of them struggling before then, though. This I must ponder.

Saving the Colosseum

2010-07-29T14:01:00.007-04:00

There is news out of Rome that the Culture Ministry is soliciting bids from private sponsors to raise funds to help preserve the Colosseum. There are reports that the iconic monument is not aging well and is in dire need of attention. This is a problem which continues to get worse (and increasingly dangerous) as the crush of tourists grows. When I visited the Colosseum for the very first time in July 1982, there were not a large number of visitors, and we could walk directly into the monument and wander at will, but when I visited the site in July 2007, there were mobs of people circling the amphitheater with very long lines snaking into one entrance after everyone passed through a ticket booth and a metal detector. Once inside, there was the unpleasant shuffle and bumping, with the attitude of get out out my way so that I can take a picture.

Now that there is an entrance fee of 15.50 euros, where does the money collected from visitors go? There is the hope and expectation that a great majority goes toward repair and preservation after the requisite administrative costs are satisfied.

Now that corporate sponsorship is being sought, which has a precedent in the successful cleaning and restoration of the Sistine Chapel by the Sony Corporation, there is also the hope and expectation that a significant infusion of funds can be secured to help preserve the Colosseum and other monuments throughout Rome. What we do not want to see, though, is the sponsor's logo spread across the facade of the structure. Imagine the sight -- "Ancient Arches Preserved by the Golden Arches: I'm Lovin' It!"

Calling Off the Hunt

2010-07-28T22:16:00.011-04:00

http://www.imageenvision.us/images/070724181742_Bullfighting_Scene_in_Barcelona_Spain_LG.jpg

In the news today, we learn that Catalonia has brought an end to the long tradition of bull fighting. The article cites that the government of this region of Spain has come to realize that this popular and iconic form of entertainment exhibits cruelty to animals.

Now let's travel back in time about 2,000 years and take another look. The games in any Roman arena would typically begin the day with a venatio, or a beast hunt. Specially-trained fighters called bestiarii would fight all sorts of wild animals - lions, tigers, bears, boars, and, oh, yes, bulls - for the purpose of warming up the crowd for more violence to come. Several sources say that, in some events, thousands of animals would die. According to Pliny the Elder, Julius Caesar was the first to bring the hunting of bulls to Rome:

Thessalorum gentis inventum est equo iuxta quadripedante cornu intorta cervice tauros necare; primus id spectaculum dedit Romae Caesar dictator. (Pliny the Elder, Natural History VIII.70)

If it was good enough for the Greeks, it must be good enough for the Romans, but around the same time, Cicero writes that he does not share the appeal of seeing animals die for entertainment and that others shared in his sentiments. In his Ad Familiares VII.1.1-3, he writes:

Reliquae sunt venationes binae per dies quinque, magnificae—nemo negat—, sed quae potest homini esse polito delectatio, cum aut homo imbecillus a valentissima bestia laniatur aut praeclara bestia venabulo transverberatur? quae tamen, si videnda sunt, saepe vidisti, neque nos, qui haec spectavimus, quidquam novi vidimus. Extremus elephantorum dies fuit: in quo admiratio magna vulgi atque turbae, delectatio nulla exstitit; quin etiam misericordia quaedam consecuta est atque opinio eiusmodi, esse quandam illi beluae cum genere humano societatem.

"The rest are hunts twice a day for five days, magnificent -- no one denies it --, but what pleasure is there able to be for a refined man, when either a feeble man is torn to pieces by a very strong beast or a beautiful beast is pierced through by a hunting spear? However you have seen these things often, if they must be seen, and what new have we seen, we who have watched these things. The last day was for the elephants: on which day the crowd and mob had great wonder, but no delight came forth; on the contrary a certain pity and impression of this type followed, that there was a certain relationship for that beast with the human race." (The translation is my own.)

To be sure, the popularity of beast hunts in the arena did not suffer with the comments of Cicero. It is comforting to think, though, that there are some people who have always thought that there was something inherently wrong about watching animals die for entertainment.

Reading the English on the New AP Latin Exam

2010-07-27T15:00:00.004-04:00

Since the recent announcement of the changes to the curriculum in the new AP Latin exam, I have been pondering the required readings. For Vergil we are returning to the old curriculum of selections from Books 1, 2, 4, and 6; gone are the tedious selections about the hand-to-hand combat between Aeneas and Turnus in Books 10 and 12. I never really liked those passages at the end, but that could be due more to the tiresome forced march through the previous 1,500 lines than the actual content.

I am intrigued, though, with the inclusion of being responsible for the content in English for Books 8 and 12. I have long enjoyed they the episode where Aeneas arrives at Pallanteum and Evander tells him the stories associated with archaic Rome. The presentation and description of the shield are also fascinating and seems to fit nicely with the themes of history, values, leadership, and the relationship between the human and the divine. The content of Book 12 provides a good cap for the story as Aeneas reaches his goal which seemed so out of his reach at the beginning of the story.

I am a bit stumped, though, with the inclusion of Book 7 in English for Caesar's De Bello Gallico. While it is true that this book handles in large part the conflict between Caesar and Vercingetorix, it has been added to the curriculum for its content and contribution to the story in English and not for its Latinity.

What we, as teachers, need to know from the College Board is how much importance will be given to knowing the content of the works as literature instead of knowing how to read, translate, and understand the assigned Latin passages? Although knowing the stories in English has always been important for the AP Vergil exam, now that we have (again) a combination exam, why has importance been given to what the students will read in translation? Not only will we have to provide translations (for loan or for purchase) for the Aeneid, but now also for Caesar. Are there good translations out there? I will have to find out.

Of Conspiracy and Preservation

2010-07-26T14:08:00.005-04:00

I have just turned the last page of Robert Harris' Conspirata. This impressive novel tells the story of Marcus Tullius Cicero's rise to the consulship, his preservation of the res publica against the machinations of Catiline, and then his slippery fall into exile due to the vengeful plots of Clodius, and all of this is told in first person by Tiro, Cicero's most faithful slave, secretary, and companion.

In all, this was an outstanding read, and I declare that this should be on the required reading list for all who still teach Cicero. Furthermore, this work of historical fiction needs to be reviewed by all who teach (or soon will be teaching) about Julius Caesar in the upcoming AP curriculum. While the work strongly portrays Cicero's eagerness and commitment to working within the rules to preserve the state and the power of the Senate, it very effectively brings across the message that Julius Caesar was a rogue who purposely and willfully ignored the Roman constitution and tradition to further his own goals to rule to world.

I have heard it said that Julius Caesar was one of the biggest criminals in history. After reading Harris' Conspirata, this assertion is obviously true. It will be interesting to see how Latin teachers across the country dust off their notes on Caesar and present him in the classroom. Will he continue to be presented "as the most famous Roman of them all" or will there be mention made of his infamy?

Mapping the New World

2010-07-23T09:14:00.004-04:00

A colleague, who is an outstanding teacher of geography, is conducting some research and came across this map of what is now eastern North Carolina. She needed a translation of the title in the upper right-hand corner and asked if I would translate it for her. The Latin reads:

Americae pars, nunc Virginia dicta: primum ab Anglis inuenta, sumtibus Dn. Walteri Raleigh, Equestris ordinis Viri, Anno Dni. MDLXXXV regni Vero Sereniss. nostrae Reginae Elisabethae XXVII, hujus vero Historia peculiari Libro descripta est, additis etiam Indigenarum Iconibus / autore Ioanne With; sculptore Theodoro de Bry, qui et. excud.

I had to do a little digging to understand some of the abbreviations, but here is my translation:

"Part of America, now called Virginia: first discovered by the English, by the expenses of Sir Walter Raleigh, a man of the rank of knight, in the year of the Lord 1585, indeed in the 27th (year) of the rule of our fairest Queen Elizabeth, indeed in that one's (Raleigh's) own book the history was described, also with the images of the natives added / with Ioanne With (John White) the author; with Theodoro de Bry the engraver, who also printed it"

I enjoy this type of exercise because it allows me to keep my skills in practice and apply them to assist others in learning. I learned that sumptus, sumptus, m. is the Latin word for "expenses, costs". I also learned a bit about Queen Elizabeth, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the early exploration of the New World.

What About Facebook?

2010-07-22T19:24:00.002-04:00

There's an interesting article on teachers, students, and their relationships on Facebook. All teachers should take a moment and read. As a rule, I do not "friend" students until graduation day. That way there is no notion of anything inappropriate. As teachers, just like Caesar's wife, we must be above reproach.

Hanging Out in the Forum

2010-07-22T10:13:00.002-04:00

When I was a student at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies (ICCS) in Rome during the fall semester in 1985, one of my favorite haunts was the Roman Forum. At that time the entrance to the Forum was through a gate and down a ramp next to the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. I think visitors had to pay 12,000 lire (around $6) for admission, but I was lucky enough to have a card for free entrance to that site and many others. To say that I visited often would be an understatement.

I remember that one late afternoon in October I was sitting against the base of a column in the ruins of the Basilica Iulia working on a translation of Ovid's Ars Amatoria for class. As I was working, a family soon appeared and was looking around at what remained of the basilica. They were speaking English and I easily identified them as Americans. They noticed me and deciding that I, too, was American, and after exchanging greetings, they asked me about what they were looking at. I briefly offered a description and purpose for the basilica, and they must have been impressed. From their inquiries I told them that I was a student studying in Rome for the semester.

Discovering that I was somewhat knowledgeable, they asked me about the Forum in general. I noticed that they did not have a guide book or map, but had just wandered in wanting to take a look around. Feeling a bit cocky, I volunteered to give them a tour. I started off trying to include as much as I could remember about every little rock and stone there, but soon came to realize (through glazed expressions?) that I was providing too much information and was probably acting as if I was showing off. I made a mental adjustment and quickly moved to cover the highlights of the site. I remember that they were most impressed with the Arch of Septimius Severus, the Curia, the Temple of Vesta, and the Arch of Titus. Of course these monuments would be the most impressive because they are the best preserved and offer the most to see. I ended our tour at the Arch of Titus and showed them the exit towards the Colosseum. They offered to pay me, but feeling charitable (and still cocky, I imagine), I refused and wished them a happy visit.

I remember this encounter because it was one of the first times that I was able to use and pass on my knowledge of something that was very important and dear to me. Even at that time I was sure that I was going to be a Latin teacher and this was one of my very first lessons. My impromptu tour made me feel useful and gave me the opportunity to try out my teaching skills. Realizing that I had to make adjustments to my presentation to keep the interest of my audience was a skill that I would certainly have to use again in the future.

I also remember this encounter as an example of how some tourists approach their visit to sites. This family had decided to visit Rome and explore on their own. Of course they were visiting the Colosseum and St. Peter's, but I was impressed that they took the detour and descended into the Forum. The Colosseum (at that time) and St. Peter's were free and open to the public, but they made the effort to pay and visit something off the beaten track. I was surprised that they did so without any real notion of why they were there or what they were looking at. To stumble across someone willing and able to give them a tour was pure chance.

A visit to the Forum today is a different experience. Admission is free and the site, which used to have only the occasional visitor or group, now has hundreds of pairs of feet and eyes wander through every day. Excavations have enlarged the site as it grows toward the imperial fora, work continues to reveal the remains of structures at the base of the Palatine Hill, and the paved road leading up to the Capitoline has been removed, but the increase of visitors has caused curators to put up barriers which direct the flow of traffic to a meandering and very limiting path around the Forum, all in an effort (I suppose) to promote safety and protect the individual monuments.

Sad to say, the opportunity to lounge quietly among the ruins of Rome's glorious past is no longer available.

Whodunnit in Ancient Rome?

2010-07-21T09:58:00.003-04:00

I have just finished reading Nemesis, the latest installment of Lindsey Davis' series of novels dedicated to the exploits of Marcus Didius Falco, an informant-for-hire who solves mysteries from the seedier side of Rome during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian. I began reading this series, now up to an impressive twenty volumes, quite a while ago and impatiently wait for the publication of the next story. So impatient is my wait that I typically order the book from Amazon.co.uk where they are released a couple months before being available in the United States. There is an outstanding website dedicated to Davis and her works, well worth a visit for anyone interested in this entertaining series.

Soon after I began reading Lindsey Davis, I discovered Steven Saylor and his books dedicated to Gordianus the Finder in his Roma Sub Rosa series. He, too, has been quite prolific in producing twelve volumes, as well as the clever tome Roma, which recounts a huge sweep of Roman history, and soon to be joined by its follow-up volume Empire to be released at the end of August 2010. I can hardly wait.

In keeping with the genre of sleuthing in an ancient Roman setting, quite by accident I tumbled upon Ruth Downie and her three works featuring Gaius Petrius Ruso, a doctor assigned to the Roman legion in Britain, who becomes a reluctant investigator of murders on the island as the Romans seek to gain control of the province. These stories are well-written and have captured by attention and imagination. I await her next release as well.

Who would have thought that books set in an ancient Roman setting and featuring charming, down-to-earth, believable investigators of murder would be so appealing? I am thrilled that there is a market for this genre so that these authors continue to create the ancient Roman world in their version. It is exciting to read stories set in Rome and elsewhere around the empire where I can say, "I've been there! I've seen that!" or "Is that really what they envision that site tyo look like?"

What I enjoy most about these stories is the opportunity to create my own vision of the ancient world by sharing the visions of others, who are certainly much more creative than I.

Digging Up A Vocabulary List

2010-07-16T21:42:00.005-04:00

I was asked by my sister-in-law to provide a simple list of Latin words to help her young daughter learn vocabulary and reading. I thought such a list would be easy to find and I put the task off until the last minute. When I began my search in Google, I quickly discovered that there are any number of specialized lists, but there really isn't a generic list of basic vocabulary for someone who is not (at the moment) interested in learning Latin. I finally settled on the "First Latin Book Beginners Vocabulary" list from http://www.textkit.com/. There is a good mix of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and such with, most importantly, the English meanings. I printed out this hefty list (amounting to four pages) and felt that was a decent place to start.

My search did recall to my memory an outstanding book, The Usborne First Thousand Words in Latin, which I hope to find in the neighborhood bookstore when we visit. This would certainly be much more appropriate for my niece's purpose.

In any case, I do plan to warn my sister-in-law that learning lists of vocabulary words is not the same as learning the language. While the vocabulary words are the building blocks, one cannot merely stack them randomly and call it a wall. Further, forcing the memorization of lists of words no more constitutes the learning of language than does committing to memory the numbers zero through nine and calling it mathematics.

The Parthenon

2010-07-15T20:59:00.003-04:00

This was the view of the Parthenon, under repair, in July 2005. Quite an impressive sight!

The New AP Latin Curriculum

2010-07-14T17:16:00.006-04:00

The big news at this year's ACL Institute was the new AP Latin curriculum for the May 2013 exam. This summer's announcement brought some relief to those who were bewailing the Vergil-Caesar combination, particularly after some suggestions were given for teaching by theme.

The new requirements for Vergil's Aeneid (rather, the pared-down list) are:

Book 1: lines 1-209, 418-440, 494-578
Book 2: lines 40-56, 201-249, 268-297, 559-620
Book 4: lines 160-218, 259-361, 659-705
Book 6: lines 295-332, 384-425, 450-476, 847-899

The mention was made that this selection of lines was made with much soul-searching, tears, and regret. More regrettable, though, is the announcement that the student is required to read only Books 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12. Why not the whole Aeneid? I may still require that the student read the entire work in order to completely appreciate this important piece of literature. I'm intrigued by the inclusion of Book 8.

The required lines for Caesar's Bellum Gallicum are:

Book 1: chapters 1-7
Book 4: chapters 24-35 and the first sentence of chapter 36
Book 5: chapters 24-48
Book 6: chapters 13-20

The required reading in English is the entirety of Books 1, 6, and 7.

I plan to take a much closer look at these lines later in the summer.

I am pleased, though, with the suggestion of themes for this new combination of authors. I was initially disappointed, maybe even let down, with the announcement of Caesar as the author who would be paired with the vates, but these suggestions are exciting:

literary genre and style
war and empire
view of non-Romans
history and memory
Roman values
leadership
human beings and the divine

I am most interested in the last four items of the list, particularly Roman values and the relationship between humans and the gods. As I become more familiar with these lines, I will be able to make a better stab of their application.

I am hoping that there are good textbooks produced to make this combination of authors interesting and exciting. I'd write my own, bu there are other things to do.

Keeping the Spirit

2010-07-13T20:27:00.004-04:00

The Virginia delegation heading to the National Junior Classical League's annual convention in Fargo, North Dakota, in a few short weeks is carrying with it, in their minds' eye, a large, shiny number "8". Virginia, as a large delegation, has won the spirit competition at this week-long event for seven years in a row. They have out-cheered, out-shouted, out-danced, and out-costumed all the other delegations in their division. Their rivals, as I understand, are Florida and Texas.

Leading the cheers at the NJCL Convention in 2009.

To win this award for the eighth year has become an unquestionable expectation, a self-imposed requirement, if you will. Planning for this event began back in February, and the details have been revisited, on occasion, every month since. The frenzy of preparation began this week at the inaugural "Spirit Castra" held at our Riverbend High School here in Fredericksburg. For four days out of their summer slumber, a few Latin students from around the state, some coming more than an hour away, have gathered to draw, paint, cut, glue, shout, jump, and cheer... all in the name of Virginia, but more impressively, in the name of Latin and the classics!

The Virginia delegation shows their spirit in 2009.

These students who choose to attend the annual Latin convention, and those who plot and plan to cheer on the name of Latin, are unabashed lovers of the Latin and the ancient world, and our students here in Virginia want to shout it out louder than all others!

Scenes from the ACL Institute at Wake Forest

2010-07-08T19:00:00.002-04:00

Zee Poerio has put together a neat presentation showing scenes from this year's ACL Summer Institute. She thought it appropriate to create this collage in keeping with one of the themes of technology. I think it appropriate too! What a neat tool!

Tag! You're It! (Or Not)

2010-07-07T08:45:00.002-04:00

Since I have returned to my blog, I have been tinkering with templates and layout. I have discovered that nifty gadget called a "label cloud," and installing this and viewing its results has caused me to rethink my practice of tagging or labeling each entry. This cloud reveals, in a graphic way, which topics occur most often by presenting that label in a larger font size. Many labels are the smallest, default size and form a crowd with only a few names more noticeable. Now I am obsessing over each appellation and asking myself whether it is too descriptive, obscure, redundant, not descriptive enough, or just plain wrong. I am going back and changing tags, adding and deleting some, and all this effort is compelling me to find some standard. In all, not only am I moving forward with Marginalia, but I also seem to be moving backward.

ACL at Wake Forest

2010-07-06T17:09:00.011-04:00

I attended this year's American Classical League Institute and Annual Meeting held on the gorgeous campus of the Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. All things considered, it was a great conference with some good ol' fashioned Southern hospitality!

I particularly enjoyed the presentations on Vergil and using technology in the Latin classroom. It was good to hear about the new AP Latin syllabus (a future blog entry on that), the NJCL National Classics Exams, and the status of Latin in this "age of accountability."

Of course, the best part of attending is the opportunity to learn, share with colleagues, and network with those who love the same things you do. If you are a Latin teacher, you MUST join the American Classical League, an organization whose sole purpose is to support the teaching of Latin, Greek, and the Classics.

Next year ACL will be held in Minneapolis!

Oh Those Aqueducts

2010-07-05T14:30:00.005-04:00

This is a section of the Aqua Claudia outside Rome. It was taken in June 2010 by Susann Sowers Lusnia, Professor of Classics at Tulane University.

Summertime... and the Working is Easy!

2010-07-05T10:22:00.006-04:00

Apologies to the original song lyrics celebrating easy summertime pursuits! The July 4th holiday has passed and I can turn myself to numerous projects put aside during the busy school year. I dare to say attention to this nearly-abandoned blog is now high on my list! I admit that I get excited and begin to post, only to become distracted by things which push other projects out of the way.

Labor est etiam ipsa voluptas.

"My Latin Teacher is a Scrooge!"

2009-12-20T17:27:00.007-05:00

The last day of school before Winter Break was Friday, December 18. At the beginning of the last block of the day, I had a student, with contempt in her voice, ask very loudly, "How come we're the only foreign language class not watching a movie?" To be honest, the idea of a movie had not even entered my mind.

My plans for the class included a review and quiz on the comparison of adjectives, practice with participles, and then a group-effort translation on a neat story involving a werewolf. Werewolves are the "in" beastie right now!

I do know for a fact that a couple of my colleagues were showing a Christmas-themed movie in the target language as an "extended listening exercise." They have that option and that resource. Good for them.

My thoughts were to bring closure to the regular comparison of adjectives and continue to recognize and translate participles in context. The translation of the story was a timely and interesting exercise and provided us with the opportunity to see both comparative and superlative adjectives and participles in context.

I had a plan and I carried it out. In my mind, the students had made an effort to be in school and come to class (the entire class was present!), and I wanted to make their time worthwhile. Oh yeah, my assignment over break was to place the textbook and the notebook in the locker and to enjoy the vacation. After all, it's a break, right?

VJCL Storms Richmond

2009-11-29T10:08:00.004-05:00

Over 1,300 students, teachers, and chaperones took possession of the Greater Richmond Convention Center on November 22-23, 2009. By all accounts, the 56th annual Virginia Junior Classical League convention was a rousing success! So much Latin energy packed into one room!

Saxum Volvens: Keeping Up the Momentum

2009-11-29T09:48:00.006-05:00

We return to school tomorrow after a five days away; before that we had only a two-day week. Needless to say, the students will not be their sharpest when they come into the classroom. What to do?

Keeping up momentum in the classroom is very important, if the teacher wishes to keep the students learning and the material flowing along. The best way to push that stone on which moss is beginning to grow is the catch their attention with something interesting and then ease into a review of the last subject covered. Then slip something new and tie the two together.

My plan? I found a couple interesting clips from YouTube/eClassics... we'll start there.

As a general rule, I do not give homework over breaks from school. I know from experience as a teacher and a parent that many other teachers don't feel this way and a five-day break from school is the perfect time to assign essays and reading and worksheets and... Guess what, most of it doesn't even make it out of the backpack until the evening before the big return. What kind of quality work does that promote? At that point, the notion of learning anything is gone and the need to complete the letter, but not the intent, of the assignments take center stage.

This time of year does create issues with momentum. Fall Break, i.e., Thanksgiving, is over and Winter Break, viz. Christmas and the Holidays, will soon be upon us. There will be many a distraction in the next three weeks, then a two-week break, then wintry weather, then exams, then wintry weather... I wonder if Sisyphus is looking for a replacement soon?

What's Going on in the Middle?

2009-11-07T08:56:00.006-05:00

We came across this line in our AP Vergil class recently:

Quos inter medius venit furor (I.348)

and I finally took the time to really notice what is going on in this sentence. I had always assumed that Quos inter was an example of anastrophe until I realized that inter medius venit could be a good example for tmesis and Quos was simply being used as a connective relative pronoun. At first I thought Vergil was being clever by placing medius in the middle until I moved further back and realized that inter medius venit furor would make a nice synchesis (of sorts), a figure of speech used often in the Aeneid.

My thoughts were not confirmed, though, when I conducted a search on Google for this sentence. There was no discussion (I could find) on anastrophe or such. Indeed, my thoughts were clouded when I realized that other texts read medios instead of medius. Suddenly that emendation makes this line less worthy of comment.

Missing the Mark

2009-11-05T21:36:00.004-05:00

The first marking period has now come and gone. Report cards have been distributed, and students' abilities, interests, and efforts are now coming into focus for many parents. For those students who are new to high school, the sorting now begins.

I have some of the best averages ever for students in Latin I and Latin II. Their scores are solid and the results of their preparation is obvious. I even have one student whose work is practically impeccable. I didn't realize it until today, but she has scored a 100 (or better) on every single assignment. Wow! She makes me proud.

What is disturbing, though, are those students who receive a printout of their grades and they are surprised or upset that their averages are so low. When questioned as to why they received a 21 on the test or a 45 on the quiz, they readily admit that they did not study. More than once. Often. They don't write down their assignments. They don't take their books home. They don't study for their quizzes. They don't prepare their translations. Why, then, do they think that they should receive a higher grade? In what class are they receiving good grades for next to no effort?

After every marking period, I announce to my students, "If you're happy with your grade, keep on doing what you're doing. If you're not happy with your grade, you need to make some adjustments." Sometimes there are adjustments, and sometimes they continue to be shocked.

Aeneas Meets a Girl in the Woods

2009-11-04T19:28:00.005-05:00

Aeneas and his surviving crew are shipwrecked somewhere in northern Africa. He and his right-hand man Achates set off to take a look around and see if they can find civilization or any other survivors. While stomping off through the woods, Aeneas comes across his mama in disguise.

Cui mater media sese tulit obvia silva
virginis os habitumque gerens, et virginis arma
Spartanae, vel qualis equos Threissa fatigat
Harpalyce, volucremque fuga praevertitur Hebrum.
Namque umeris de more habilem suspenderat arcum
venatrix, dederatque comam diffundere ventis,
nuda genu, nodoque sinus collecta fluentes.
I.314-320

Not knowing who this babe-in-the-woods is, Aeneas responds to her greeting,

"Nulla tuarum audita mihi neque visa sororum --
O quam te memorem, virgo? Namque haud tibi vultus
mortalis, nec vox hominem sonat: O, dea certe --
an Phoebi soror? An nympharum sanguinis una?"
I.326-330

One of the first reactions of my students concerning this exchange is that Aeneas has some pretty lame pick-up lines! Their feelings are that Mother Venus has been described in some fairly alluring terms and that Aeneas is trying (unwittingly) to hit on his mother!

Is this Vergil's intention? Hmm... let's take a look. He describes Venus incognita as virginis os habitumque gerens (l. 315). He intends her to be a maiden and reinforces this notion later when Aeneas repeats the word in line 328. The focus is on her mouth (os, line 315) as a primary description by synecdoche. He continues a physical description with her shoulder (umeris, line 318), her hair blowing in the wind (comam diffundere ventis, line 318), and (gasp!) her leg exposed all the way up to the knee (nuda genu, line 320). Why would Vergil give such emphasis to her physical description, if he didn't wanted to paint this image of an attractive maiden bounding through the woods? She is Venus, after all, and deserves a description such as this. If we read this description as an intentional effort at allurement, this makes Aeneas words all the more provocative. He starts off by asking her with a plea (O, line 328) how he is to remember this encounter (quam te memorem, line 328), and he caps it off with the vocative virgo (line 328). Aeneas obviously is not aware that this is his mother, but he makes the assumption that she, based on her looks, is a maiden, not a puella, not a femina, not a mulier nor matrona. He then comments on her heavenly face (haud tibi vultus/ mortalis, lines 328-329) and her divine voice (nec vox hominem sonat, line 329). Again, why the emphasis on the physical? Finally, the weak pick-up line, O, dea certe (line 329). At least that's what my students think!

Translating Cicero in Word Order

2009-11-01T20:01:00.006-05:00

I have encouraged my students this year to read and translate their Latin passages in the order in which they appear, left to right. We have endured the "Yoda-speak" and seem to be making progress. After we translate in the word order, we do, of course, go back and "English it up."

In his First Oration Against Catiline, Cicero writes in chapter 11:

Tune eum quem esse hostem comperisti, quem ducem belli futurum vides, quem expectari imperatorem in castris hostium sentis, auctorem sceleris, principem coniurationis, evocatorem servorum et civium perditorum, exire patiere, ut abs te non emissus ex urbe, sed immisus in urbem esse videatur?

When we approach this from the beginning and move from left to write, we end up saying, with appropriate inflection of our voice in English,

"Do you [something] him whom you have discovered to be an enemy, whom you[etc.], whom you [etc.], whom you know to be an author of crime, a chief of conspiracy, an inciter of slaves and of evil citizens, to leave you will allow..."

The advantages of this technique allows the student to know immediately that the speaker of the passage (in this case, the personified Republic) is asking a question of Cicero about Catiline (Tune eum). Then there are three full relative clauses and then three more relative clauses abbreviated by ellipsis, and then an infinitive and (finally!) the main verb. If a student were to hunt and peck through this sentence, she would be hopelessly lost. Indeed, after the first reading in Latin, the relative clauses would be easily identified and mentally bracketed, then leading to a easier discovery of exire patiere to complete the main sentence. The students do need, of course, a prompt that patiere is really a patieris. The student then passes to the rest of the sentence, a subordinate clause, happliy marked by the ut.

Vigilium

2009-11-01T00:47:00.004-04:00

All Hallow's Eve has come and gone, and here I sit in the early morning. The time will fall back soon, so I will get an extra hour of sleep in there anyway. I have my playlist from iTunes running in the background (the latest album from Steve Perry) and I have been searching the various blogs related to classics, teaching, and other such things. I then remembered I had a blog...

My last post heralded my decision to teach Cicero's First Oration Against Catiline this year and I do not regret the decision. Reading, translating, and understanding Cicero requires much from a Latin student, and he has certainly provided that. Most students have responded well, and we are slogging our way through. I have had to jump through portions of the text, though, in order to keep it interesting and moving along. I have plans to stick with my tribute to Latin prose and teach some letters from Pliny the Younger next. He's always fun.

The class reading Cicero is moving quite slowly, though, because it is combined with AP Vergil... yeah, that's right, I'm teaching Cicero and Vergil in the same classroom at (roughly) the same time. Things are working fairly well, but this is, by no means, the best way to do things. My Vergil students are moving slowly, too, but the other alternative was for me to not teach them at all.

The way my class works is that it meets on the block during which the lunch shifts operate. I give my full attention to my Cicero students for the first half-hour while my Vergil students eat lunch. During the next hour both sets of students work on reviewing particular points of Latin grammar or syntax, sight translating, or similar cooperative work. When the Cicero students go to lunch, I teach the Vergil students for half an hour. Yeah, that means I don't eat lunch, but that is survivable.

My frustration is increasing lately because I am realizing that I cannot teach what I want to teach in the way I want to teach it because of my workload. I have five preparations spread through six classes which meet every other day. I am barely keeping my head above water and, occasionally, I do go under and claw my way back to the surface gasping and sputtering. I've always called this my grand juggling act -- I can almost keep all the balls in the air but don't expect me to do anything fancy with them. Sometimes I drop the some of the balls, but I pick them up and keep tossing.

Vetus Novus Homo

2009-08-07T10:04:00.005-04:00

"Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?" It has been quite some time since these words have been heard aloud in my classroom. I have to admit that I have not taught Cicero since way back in the mid-90's. When the Advanced Placement bandwagon ran roughshod over our school system's curriculum over a decade ago, the emphasis in Latin turned away from the authors of Latin prose and grounded itself solidly in poetry. Since that time we have usually finished the Latin II textbook in the first quarter or half of Latin III and then spent the balance of time in making the transition to the reading and translation of authentic Latin literature. Sure, prose authers were a big part of that, namely selections from St. Jerome's Vulgate, some letters of Pliny the Younger, and some war correspondence from Caesar, but there was never room or a time for the rhetoric and philosophy of Cicero. I reluctantly pushed him aside as Latin IV and V alternated between the epic poetry of Vergil and the lyric and elegiac poetry of Catullus and Ovid. Now, times have changed.

I have brushed off Jenney's Third Year Latin, dug through my filing cabinet, and reacquainted myself with this long-neglected prose author. I have always been an advocate of Latin prose and a fan of Cicero and look forward to his reappearance in my classroom. His return has been made possible by the College Board's elimination of the AP Latin Literature examination. The Latin teachers in my system have agreed to teach AP Vergil in the fifth-year Latin class, thus opening up (for me, at least) a class of fourth-year Latin students who now have the opportunity to read and translate a wide variety of Latin authors and works. I know by experience that Cicero will be difficult for many of my students and that the subject matter can be a bit challenging, as well. We'll take it slow and I will make every effort to make the class interesting and meaningful. Updates in our endeavors will follow.

The True Story of Troy, Really!

2009-08-02T08:13:00.004-04:00

I watched The True Story of Troy (The History Channel, 2007) on the History International Channel last night. I try to watch as many documentaries on the ancient world as I can. I was, of course, attracted to the presentation by the mention of Troy and the Trojan War, but was immediately alarmed by the title claiming it to be the true story, as if all others were not so true. Indeed, I found very little in the two-hour production to be original or new; what was interesting was the segment on the underwater archaeology and some background information on the site of Hissarlik and the major players, particularly Heinrich Schliemann and Carl Blegen. I also found amusing the narrator's claim that archaeologists have located what they believe to be the "true site" of Troy in a tone which would lead the viewer to believe that it was discovered last Tuesday. Nothing new there, either. The film footage took us back to that familiar arrangement of stones on top of that hill overlooking that plain which we have all seen before.

I have seen several documentaries on the Trojan War, including Michael Wood's epic In Search of the Trojan War, and there were elements from these presentations throughout this "True Story". One of Michael Wood's episodes involved locating and interviewing modern-day bards and I enjoyed this presentation's segment on the bards in Serbia who can still chant an Iliad-long tale on the Battle of Kosovo back in the 14th century. I wasn't quite sure how the producers were checking their facts when the claim was made these bards were telling the unembellished truth about the historical Battle of Kosovo and that these modern singers-of-heroic-deeds prove that Homer did tell/could have told the truth as well. Big leap there!

The literary story of the war, mostly from Homer, but from other sources as well, was well done and the artwork, most of it applicable, was a treat. Much emphasis was given to the sacrifice of Iphigenia and unfaithful Clytemnestra who avenged the death of her daughter by murdering her husband Agamemenon when he returned home. There was also the brief discussion of human sacrifice among the Greeks, but that it wasn't really human sacrifice because slaves and prisoners of war were not human. Hmm...

I was pleased to watch the attention given to the Trojan Horse and the story told by Vergil. All too often this part of the tale gets short-changed (I guess) because this Roman poet wrote as many years, if not more, after Homer as Homer did after the actual events of the conflict, and he stole the story from the Bard and other Greeks anyway. Satisfying was the mention of Aeneas leading his followers of refugees to Italy and the angle that the Trojans were the ancestors of the Romans. I found interesting the whole segment (again, not new) that the conflict was a clash of East vs. West, that Xerxes visited the site of Troy before storming into Greece as if to seek revenge, that Alexander the Great visited the site before setting off to conquer the Persians as if to bring Greek vengeance against the Persians (and the curious story of Alexander taking Trojan armor [Achilles'?] from some ancient museum and wearing it on his campaign, and finally that the Trojans were reincarnated into Romans who finally conquered and absorbed that Greek and took possession of Asia Minor, all as the story of the Trojan War coming full circle.

I am always drawn to the explanations given for the Trojan Horse. This "True Story" rationalized this gift of the Greeks (with an aside to tell the tale of Laocoon and his sons) as a siege engine. They claimed that the Hittites and others has this technology and that this was nothing new. No mention was made that the Horse was a metaphor for an earthquake, although earthquakes were mentioned soon after. They missed an opportunity there.

What was most intriguing, and a bit academically uncomfortable, to me was the discussion of Homer. I have never dug deep into Homer's origins and was surprised to learn that he was "thought to have been born" in Smyrna or Chios. They played up the angle that he was born near Troy so that helps to make his story more believable. That's another thin thread there. Mention was made of Homer's blindness and illiteracy, but none of how he actually learned the stories. He was at one point in the documentary called a rock star, filling ancient theaters and stadia (exaggeration my own - I wish I could remember the exact reference). What I repeatedly found disturbing about the discussion of Homer was the notion that the Greek alphabet was invented (borrowed and modified from the Phoenicians), and thus Greek writing itself was invented, for the sole purpose of recording Homer's stories. I don't buy it and I don't believe that the documentary made its case at all on this claim.

I also found fascinating the stories about Carl Blegen and Heinrich Schliemann. It seems that ex-patriate Blegen was actually the first archaeologist and had been digging in and around Troy for years before Schliemann arrives on the scene. Blegen had quite a few objects and artifacts to show Schliemann when he comes in search of his boyhood dreams. I was a bit surprised to hear that Schliemann, always the sensational showman, "stole" the hill of Hissarlik from Blegen and claimed to have found Troy when Blegen had already decided it was there. More interesting, and a little disturbing, was Schliemann's background. He was always, uncannily, present and lucky for the discovery of gold and amassing of wealth. He speculated on and benefited from (and participated in?) the Gold Rush in California, he was present at, worked for, and increased his wealth with the Czars in St. Petersburg, and then (strangely), there was some story that Schliemann dressed as a Bedouin, circumcised himself (!?!), and snuck into someplace in the Middle East. These are tantalizing elements for the True Story of Troy.

So, was the story of the Trojan War true? This documentary certainly does not prove the story true. There was certainly not enough new evidence presented to make its case. I would argue that the truth of the story (interesting, to be sure, and admittedly fascinating to me) is not important. When the epics are read and enjoyed, when those thoughts and images and messages from the past are relayed, scientific and historical truth is not needed or even required. Are other works of ancient literature true? How much of the Aeneid can we really believe? How much do we want to believe? Why can't we accept that Homer is just telling a good story? Modern day epics which immediately come to mind are Star Wars and the Harry Potter series. Few will argue that these are not compelling, well-written, and important stories meaningful and entertaining to the modern world. Centuries from now, though, will archaeologists and historians set out to find the true location of Hogwarts Castle or argue over which sandy planet is actually Tatooine? I hope not, because it really doesn't matter in the light of the stories themselves.

Sometimes finding the truth hurts. The "True Story" mentioned a couple times that Schliemann was disappointed in the size of the site of Troy. He kept digging deeper and deeper into the hill so that he could find what he wanted to find, all the while not paying attention that what he was casting aside as rubbish was what he was looking for all the while. What if Schliemann's excavations had, in fact, discovered that the site of Hissarlik was indeed Troy and that bodies and tombs clearly labeled as the key players in the conflict were discovered? What if he had discovered a written narrative, say, a diary, that revealed that a Trojan War actually occurred but not as Homer imagined it? Would it be immensely disappointing to learn that the real Troy was a wide spot in the road, a man named Priam was chieftain over an extended family of horse-breeders, and when one of his sons, while traveling in Greece, had insulted a Greek mafia boss, almost a dozen ships were launched and these two families feuded for a while.

Not knowing the truth about the characters and deeds or the Trojan War, or the true location of the Troy, does not decrease the value of the story, nor would finding them legitimize it. These pursuits of science would strip away the fantasy, the romance, and the other elements which make a story so appealing, even after two thousand years.

Getting Down to Business

2009-08-01T12:03:00.006-04:00

I read an article in the local paper this morning about how small businesses must cater to their clients in order to establish working relationships. Big business pretty much works on the cookie-cutter model, but small businesses can tailor their services to the individual client. A teacher must function in the same way. In order to have a truly successful program, the teacher must establish, cultivate, and maintain relationships with both the students and the parents.

One of my goals this year is to be more aware of the need to establish and work with relationships with what the "teaching industry" calls "the stakeholders." I'll try.

Teaching Caesar

2009-06-24T11:22:00.004-04:00

It has been said that Julius Caesar is the most famous Roman of them all. Everyone has heard about Caesar and something of his exploits (right or wrong) in Rome. Many cite their exposure to be the tragedy by Shakespeare... who, I must remind them, wrote literature, not history.

I, like a good number of other teachers, was quite surprised (and even a bit disappointed) when the College Board announced that Caesar would be paired with Vergil on their upcoming capstone AP Latin exam. My first thoughts were, "Ooh, how boring!" and "What does Caesar have to do with Vergil? How disjointed can that be?" I am waiting for the CB's announcement of what work(s) and sections from Caesar will be required before I make any final decision on how I feel about this unlikely combination.

In an effort to cozy up to the idea, I pulled out Caesar's De Bello Civile the other evening, opened the text at random, and started reading. Hoping that things would be diffent than his De Bello Gallico, I was sorely mistaken. Most of what I read was about troop movements, crossing rivers, obtaining supplies (and depriving Pompey of them), and worrying about where his transport ships were. Um, not exactly stuff to interest the typical teenager in the typical public high school!

Here's hoping that the College Board will announce an interesting syllabus combining Caesar and Vergil in some sort of meaningful and natural way... and NOT taking the direction of the art of war in the second half of the Aeneid and in Caesar's illustrious career!

An Old-Growth Forest of Columns

2009-05-26T21:18:00.011-04:00

This is what happens
when you don't prune back columns as they grow.

I took this photograph in Paestum in July 2005.

Declining in Greek

2009-05-26T20:22:00.005-04:00

We have put AP Latin Literature to bed -- hopefully for not too long a nap. The College Board will issue their proclamation soon about what road we will all be taking in a couple years.

The class is not over yet, though. We are playing in Greek: learning to read and write the alphabet, working with some prefixes, roots, and suffixes, learning some vocabulary, and (today) we learned how to decline a noun. Our goal is to read and translate the first story or so in Athenaze.

So, I write on the board ho anthropos mikros (transliterated into the English alphabet here). My students made me proud several times today. Right off the bat they recognized that Greek had an article.

Another student quickly asked, "Does the -os ending have anything to do with the -us ending in Latin?" I beamed.

When I demonstrated the declension, they were fascinated that Greek did not have an ablative case. I explained that the Greek genitive and dative took up the slack. Another student commented, "Good! I never liked the ablative anyway." (Boooo.....!)

After the declension (and a little prodding from me), they recognized that the omega in the dative singular was analogous to the -o in Latin and that the -oi (nominative plural), -ois (dative plural), and -ous (accusative plural) were not too far removed from the Latin. It is interesting to note that they don't think the -on and -um are close cousins.

I love my students and I love when we are learning for the sake of learning!

The Tatters of the Year

2009-05-25T10:18:00.006-04:00

It is Memorial Day and tomorrow we will enter what I have come to call the tatters of the year. The AP and state exams are over. The weather is warm. The finish line is in sight. I try to tell my students that, even though you can see the end of the course, the race is not yet finished. Too many, though, have set their goal well short of that chalk line ahead.

Even though there are still three weeks left in the school year (time enough to learn some new things!) instruction is effectively over. The seniors, who will graduate a week before the end of school and (most of whom) are grade-exempt from final exams, have already stopped coming to school. This has a profound impact on the motication of the rest of the student body who also want to check out early. There are also fieldtrips, assemblies, and other activities to distract them from their studies. Oh yeah, there are still second semester exams to be given...

OK, what to do?

In the words of the Borg (from Star Trek: The Next Generation), "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." I have learned that I can beat my head against the wall and drag the students kicking and screaming (or, worse, chatting or snoring) through a lesson on the ablative absolute or I can change things up and work toward application of the material learned in an earlier, more focused period of their education.

In AP Latin, we dutifully said our farewells to the Latin Literature syllabus and didn't look back. We are now learning the Greek alphabet and will try to cover the first chapter or two of Athenaze. I am surprised at how excited the students are to start something brand new. They tell me that it is like going all the way back to starting Latin I, when everything was fresh, new, and exciting. Ah, but our time in Greek will be too short... just a taste for now and encouragement to take it in college.

In my other classes we are moving toward reading and translating. To teach the uses of the subjunctive mood at this point would be a Herculean effort which would quickly turn, I fear, into a Sisyphean labor. These new things are best left for the next school year. Why not take everything we have done this year and apply it to readings and translations in their textbooks and a few outside items I bring in? We can polish these skills and reinforce the material taught this year as an effort of moving toward their finals. Application is to be stressed over acquisition.

It's a plan.

Pegasus in the Wild

2009-04-07T21:23:00.004-04:00

Imagine my surprise as I was driving along Route 1 in Ashland and we spied this Pegasus on the side of road! Makes me feel sort of like Bellerophon!

Calling a Spade a Spade

2009-04-05T08:51:00.006-04:00

I was listening the other day to a colleague who teaches Spanish. She was talking about the difference between -ar verbs and -er verbs. She mentioned the yo form. Without ever taking Spanish, I knew exactly what she meant, particularly since I had an idea of the origins of these Spanish elements.

I have often thought that I could change the names of the categories of Latin verbs and nouns in order to make the idea of what I'm trying to say clearer for my students. After all, the names are, for the most part, descriptive and help to identify the category or use of the form. When I say something like, "That's an ablative of accompaniment," the students (should) think, "Oh yeah, that noun is the last in that declension thingy and it is being used to show who they're doing the verb with." When I tell my students that the Romans had no idea of what the phrase "ablative of accompaniment" meant, they pause for a moment and demand to know why. I tell them that this is a phrase we, who are not native speakers, have created in order to describe the use of that noun. I also tell them that if they asked the average Latin speaker on the street to decline a noun, he would look at you puzzled and probably run away. At once the students are amazed and confused. I ask them to decline a noun in English. Again they sratch their heads and shrug. I usually give them an example, the best being the declension in English of the pronoun "he" -- I say, "He, his, him, they, their, them." I mention things like subjective, possessive, and objective case. Some of the sharper students eagerly write down this valuable nugget in their notes, others just wave me off and think that I'm crazy. They never learned this in English... why in the world would I be bringing it up in Latin class?

Anyway, I'm drifting off my topic - the names of things. What if, at the beginning of Latin I, when the students are most excited about learning a new language and most impressionable, I called first conjugation verbs "-are verbs"? What if I called third conjugation verbs "short -ere verbs"? The description would go right to the crucial element which determines the conjugation of a verb and, hopefully, this would better enable the student to conjugate it. They might think, "That's an -are verb, I have to keep that -a- in there when I conjugate it." or "Yuck, a short -ere verb... I think something happens to that short e." What does second conjugation really mean to the student other than it is usually taught after the first conjugation?

Taking this idea further, why not change the nomenclature for nouns? Why not have an "-ae declension" or an "-is declension" noun? This name would call attention directly to the genitive singular form. Then the student, looking at puella, puellae would (hopefully) think, "Oh yeah. I need to use those -a, -ae, -ae endings."

Taking this strange idea a step further, why not teach the conjugations and declensions in a different order? With the restraints of "first declension" and "second conjugation" removed, there would be little confusion in reordering the traditional grammar. Having said that, I would probably limit myself to rearranging the introduction of the nouns; I think everyone would agree that teaching the -are and long -ere verbs is easier than teaching those short -ere verbs with all those changes. Declensions are declensions and each requires a different set of endings which must be committed to memory. What Latin teacher hasn't lamented that the students have first and second declensions down cold but they just can't master that pesky third declension? I can't back this up with solid data at the moment, but there are more third declension nouns in the Latin language than any other declension, so why not teach the -is nouns first? Imagine the possibilities of a wider choice of vocabulary words at the beginning of the course. What reinforces the success of understanding -is nouns is what psychologists call the primacy effect -- what is learned first is remembered better than what is learned in the middle.

Before the purists attack me for messing up the natural order of things, I readily admit that I will have to teach my students the tradional nomenclature because all their resources, their textbooks, online help, parents and friends who already know Latin, other teachers, will call an -ire verb "fourth conjugation" and I would not want my students to be confused or lost. I would use my terminology at the beginning and then introduce them to the other names not much later in the course.

This, ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues, will be my experiment for the coming school year. It may be a benefit, it may be insignificant, or it may fail... In any case, the world won't be lost.

Hannibal is not yet at the gates...

2009-03-31T22:56:00.003-04:00

but there are reports of elephants in the Alps.

Disturbing news arrived from the county administration office today. In anticipation of a very tight budget for the 2009-2010 school year, the topic of class size has been discussed. The report suggests that, unless a class has a minimum of 20 students, the class will not make. The report specifically mentioned that even a combination of level IV and AP classes in world languages may not reach the magic number of 20. The alternative seems to be Adventa and VirtualVirginia. In other words, students will be offered the opportunity to take advanced level classes online or sign up for something else.

This unofficial announcement leaves me a bit stunned and numb. I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach. Am I to teach at three different schools next year? Will I have a combo III/IV/AP in the same room?

It is (hopefully) too early to speculate and give in to a suggested threat. I'll wait a little more before I panic but, just in case, I will read up on how to survive elephants on the battlefield.

Stacking the Tabellae, Sorting the Papyri

2009-03-29T13:58:00.004-04:00

I have begun a project of which Psyche would have been proud. I am storing all of my notes, handouts, quizzes, tests, and other school-pertinent information electronically... AND (here's the amazing part) I am eliminating all the hard-copies. I have discovered that I use my electronic files much more often than opening the drawers of my filing cabinets. That's right, cabinets with an "s" -- one at home and one at school, both filled to overflowing and, often, difficult to search. Now I can already read your minds and can hear your warnings:

I) Make sure you have a back-up!

Yup. Got that. I keep my files on my trusty Dell and have a back-up of my files on an external harddrive. That's the storage part. The functional part is that I have my files on a flashdrive and keep a back-up disk at school in case the flashdrive fails... and, believe me, Murphy should have written a law about flashdrives!

II) Don't get rid of all that paper! Think of the trees who gave their lives so that your students could learn Latin!

Yup, yup. Considered that too. I am going through the folders and distributing extra copies I put into storage last year thinking I might use them this year. As the folder empties, I toss it into the garbage.

III) But what about the stuff created before desktop computers roamed the earth?

Yup, yup, yup. Got a plan for that as well. The true oldy-but-goody stuff from the pre-electronic age gets scanned into the computer OR I look for or make a new version. For stuff that isn't easily scanned to recreated... well, some files will have to remain.

I'm not fooling myself and believing that I will accomplish this Herculean labor this year or even next year; it will be most definitely an ongoing process.

Grabbing at Toss-Ups

2009-03-28T23:25:00.002-04:00

We returned today from a very poor showing at the Classical Cottage Certamen. For the first time since I transfered to Riverbend, no teams placed in and brought home a trophy from a Latin tournament. I'm not yet ready to declare our teams dead but the interest, particulary at this time year, is beginning to wane. This should come as little surprise. Once the weather begins to warm and the trees begin to bud, students' thoughts begin to turn to other matters... as it should be.

The Classical Cottage Certamen was good but quite small. The flagging interest does not seem to be a factor just at RHS. It was a shame, though, because Susan Schearer does an outstanding job at organizing and running a tournament. It is always a pleasure to attend any competition sponsored by this woman. Thank you, Susan!

We have one tournament left in the year... the "state championship" sponsored by the Virginia Senior Classical League and/or the Virginia Junior Classical League. I have always been confused as to who was actually in charge but the events always seem to work and champions crowned. Participation by RHS may be off for this tournament as well, seeing that it falls on the last Saturday of our Spring break. We shall see...

Tolkien and the Power of Language

2009-01-03T13:20:00.004-05:00

There is an excellent piece in today's (1/3/09) The Writer's Almanac about J.R.R. Tolkien and the power of language. The best quote from Tolkien comes at the end of the article, "I wish life was not so short. Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about."

Into the Field!

2008-12-30T18:53:00.007-05:00

I took some of my students on a real fieldtrip to the National Gallery of Art. We took a day over Winter Break, boarded the Virginia Railway Express (local commuter rail), and made our journey into Washington, DC to take a look at their exhibition titled "Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples". This exhibit was quite good and featured several quality items we had seen only in books or other sources. Favorites included the busts of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Caligula, and Nero, and there was also an awesome, ornate gladiator's helmet. My students and I heartily recommend it if you find yourself in DC between now and March. Afterwards, the exhibition will travel to Los Angeles for you guys on the West Coast. A must-see for all Latin students!

Comparative Studies, or is that Comparative Studying?

2008-12-18T21:13:00.005-05:00

While grading Latin I tests yesterday, I came across some interesting notes a student had scribbled in the margin of her paper. In the section for conjugating verbs, she had written out her personal endings -o, -s, -t, etc., and then she had written out the equivalent in German! While she's just a beginning Latin student, I believe she is also taking German II or III. By the way, she did quite well on the test, earning a 97%. Needless to say, her conjugations were impeccable!

Temple of Aphaia

2008-12-15T21:31:00.006-05:00

Time for another posting a picture for the heck of it. This is the Temple of Aphaia on the Greek island of Aphaia in the Saronic Gulf. I took this photograph in July 2004.

Tombstones as Toilets

2008-12-15T21:09:00.003-05:00

In Latin II class today we were reading the werewolf story in Chapter 33 of Ecce Romani II. The students thought it odd that the slave and the soldier were walking down the road and then suddenly the slave would have to wait while the soldier went off into the tombstones. I told them to think about it for a moment but not say anything. Lightbulbs went off over a couple of students' heads and the others looked perplexed. I then explained that tombstones would provide some privacy for those needing to relieve themselves. A couple students, not open-minded enough that urinating or defecating anywhere but in a toilet was even in the realm of possibility, didn't believe me. Unfortunately, I was unable to provide evidence. Doing a quick search after class didn't support me either. Certainly I remember requests or curses on tombstones in the ballpark of "Don't pee on me." I'm not making this up, am I?

Amore, More, Ore, Re

2008-12-13T15:46:00.005-05:00

While looking online recently for a good Latin quote on love, I found

amore, more, ore, re

I stopped. I reread the quote. I thought this was the most ingenious thing I had ever found! The quote was attributed to Vergil (actually it said "Virgilius") and I assumed that this was something very few people knew. Boy, was I wrong! When I googled the phrase, I discovered that lots of people already knew this phrase, called it their favorite Latin quote, used it on their blogs, and even had it tatooed on their wrists! Thirty years ago this fall I stepped into a Latin classroom for the very first time. Since that time I have been learning, studying, translating, reading, and teaching the language and literature and never came across this clever item. I felt like I had missed out on something!

Next I started to search for the source. Several people attributed this ditty to Vergil but it didn't seem very Vergilian. It doesn't sound like something Vergil would say and the meter doesn't work. Nevertheless, I began a search on the internet and had very little success. At one point I was directed toward the story of Nisus and Euryalus in the Aeneid and thought that I was making progress, but skimming the lines in the text produced nothing. I remembered that I had A Vergil Concordance and pulled that out, but soon found nothing there as well. I was beginning to have my doubts that this quote was classical at all.

I did find that the entire quote was

Verus amicus amore, more, ore, re cognoscitur

but again there was no citation... so I posted the request on LatinTeach and received a wealth of information. I should have started there!

*Robert Maier found

Amore, more, ore, re, Iunguntur amicitiae!

and suggested that it was medieval. He was among the first to mention that it didn't fit a meter.

*Dennis McHenry II found

Ob id ergo maximas agimus gratias vestrae amori et labore verus enim amicus cognoscitur labore, amore, more, ore, re.

and cited the closing of a letter by the Dutch cartographer Nicolaas Witsen (1641-1717).

*Laura Gibbs revealed: "About the widely used and re-used amore more ore re, you are not likely to find a specific literary source (i.e. in the sense of who said it "first"), and that kind of word play is not the sort of thing you would expect from Vergil or a classical Roman writer. It is much more typical of later Latin - and it shows up in the work of the Jesuit author and scholar Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680) in an even more elaborate form, with clamore added in as a first term in the series: Tibi vero gratias agam quo clamore? Amore more ore re.

For the friend version - verus amicus noscitur ex amore more ore re (and also: amore, more, ore re iunguntur amicitiae), see #1436 in this marvelous collection: Philosophia patrum versibus praesertim leoninis, rhythmis Germanicis adiectis, iuventuti studiosae hilariter tradita by Julius Wegeler (1869).

It's online at Google Books - and it is a treasure trove of fun stuff (hilariter tradita indeed!). You can download the PDF of the book, or read it online - just click the "read this book" tab. http://books.google.com/books?id=iGcCAAAAQAAJ.

There are all kinds of delightful word play represented here. I especially like all the rhyming verses. Here are just a few:
- Dum canis os rodit, socium - quem diligit - odit.
- Res satis est nota, foetent plus stercora mota.
- Non de ponte cadit, quocum sapientia vadit.
- Vultus fortunae mutatur imagine lunae: Crescit, decrescit, in eodem sistere nescit.
etc.
It's a shame the ancient Romans did not go in for rhyme!"

I thoroughly enjoyed my little foray into finding "who dunnit". The bottom line? The quote isn't classical but much later. It's still ingenious, and my students love it! I noticed a couple have already written it on the cover of their notebooks or textbooks where they record and preserve those lyrics from a special song or meaningful comments or notes from friends. The phrase lives on!

Figures of Speech: Why Save Them for Upper Level?

2008-12-06T09:07:00.003-05:00

I have gotten into the habit of introducing figures of speech to my Latin I and II students when we come across them. In Ecce Romani I, "Getting Up Early" in Chapter 8 includes Aurelia clamating:

"Agite, molesti servi!" inquit. "Cur nihil facitis? Cur vos ibi sedetis? Cur non strenue laboratis" (ll. 3-4).

This is as good a time as any to introduce anaphora, tricolon, and even tricolon crescens.

Early in Ecce Romani II, the servi in Chapter 32

"in Forum missi sunt et ibi comparaverunt holera, panem, pullos." (l. 3)

Asyndeton, anyone?

I don't dwell on these items nor do I test them in the lower levels, but it certainly makes the job a bit easier a couple years down the line when the whole list of devices appears for memorization and application.

An Eye in the Sky

2008-07-14T22:27:00.008-04:00

The first thing we visited on my very first trip to Rome as a student in 1982 was the Pantheon. This magnificent building remains my favorite site in the City. My daughter took this photograph on her first trip there in 2007. Notice the yellow balloon caught in the coffer behind the beam of light.

It's A Pizza

2008-07-14T09:57:00.005-04:00

The harpy Celaeno, offended by the Trojans for the slaughter of her cattle, prophesies to Aeneas,

"ibitis Italiam portusque intrare licebit.
sed non ante datam cingetis moenibus urbem
quam vos dira fames nostraeque iniuria caedis
ambesas subigat malis absumere mensas."
(Vergil, Aeneid III.254-257)
Which I translate to mean,

"you will go to Italy and you may enter the harbors, but you will not surround
with walls your given city before harsh hunger and the wrong of our
slaughter forces you to eat your tables consumed by your jaws."

Interestingly, mAla means "cheek-bone, jaw-bone; jaw, cheek." That's not one of those Latin words you come across too often.

Anyhow, what the soon-to-be residents of Latium are doing is eating pizza! The "table" is, of course, the place where the food rests. I remember from my Medieval Romance class in college the professor discussing how sailors and others would bake thin round loaves of bread which would become very hard and, thus, preservable (hardtack? crackers?). When mealtime came, the hard bread could serve as a plate and all the other food (vegetables, meats, cheeses) was piled upon it with the expectation that juices from these toppings would soak into bread, flavoring and softening it for consumption at the end. If one was particularly hungry, why couldn't he eat the "table" and all at the same time?

Of course, the Latins did not have tomatoes or tomato sauce...

How Old Is Your Mother?

2008-07-12T11:37:00.005-04:00

I have read several articles over the past few days concerning the claim that the bronze statue of the Capitoline Wolf, that iconic image from ancient Rome, is not as old as previously thought. The Lupa Capitolina has long been revered as the image of the she-wolf who found and nutured the babies Romulus and Remus after they had been cast into the Tiber River. Romulus would, of course, go on to found the City of Rome.

Anna Maria Carruba, a member of the team that restored the statue a decade ago, claims that carbon-dating methods show that the statue was cast in the 8th century A.D., not around 500 B.C. as commonly believed. I have also read that the statue could be as late as the 13th century! History of the piece reveals that Pope Sixtus IV donated the statue to the Capitoline Museums in 1471 and that the twin babies were added during the 1500s. More information is needed to find out when and how the statue was "discovered" and where it was kept before the Pope gave it away.

Another argument which casts doubt on the ancient date of the statue is that the restorers discovered that it was cast as one piece, not separate units joined together after casting. Most, if not all, of the bronze statues created by the Etruscans in the time period in which the she-wolf was thought to be created, were made and assembled piecemeal. To have the statue cast as one unit would represent technology unavailable until the medieval period.

These articles also bring to mind another claimed revision to art history in that the magnificent statue of the death of Laocoon and his sons, a piece housed in the Vatican Museum, is not ancient but a fabrication, complete with burial and a staged discovery in the ruins of the Domus Aurea of Nero, of the Renaissance master Michelangelo.

I am intrigued by the claims concerning both statues, but I remain unconvinced. I'm not being close-minded, I just need more information.

Regardless of whether the Capitoline Wolf is ancient or medieval, it still remains as a symbol of Rome and is no less dear to me, nor should it be for others, for its supposed new-found youth.

ACL 2008

2008-07-09T19:16:00.006-04:00

The 61st Annual Institute of the American Classical League has come and gone and I sit to write about it from the other side of a short family vacation to Long Island. The University of New Hampshire in Durham played an outstanding host and Sherwin Little, Tom Sienkewicz, Geri Dutra, and all others involved in the planning and execution of this outstanding gathering are to be commended.

I took the slow and liesurely route and drove to the Institute from Virginia. I set out on Tuesday morning and reached my goal of getting past most of the New York metropolitan area about mid-afternoon. In all, not a difficult drive but getting across the George Washington Bridge and navigating through the Bronx amid a sea of tractor-trailers was a bit of a pain. The next morning I easily completed the trip to New Hampshire and spent the night in Dover, about five miles outside of Durham. I stayed in Dover because, alas, there was no room in the inn at Durham when I made arrangements for lodging. The next day I move my belongings to the Holiday Inn Select at Durham and settled in for the Institute. On my return trip, getting past the traffic and bother of New York City was again my goal and I spent the night at East Windsor, New Jersey (near Princeton) via the Massachusetts Turnpike and a scenic trip through the Berkshires.

Anyhow, back to the Institute. Here are some highlights: My first interest involved Advanced Placement Latin and the College Board... Too much time was spent at the first session involving the grading of this year's exams with the presenters talking about how they had nothing to do with the decision about cancelling the AP Latin Lit exam and how we all must be calm and reasonable. No problem there. The later plenary session, titled "Latin Advanced Placement Tests: Responses and New Directions?", promised to be more interesting but I left disappointed and feeling no better (and no more informed) about the entire situation. No one was present who had actually had some say in the decision, just those who had something to say. Primarily, and I find this impressive after the initial reaction on LatinTeach and elsewhere, there were no fireworks, yelling, screaming, or crying. Everyone remained civil. We were assured that the Vergil exam would not change (probably) for the next three years or so and that we all, teachers, professors, professional organizations, would have input into future changes. I don't know how this was promised when there were no "officials" present. Most of the comments and suggestions were interesting and reasonable but there was nothing new or even reassuring that we had regained control of what and how we teach on the upper levels (if, indeed, we ever had control). I was annoyed at the presenter from a very prestigious prep school who suggested that we really don't need the AP exam. His school had dropped the entire AP program several years earlier and, guess what, their students continued to have no problem getting into Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Um, when your prestigious prep school carries instant name recognition, it is true that AP results make no difference in the admissions offices, BUT your average high school in your average town across the country has to buy into the AP program in order to level the playing field just a bit for their students. Like I said, I did not leave the plenary feeling better about things.

I was very interested by Matthew Hartnett's presentation on "Inscriptions and Graffiti in the Latin Classroom" and I intend to bring this genre of authentic Latin into my classes as soon as possible. Just because it isn't great literature doesn't mean it isn't interesting and has value in the classroom.

Ken Kitchell's "Teaching Latin Comp the Fun Way - The Long and the Short of It" was thoroughly enjoyable. It was refreshing (and a little reassuring) to learn that colleges and universities assign creative projects for their students and they end up having a great time while learning.

I was the presider for "Latin Via Storytelling: Backwards Design to Fit Any Textbook" and this session may well prove the most useful for me. Bob Patrick, Stephanie Sylvester, and Rachel Ash did an outstanding job of presenting the techniques and benefits of TPRS in the Latin classroom. The almost painless method of teaching and learning new vocabulary is alone worth consideration of this method. I need to apply some more thought here.

More than anything else, the benefit and purpose of attending an ACL Institute are the opportunities to meet new teachers and reconnect with old fiends and acquaintances. Putting a face with a name only seen on LatinTeach is great. It is very important that a professional establish contacts and networks in order for ideas, help, and suggestions to flow freely. No one can teach on an island and expect to grow.

Finally, there was the clambake. Not being a fan of seafood, I must admit that I opted for the barbequed chicken. I know that I wimped out but I have never found seafood to be palatable (and to think that I live so close to the Chesapeake Bay!). I did enjoy the company of my colleagues who were enjoying their lobsters and clams, though, and that's the best thing!

Next year in LA? We'll see!

Returning to the Task at Hand

2008-07-08T12:54:00.003-04:00

I have been ignoring this blog for way too long. It is time to get back to writing and putting down into words my thoughts and ideas about Latin, the ancient world, and teaching.

Riding Those Ponies

2008-03-04T21:31:00.006-05:00

In this day of quick and easy answers from the internet, it is too easy for our students to give in to the expedient and avoid the honorable. I have seen students take a question and make a bee-line for Wikipedia and not really read the article but scan it and hit the print button. They will read the copy later. On top of that, they also make multiple copies and distribute them to their classmates. They too will read the copies later. I have seen Latin students (gasp!) Google a poem of Catullus, make copies, and pass them around. No problem, though, their homework is done and they can move on to more important things.

O tempora! O mores! What would Cato say? What would Cicero think? What would Quintilian do?

The answer lies in what we expect from our students. They have ready access to all the answers and this resource is not going away. We as teachers need to refocus our efforts and teach our charges how to handle and understand all these answers. What is a good answer and what is bad? Why? How can one tell the difference?

Unfortunately the machines are now the vessels of knowledge. The belief among the students are that there is no longer a need to learn and memorize, regardless of the need to spout forth these seemingly random facts on the so-called high stakes test du jour.

I tell my students that they need to learn how to think, how to analyze, and how to understand what is being said by the author we are reading. If they take the easy path and print out someone else's translation, they are, in fact, defeating the purpose for being in the class. Anyone can read off from someone else's efforts and feel satisfied... but to what end?

More thoughts later -- I think I'm just rambling here.

O Fortunate Rock

2008-02-19T23:29:00.005-05:00

In my Latin III classes we are translating O Fortuna from the Carmina Burana. The Latin is not difficult and the students enjoy honing their skills on something short and sweet. What made the class sweeter was playing the music to this poem and seeing my students' eyes light up as they immediately recognized the tune. I asked them where they had heard this music before and they offered several movies and commercials... one girl even suggested The Lion King.

I then played the rock version of O Fortuna by a band called Therion and I had them hooked. If you haven't heard this version before, go to iTunes and give it a listen... it is truly impressive and will replay over and over in your head.

There's something to be said when the Latin students leave the room and saunter down the hall whistling or humming the music from O Fortuna!

A Rosetta Stone on the Acropolis

2008-02-19T22:38:00.007-05:00

Archaeologists have unearthed a stone on the Acropolis in both Greek and Latin! :)

My daughter took this photograph in June 2007.

Ha! So Much for Therapy!

2008-02-18T07:27:00.003-05:00

It is Presidents' Day, February 18, and I am making my first post since August. I had said posting to my blog would be therapy for seven classes with five preps, department duties, Latin Club, certamen, and other outside professional responsibilities... Who has time for therapy?

The year has been very busy (as you would expect) and time just slips away. I can barely keep all my classes up to speed and sometimes that doesn't even happen. I often describe myself as a juggler. I have so many balls to juggle, though, that it takes all my talent just to keep them in the air -- don't expect me to do anything fancy with them. And, yes, sometimes I drop one or two and they may lie on the floor for a little while, but I snatch them up and toss them back into the air.

I really do want to get back to my blogging.

The Wheel in the Sky

2007-08-20T18:25:00.003-04:00

I was listening to the local classic rock station driving to the first teacher workday this morning and when I turned onto the street on which the school is located, I heard these lyrics:

Oh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turning
Ooh, I don`t know where I`ll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps me yearning
Ooh, I don`t know, I don`t know

This song by Journey is not perhaps the most appropriate song (Google the lyrics) but the first line which Steve Perry kept singing was fitting. Each year is a new beginning. The graduating seniors have been replaced by the eager, tentative, incoming freshmen, and the retiring teachers have been replaced by eager, tentative, incoming rookies. Everyone gets a new, fresh start and the wheels keep on turning.

Here We Go Again!

2007-08-19T19:15:00.002-04:00

It is the evening before veteran teachers are to report to school. The rookies have already spent three days in training camp. The supplies have been ordered. The floors are waxed. There's no doubt that a new school year is about to begin.

I look back at my summer with mixed results. I am a bit surprised because I am not even sure that summers are supposed to have results. I had grand plans of revamping all my classes and having all these amazing handouts and presentations ready to go. Ha-ha... no. There's no great disappointment, though, because things can always be revamped as we go, and that's probably better pedagogy because any revision will fit the students in their present situation, not in some pie-in-the-sky, administrative expectation.

I am embarking on my 21st year of teaching and, guess what, I'm still trying to figure it all out. If any teacher tells you they have all the answers and know exactly how things work, look at them askance, make up some excuse that you left your first day handouts on the copier machine, and move away. You may need to smile and nod, but that usually covers the requisite response.

I am planning to post more this year, if, for nothing else, as a means of therapy. For the first time in many, many years, I am the only Latin teacher in the building and will be teaching all five levels: Latin I, Latin II, Latin III, Latin IV, and AP Latin Literature (Catullus & Ovid). Add to this mix an active Latin Club, competitive certamen teams, and a bunch of other professional responsibilities. My wife is the head teacher-librarian (NBCT!) where I teach, my daughter will be entering the same high school (and having me as a Latin teacher) and my son will be in his last year of elementary school. They all have active schedules and life for the next 10 months or so is looking to be quite hectic. Therapy will be a necessity!

Crossing the Rubicon with a Ham and Cheese on Rye

2007-07-26T19:20:00.001-04:00

I was making my way to the grocery store the other day and noticed that the construction at the community church across the street was almost complete. During the building I was impressed that the church was making such a large addition - more than doubling its space - and then learned how they were going to use their extra rooms. One wing is labeled "Education Center" and the other "Rubicon Cafe." I had to take another look as I left the grocery store to make sure I was reading it correctly. The church is very popular and has grown tremendously in the past few years since it has opened. It is nice to see them expanding their offerings.

When Julius Caesar reached the Rubicon River back in 49 BC, he had to make the decision whether to cross this boundary into Italy Proper at the head of his troops and, thus, essentially declare civil war on Rome. He crossed the Rubicon, declaring "Alea iacta est!" ("The die is cast!"), and passed the point of no return. He had made his move.

Now, a church calling its public cafe "Rubicon" is making quite a statement. It certainly adds a lot of pressure for someone who stops in for a ham and cheese on rye.

Authors as Prophets

2007-07-22T11:06:00.001-04:00

On the day when the world was tearing into J.K. Rowling's seventh and final book in the wildly successful series about the boy-wizard Harry Potter and his fight against evil, I must admit that I, at last, picked up her first book, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. I am familiar with the characters, the plot, most details of the story, and (being the parent of a 14- and 10-year-old) have seen all the movies multiple times. I discussed the seventh book with my wife and daughter who finished the tome the very same evening they waited in line to get their copies. Now that I know how the story ends, I am reading all the works with an eye to how the author develops her story and seek to tie up the loose ends as I come across them. I am still enjoying the story and expect to learn, first-hand, many more details of the story.

Early in the first book (toward the end of the first chapter), I was struck by a passage in which Professor McGonagall claims, "[Harry Potter will] be famous -- a legend -- I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future -- there will be books written about Harry -- every child in the world will know his name!" When Rowling was writing this first book, surely she didn't believe that her books would be so wildly successful. She could certainly hope so, but hindsight now proves her prophetic statement to be amazingly correct!

Immediately I thought of Latin authors who had made similar prophetic statements in their own works. Ovid writes, Mantua Vergilio, gaudet Verona Catullo;/ Paelignae dicar gloria gentis ego (Mantua rejoices in Vergil, Verona in Catullus; I shall be called the glory of the Pelignian race)(Amores III.15, ll. 7-8). Of course Ovid is writing after he has accumulated some fame but he has no doubts that he will be famous and deserves (rightly so) to be included in the same club with Vergil and Catullus. Further, Martial writes toto notus in orbe Martialis/ argutis epigrammaton libellis ([I am] Martial, known around the world for his clever little books of epigrams)(Epigrams I.1, ll. 2-3). He, also having already attained fame, has correctly predicted the future. Finally, there is the famous Latin quote which immediately came to mind as soon as I read Rowling's words, Non omnis moriar multaque pars mei/vitabit Libitinam; usque ego postera/crescam laude recens, dum Capitolium/ scandet cum tacita virgine pontifex. (I shall not entirely die and a big part of me will avoid Death; I will continue to grow fresh with following praise as long as the pontifex climbs the Capitoline with the silent virgin.)(Horace, Odes III.30, ll. 6-9). Horace is confident in his permanent place in literary history. He, too, though, writes with the knowledge that he is already a great poet. What did Rowling know of her coming fame and prosperity? Will her works become classics and be read many, many years from now? She (and we) really have no way to tell. Her legacy will assuredly rest in bringing countless people, including school children distracted by so many things outside of formal education, to opening a book and (obsessively) devouring it's words.

As a side note, I pondered Horace's words and realized how true his prediction still is. He said that he will continue to live, and subsequently be read, as long as the Pontifex climbs the Capitol accompanied by the silent Virgin. A different Pontifex (the Pope) still climbs a hill (the Vatican which is the Capitol of the Catholic Church) accompanied by the silent Virgin (Mary, the Mother of Christ).

Back to Basics

2007-07-16T09:49:00.001-04:00

At the end of the school year I learned that I will be teaching Latin I this fall. Most teachers would not find this assignment surprising but I am a tiny bit nervous and becoming increasingly excited because I have not taught Latin I for well over a decade... maybe since 1994! I have taught Latin II, III, IV, V, AP Vergil, and AP Latin Literature, but the Latin I classes have always been covered by teachers who floated between schools.

This new addition to my teaching assignment provides me with the opportunity to apply those techniques and ideas which have been discussed and presented at numerous workshops, institutes, and on the LatinTeach list. Such things include oral Latin and pronunciation, emphasis on reading and not simply translation, and integration of culture, history, and mythology into the Latin (Why can't the questions and/or answers about these subject areas be in Latin?).

I have long inherited students who have adopted the philosophies, techniques, interests, and abilities of their Latin I teachers. Some of these teachers have been experienced, others fresh off the vine. I took their students and moved them forward from where they were dropped off. Sometimes I could make adjustments, sometimes not.

Now is the time for me to put up or shut up. I will be taking a group of students and teaching them from the very beginning. It will be an exciting ride... stay tuned!

Making Connections II: Paying It Forward

2007-07-05T20:29:00.002-04:00

On a recent trip to Italy and Greece I called a student over to my table after dinner and invited her to sit down. I told her I had something for her to think about. Just that day we had visited the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City and I came upon this student standing in the middle of the floor, slowly turning her head. Her jaw had dropped and her eyes were wide open. This place, this moment, had made her trip. Everything else we would see afterwards would be fluff, second-rate -- exciting, but not as moving as Michelangelo's magnificent ceiling. This student had just graduated from high school where she had participated in four years of a very rigorous and demanding gifted program. She is also an artist and used this outstanding talent as a creative outlet. She will continue her education in the fall at the College of William & Mary, taking anything and everything but reserving space in her schedule for art and art history. Now, back to dinner. I told my student that this year was the 25th anniversary of my first trip to Rome and that I had come as a student, just having graduated from high school, with my Latin teacher. I told her that she needed to give consideration to bringing her own art students to Italy in the future and give some student the same experience my Latin teacher had given me and which I had just given her. I asked her to pay it forward. She said that she would...

Making Connections I

2007-07-05T15:22:00.002-04:00

I know that I have posted an image of an umbrella pine tree before... but today I have a reason!

My students and I recently returned from a trip to Italy and Greece and I have a proud-teacher moment I have to share. We had just passed through the Porta Marina and into Pompeii when our local guide herded us into the shade and began his spiel about the city and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which buried the site in AD 79. The guide went into great detail to describe the eruption and likened the cloud which rose from the mountain to a mushroom or a nuclear blast. One of my students bravely raised her hand and commented, "Pliny the Younger described the cloud as an umbrella pine tree." The guide paused a moment and replied, "Yes! Yes, indeed! You are quite correct!" and, with no umbrella pines in sight, described the tree for the rest of our group. Seemingly impressed that there were students who knew who Pliny the Younger was and had even translated the letter from Latin, he continued to make reference to the letter as our tour continued.

For the rest of the tour that afternoon, I was the one who was beaming with pride that my student had referenced material we had covered in the classroom and used it to make a visit to Pompeii more meaningful.

Footnote 1: When you take a group to Pompeii, ask for Eugenio/Eugene or Mimo. Both of these local guides are outstanding and will try to accomodate requests.
Footnote 2: If you have extra time in the schedule and the weather is cooperating, ask for more time after the organized tour to allow students to take more pictures or visit sites not normally on the tour, e.g., the amphitheater, gladiators' barracks, palaestra, etc.

Monumentum Amphitheatri Flaviani Nocte Visum

2007-04-01T09:49:00.004-04:00

The Flavian Amphitheater at night...a much more peaceful place than during the day. This photograph was taken by the husband of a colleague during our trip in July 2005.

Culpa

2007-03-31T09:42:00.002-04:00

I began class the other day by reviewing (very briefly) the indirect command and then asking for a quick outline of the story we were translating before picking up in the middle and moving forward. I was met with blank stares. I asked again, even calling upon some students by name. I was becoming frustrated and could feel my blood-pressure rising; I was thinking that no one in the class had bothered to do the assignment. Then I looked down at my lesson plans and realized that I had not even introduced the indirect command to them and they had not been assigned the translation... we had not even begun the translation! I paused. I smiled. I laughed. And then I told them to never mind -- that was the other class' assignment. Some looked relieved, some smiled, others looked annoyed (but that's OK, they look annoyed most of the time). I teach on the alternating day (A-B) block scheduling system and had confused my "A" day class with my "B" which was a couple days ahead.

I have made mistakes in the classroom before. I can remember introducing a topic once (I forget what it was) and, although not bothering to review my notes ahead of time, presented it to my students with great confidence and flourish. I scribbled away on the board and they dutifully took the notes. Then I told them to open up their books and look at some examples for practice. I was horrified (internally) to discover that what I had spent the last fifteen minutes or so explaining was wrong... very wrong. I paused. I smiled. I laughed. And then I told them to never mind, "Please take the notes you just wrote, rip them out of your notebook, and throw them away!" I even picked up the trash can and carried it desk to desk so that they could throw their notes away. I explained that, yes, even I made mistakes and that I had just made a big one. I then took a bow and said, "Let's start again."

In my twenty years of teaching, I have made numerous mistakes. I humbly express my mea culpas and move forward. Students need to see that teachers make mistakes, but, even more importantly, they need to see their teachers admitting them and correcting them. Some of what we teach in the classroom has little to do with the subject matter described in the course catalog. None of us is perfect and none of us should lead our students to believe that we are. Part of learning language is making mistakes and having those mistakes corrected and, thus, providing experiences to build on.

I remember early one morning in Rome. I awoke and slipped out of the hotel before my students were to meet downstairs for breakfast. I went to the cafe next door and confidently ordered, "Uno cappuccino, per favore." I had been practicing the phrase all the way to the counter because I wanted to use what little Italian I knew. The man behind the counter held up a thumb and said, "Un cappucino." I replied, "Grazie" and he gave me wink. I think I gave him a large tip and went on to enjoy my coffee at the table outside. Even though I know (in Latin) that adjectives agree in case, number, and gender, and that the adjective does not need to have the same ending as the noun, I now know that this Italian adjective doesn't end in an "o" but it still agrees with cappucino.

One of my students came to me yesterday and claimed that she had a teacher who had used a Latin phrase in the classroom. My student told her teacher that she had used it incorrectly. The teacher indignantly replied, "How do you know?" My student replied that she was a Latin student. The teacher snorted that she (the teacher) knew what she was talking about and continued on.

This teacher was unwilling to admit a mistake and, in doing so, lost some respect in the eyes of a student. We as teachers need to realize that we do have more experience and training, but we are not smarter or better than our students.

"Doing my Latin homework takes forever!"

2007-03-27T19:40:00.001-04:00

A student came to see me after school recently and wanted to know if I had any suggestions for helping her complete her Latin homework assignments -- translation assignments, specifically. She lamented that it was taking her over an hour to "do" her translations and then she still didn't understand what the Latin was saying.

I asked her to tell me exactly what she did and how she did it.

If she was given an assignment of 20 lines to translate from the story (in Ecce Romani II), she said that she copied down every word (even et and sed) in a long list and them looked up every word and wrote the English meaning next to it. After this tedious process she would look over the translation and then try to make sense out of it. She said that she would then become frustrated and usually give up.

I quickly saw the problem in this approach and offered some advice:

1) The problem - She was looking up the words outside of context. By making a list and writing down the meaning (usually the first one listed), she was losing or missing the meaning as it fit with the other words.

2) The other problem - She was looking up every word. I encourage my students to trust themeselves and guess at the meaning based upon the context. If she looks up movere and discovers that it means "to move," she has used valuable time on an item she could have very well anticipated.

3) My solution - Don't write down every word, or any words, for that matter. Read the sentence to yourself (preferably outloud) and then anticipate the meaning. If you need to look up a word (or a few words), do so but choose the meaning that works in context.

She took my advice and discovered that she could shave off over half the time she typically spent on translations and had a better understanding of what the Latin actually meant.

The Masculinity of Julius Caesar

2007-03-25T12:21:00.001-04:00

A recent article posted on David Meadow's outstanding blog, rogueclassicism, offered wonderful and concise information on how we know how the ancient Romans pronounced Latin. I've searched for the actual article but cannot put my cursor on it at the moment.

Julius Caesar's arrogant boast, "Veni! Vidi! Vici!" is one of the most well-known Latin phrases tossed about in a variety of contexts. Many who quote this ditty then go on to claim that it could never have been pronounced "WAY-nee, WEE-dee, WEE-kee" because Julius Caesar never would have been caught dead saying anything nearly so wimpy. It seems that the "W" sound is not masculine enough for this general-turned dictator-turned god and that it must have been pronounced with a very forceful "V" sound accompanied by a dramatic extension of the arms.

Well now. One's language is not a matter of choice but one of necessity. If a person wants to get his point across, he must communicate in the tongue offered to him. Imagine today the tragic discomfort of a man, a real man who has just gotten off an eighteen-hour shift building, bare-handed, a bridge across a raging river, who drives his mud-encrusted SUV through the drive-thru lane of the popular fast-food restaurant and must speak into the plastic character's mouth, "I'll have the Ballerina Belle Chicken Sandwich with the Pink Tutu lemonade, the Petey Pirate Jolly Roger Burger with the Ahoy Matey shake, and a side order of Baby Bunny Tasty Delight Cinnamon Rolls." Does he have his gym card taken away? Do his buddies cancel their hunting trip? Do his monster tires deflate for having to say such unmanly things? Of course not.

We cannot judge Julius Caesar and his masculinity based upon our perceptions in modern society. If "Veni! Vidi! Vici!" was pronounced with a "W" (and indications are that it was), who are we to judge whether this was a manly-enough sounding phrase? His language was his language and he spoke it without a thought. We've been told that the shoes of Roman senators were pink. Does this fact make that august body any less manly? I won't even mention that Julius Caesar is said to have plucked his body hair and even wore a tunic instead of pants. Were these girly-man traits the true cause of the fall of the Roman Empire? Hmmm...

Heading Down the Road

2007-03-22T22:16:00.001-04:00

Today we reached the three-quarters mark of the school year. The weather is warm, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and the trees are starting to bud. Springtime has come to Virginia. This means, of course, that our teenagers turn their thoughts to matters other than Latin.

Now comes the battery of state testing, the barrage of field trips which have, up-to-now, been denied because of preparation for state testing, and the myriad of other distractions which come alive this time of year.

I have often said that anything you want to teach you really need to present before the final marking period. Don't get me wrong... I will continue to teach and offer opportunities for learning, but I need to remind myself not to get too frustrated when things don't go as smoothly as possible. It is time to vary the activities and keep the students guessing.

I realize that I'm not offering any specifics in this posting -- perhaps later.

Things to remind the students: 1) The only way to coast is downhill. 2) Yes, we are going to continue to work after the AP exam, and, no, we will not be having a film festival. 3) Seniors! The last day of school is June 1, not April 1. I realize that your acceptance letters have arrived, but that doesn't mean that you have finished the race. We are rounding the final turn but the long straight-away remains!

Oh, yeah... the photograph is from our visit to Ostia Antica in 2005.

Marginalia

2007-03-18T11:19:00.002-04:00

marginalia (MAR-je-NA-le-a) n. pl. Notes, thoughts, ideas, doodles, and the like written in the margins of a book or textbook.

When I began this blog as an experiment over a year ago, I named it "Pro linguae Latinae magistris." My goal was to share ideas and experiences that would be useful for other Latin teachers. I have enjoyed the replies of teachers and (something I find very interesting) others who have an interest in things classical. I have now renamed my blog "Marginalia" not because my purposes have changed, but because it better describes what I actually ended up writing. I hope my past comments have been helpful in some way and that my new postings will continue to be of interest to Latin teachers and others who find such commentary useful or entertaining.

History Repeats Itself

2007-02-04T14:42:00.001-05:00

In the "The more things change, the more they stay the same" department, we have news out of Italy which reminds us (sadly) of an incident from the ancient Roman world.

CNN reports that a riot between the fans supporting the rival soccer teams from Catania and Palermo has resulted in the death of a police officer and the arrest of 29 brawlers outside the stadium. The officials in the Italian soccer federation have canceled all soccer games for the weekend (Feb. 3-4, 2007) and may consider longer suspension of Italy's most popular sport.

How different is this news from the scene illustrated on the picture above? This fresco shows the fighting between the inhabitants of Pompeii and the nearby town of Nuceria in AD 59. This conflict resulted in the suspension of gladiatorial contests in the town for ten years.

O TEMPORA, O MORES...

Combined (and Uncombined) Classes

2006-10-14T18:56:00.001-04:00

I am very excited this year because, for the first time in years, I am not teaching Latin IV students and Advanced Placement students in the same room at the same time. I have handled this situation well in the past but was never very happy with the idea. I have tried different approaches to this arrangement, including splitting the class and teaching each half separately with separate curricula, while the other half completes assignments, projects, or groupwork, and teaching both halves together, the same curriculum, but having different "levels" of expectations and requirements. I prefer the latter, and had the most success doing so.

Now that I have each level in separate classes, I don't have to make special requirements or divide myself or my attention: AP Latin is cruising through Vergil's Aeneid and there's no looking back at the dust we are leaving behind, and Latin IV is reviewing and handling items of grammar and syntax (some advanced) and cutting their teeth on authentic Latin literature. Happiness all around... almost... but more about that later.

In Latin IV this year we are reading and translating from Caesar's De Bello Gallico... an author and work that I am embarrassed to admit that I have ignored for more than a decade. I have plans to revisit Pliny and Cicero (returning to the much neglected prose authors) and then move on to Ovid's Ars Amatoria (after blowing the dust off of those textbooks as well). Basically I plan to revisit authors and works *I* haven't read for a while... Vergil, Catullus, Ovid, and Horace are great authors and I wouldn't ditch them for the world but I'll leave those for the APs and we IVs can snuggle up with the others.

Now for the downside... I am in the wonderful situation where numbers are not a problem -- I owe that to lots of hard work and interesting, challenging classes. Last year I was given a schedule which included two Latin IV/AP classes: one on "A" day and one on "B" day (we operate on an alternating day block schedule). This arrangement allowed two options for a student to fit Latin into his or her schedule. Essentially almost everyone was a happy customer. This year, though, we offer Latin IV on "A" day and AP Latin on "B" day. Due to several "singleton" classes (most of them APs) and band, some upper-level Latin students were not able to take the class of their choice, or (miserabile dictu!) did not take Latin at all!

I was not willing to take on any students in independent and/or individual instruction because I have four preparations (which sometimes morph into six when the classes on "A" and "B" get on different paces), an active Latin Club and certamen teams, department responsibilities as chair, professional activities outside of school, and a family with two active and busy children.

Which teaching situation do I prefer? I must honestly admit that the jury is still out.

Have Column, Will Photo

2006-10-02T18:51:00.005-04:00

For so long the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina was the first site I visited after entering the Forum Romanum. Back in the day you had to enter from the Via del Fori Imperiali and actually pay 12,000 lire... Now things have changed and this entrance (and paying to enter) have become a thing of the past. As it should be, entrance into the forum is now free BUT your freedom is much more restricted. Unfortunately, you now must remain within an enclosed space and see the sites from a short distance. Frustrating it is, but I guess I understand. It is always disappointing, though, that few sightseers actually venture into the forum and fewer still really understand what they are looking at. In case you were interested, my favorite entrance now into the forum is down from the Capitoline Hill and near the Mamertine Prison (Tullianum). The best exit remains walking past the Arch of Titus and into the plaza containing the Colosseum. Oh yeah... that's where the crowds are!

I posted this photograph, taken in July 2005, because I was feeling guilty that I hadn't written in a while. I must make more of an effort!

"Latin Word Order Doesn't Matter..."

2006-08-29T21:32:00.002-04:00

I hear repeatedly from my students that they have been taught that Latin word order does not matter. I gasp and reply that Latin word order makes all the difference!

A little bit of background first -- I teach Latin II, III, IV, AP Latin Literature, and AP Latin: Vergil. Strange to say, I have not taught Latin I in well over a decade! I regularly get my students from four different Latin I teachers and then lead them upward as far as they are willing and able to go.

I have come to the conclusion that I will have to approach these teachers and address this issue as a fundamental understanding of the Latin language. Since I am not known particularly for my tact, I will have to proceed gently and bring up the subject at the appropriate time.

I tell my Latin II and III students (when we complete our Compositio Hodierna) that the Romans did not have punctuation, did not underline their words, did not have bold print or italics, but relied upon word order to show emphasis and contribute to the meaning.

An example readily made itself available today as we began our reading of Caesar's De Bello Gallico in Latin IV. After encouraging my advanced students to read and translate in Latin word order (left to right, NOT hunting for the subject and verb, as I am so accustomed to do), we came across in the very first paragraph,

Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit.

When a student asked, "Why did the sentence begin with an accusative?" and scratched his head, I, remembering the conversation I had had with Latin II just the class period before, seized the opportunity to discuss the meaning and importance of Latin word order. I told them that the most important positions in the Latin sentence was the first and last words and that everything in between simply filled in the meaning. So, in our sentence from Caesar, the emphasis was on "the Gauls" and what happened to them (dividit), not so much on the names of the actual rivers, although that information was still important.

I have frequently had this conversation with my AP students when we are analyzing poetry, but I have never really taught this to my lower level students for whom this information is just as important. Now if I can just tell the Latin I teachers who send me their students...

Unpacking the Year

2006-08-12T08:36:00.001-04:00

Experienced teachers report for duty on Wednesday, August 16. There will be a week of greetings, meetings, and crafting plans for the upcoming school year. It is a ritual I have experienced 19 times before. As I begin my 20th year of teaching, it should be "old hat" by now, but, gratefully, it is not.

I returned to school this last Monday and spent the week moving boxes, unpacking, and decorating my classroom. I like coming in early and taking care of the aesthetic issues -- it sets the stage, creates the mood, and gives me an opportunity to ease into the year.

Many teachers complain at the end of the year that packing up is such a waste of time, particularly since we have to unpack it all again at the beginning of the year. I understand the need for cleaning, reassigning rooms, and keeping things in order, but I enjoy unpacking for another reason. As I pull items out of boxes and place books back on shelves, it gives me an opportunity to revisit each item, re-evaluate its purpose, and weed out those things which no longer make the cut. More importantly, it also provides me with the time to reminisce -- yesterday I found a stack of Latin Club photographs I took several years ago of students I had almost forgotten. Revisiting the past provides great incentive for the future. Isn't that a lot of what we do in Latin class?

Now I can commit my time to writing lesson plans, creating handouts, and giving attention to the World Languages Department (I am the department chair) and assisting our new teachers (this year we have four in our department!). And the students arrive on the 23rd!

And they all came tumbling down!

2006-07-31T22:19:00.003-04:00

This is a picture of the tumbled columns from the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece. It was taken by a student (Kimberly A.) on our trip in 2004.

Did you ever wonder... What would the ancient Greeks and Romans think about our preservation and veneration of their ruins? Would they laugh? Would they be surprised? Would they be disappointed?

Those Seemly Summer Assignments

2006-07-29T18:13:00.002-04:00

I have given summer assignments this year for the very first time. I have done so with hesitation and still feel very uncomfortable about the whole thing. These assignments are for my 2006-2007 Advanced Placement Vergil students only.

I have long believed that holidays were time away from work and school and have always given all my students the assignment of putting their books in their lockers until school was back in session.

Now I have given in to gentle pressure and expectations that summer assignments are a good and necessary thing. I was quite surprised when, at the end of the last AP Vergil course in 2005, my students suggested that they would have been happier and had an easier go of the AP Vergil course if they were already well-acquainted with the Aeneid before they began translating and critiquing it. They were actually disappointed that they had not received a summer assignment!

So what I have done? I collected the e-mail addresses of all my AP students so that we could remain in contact. I gave them each a copy of a Mandelbaum's translation of Vergil's Aeneid and told them that they needed to read the entire work, including the introduction and notes in the back. I then randomly assigned one of the books of the Aeneid to each student (I have 23 students so there is some overlap) and had them generate an outline of that book. They need to send that outline to me by August 1 and I will collate them all into a larger outline which I will return to them before the start of school on August 23. I have also posted a list of terms about content and background from the Aeneid which they will need to know for their major content test soon after school begins! Furthermore, each student will need to write a general essay on the life and times of the poet Vergil and turn it in on the first day of school! Ack!

My biggest concern at this point revolves around the realm of "What if...". What if the student does not meet the August 1 deadline? What if they don't do the essay? What if they do not read the Aeneid over the summer? Does that mean they start out at the beginning of the year with a zero or two and already far behind? We shall see...

All of this reflects the prevailing attitude of students toward AP classes and the work required in them. I must admit that I am not a fan of AP classes and would not be terribly disappointed if they were outlawed and ceased to exist. Imagine how surprised (and a little disturbed) I was when, several years ago, I asked my advanced Latin students if they would be disappointed if there was no AP Latin. They said that they wouldn't be... they would just take some other AP class instead!

The Colosseum in Profile

2006-07-27T21:39:00.004-04:00

The Flavian Amphitheater, looking good after a decent scrubbing, in July 2001. The first time or two I saw the Colosseum (early to middle 1980's), it was much dirtier and covered with layers of soot. It has been interesting watching Rome get cleaner and greener these past twenty-four years.

The Philosopher's Kitchen

2006-07-22T18:26:00.001-04:00

My wife is a librarian and this makes for a dangerous combination for a marriage (an embarrassing and hopelessly out of touch combo, if you ask our thirteen-year-old daughter).

Anyhow, my wife brought to my attention a wonderful book: The Philosopher's Kitchen: Recipes from Ancient Greece and Rome for the Modern Cook by Francine Segan (Random House, Inc., 2004). This cookbook contains recipes (I believe) students would actually eat. There is no talk of lark tongues, sow's bladders, or peacock brains (which, unfortunately, most students then choose to remember and confirm the general public's views of "typical" Roman food which always ends up in the "vomitorium") but reasonable and realistic items. Even more impressive, many recipes have photographs of the final product, making them look very tempting and enjoyable.

The table of contents lists:

Ad Gustum: Appetizers
Fire: Soups and Stews
Earth: Salads and Vegetables
Water: Seafood
Air: Poultry
Macellum: Meats
Panis: Breads
Ambrosia: Desserts
Menus and Entertaining

Opening the book at random, one finds "Herb Crisps" (p.186):

A quote from Aesop
A short introduction to the recipe with reference to the photograph on an earlier page
The modern recipe
The original recipe (from Chrysippus)
And the entry ends with a item of interest (which are delightfully scattered throughout the textbook) which mentions how the ancient Egyptians kneaded bread with their feet.

This book is a must-have for any teacher who makes food a part of the classroom experience or anyone who loves to cook!

Also tempting... the author has penned Shakespeare's Kitchen. Now I have to find that one too!

*The fine print: I have no connection with Francine Segan or Random House Books. This is not a spam promotion. I merely found this delightful book and wanted to share the excitement.

Classic(al) Superman

2006-06-29T23:16:00.001-04:00

My family and I took in a matinee of the latest Superman movie today (Superman Returns) and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I could not help but pick up on the obvious and less-than-obvious classical references and allusions in the film (keep reading -- I promise not to divulge anything important to the story of the film):

Lex Luthor, haughtily revealing his latest plot, explains that Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man, thus providing our first technology.
Lex continues to explain that the Romans conquered the world by building roads.
When the massive globe atop the Daily Planet totters and falls, Superman races to the rescue and catches it, striking a wonderful Hercules pose.
Superman falls to Earth from the heavens and reminds me of the fall of Hephaestus.
Not exactly classical, the the film absolutely drips with Christian symbolism and references.

Even if you're not into sci-fi flicks, you may like this film. Check out the reviews and go see it!

It never rains in Italy in the summertime...

2006-06-20T22:24:00.001-04:00

I had taken eight trips to Italy during what everyone would consider "the summer months" and had never experienced any rain. So, wise guy that I am, I always told my students that they never had to worry about umbrellas or ponchos when they packed for the trip. Leave it to Iuppiter Pluvius to prove me wrong on our trip in 2005! It was a summer cooler than normal and we experienced periods of heavy rain a couple of days during our trip. The key was to stay positive and remind the students how fortunate they were not to have to experience Italy in all its dusty and sweaty glory. I also enjoyed seeing wildflowers blooming in the Forum in July and Italy dressed in an uncharacteristic green instead of its usual golden brown.

Taking Stock of the School Year

2006-06-19T17:57:00.001-04:00

I have just completed my 19th year of teaching and, to be sure, it was the hardest one to date. I attribute this difficulty to several changes: 1) our school system started alternating-day block scheduling this year and we had to pick up an extra class (upping our total from 5 to 6); 2) this was my first year serving as department chair (and there were not a few unusual difficulties); and 3) this was the 2nd year for our new school and the "first-year" excitement and enthusiasm is gone and we have settled into the system as another cog in the machine.

Even before the end of the school year I began to think and plan for next year. Every job should have a "summer break" to allow employees and (indeed) management the time to reflect on what is working and what isn't and what can and should be changed. This is my task for the summer and I'll start now...

What is working? I have many students who are successful in and excited about their study of Latin. They can pick up a passage of Latin, from Ecce Romani, if they are in Latin II, or from Martial, Catullus, Ovid, and Horace, if they are from Latin III through AP, and read it, translate it, and understand it. What is more, there are some who even enjoy it! Furthermore, I have students who are busy preparing projects and cramming for certamen for the upcoming National Junior Classical League convention in the end of July. They don't have to do this, but they go out of their way and pay lots of money for the opportunity to do so. Finally, I have two very dear students who just graduated and are planning to study Latin and the classics in college and they are planning to become Latin teachers! While I can't claim credit for their desire to become Latin teachers (they came to our new school with their minds already made up), I can rest comfortably that I did not dissuade them in their ambition during their last two years in high school. A few other new graduates also tell me that they will continue taking Latin in college just for the fun of it. Do I hear angels singing?

What is not working? I have some students on the other end of the spectrum who hate Latin, really dislike me, and ended the year with very low averages or even failed the class. These are students who tell me (as do their parents) that Latin is their only low grade and that their Latin grade was bringing down their GPA. Now, I learned many years ago that there is no way to have or make everyone satisfied or happy and I will not even attempt it, but this always leaves me pondering what I could do better or how I can help my students out. I do know that I could do a much better job grading papers and getting them back to the students. I could be more proactive and contact parents sooner or more frequently when a student is struggling or even sinking.

What can and should be changed? The biggest thing here is staying organized, staying on top of all the paperwork and administrivia that comes my way. All too often the end of the day comes (after make up work, Latin Club, certamen practice, etc.) and I gather up all the things that need to be done and shove them in my bag to be carted home. Sometimes I pull these items out at home and give them some attention and sometimes these items, having never seen the light of the lamp, simply enjoy the ride back to school. In either case, I take the precious time, if any is available, to reshuffle the papers and get them back into their requisite piles. This has got to stop. I found that forcing myself to stay even later after school (until 5 p.m. or more) to handle these papers gave me the opportunity to handle them, file them, or discharge them without having to sift and sort. Likewise, using this time to grade papers and them into the class folders for the next day makes grading more efficient and convenient. I can them make my way home and enjoy my family without the thoughts of all this pulp and ink hanging over my head. Ask any teacher, he or she certainly knows what Damocles felt! This fall I will certainly continue this practice of addressing work at work and taking time for myself at home. I will not be naive to believe that I will never do work at home anymore, but I can definitely lighten the load and be reasonable in the understanding of what I can actually accomplish at home in the evening.

What else can and should be changed? I will make the effort to have those students who need extra help stay after school and receive the help they need. I have always waited until they initiate the call for help, but some wait until the problem has become a crisis or don't even ask at all. Since we now have block scheduling (90 minute classes every other day) and I have more of a clue how this set up works, I am considering breaking up the time in class and and differentiating activities in such a way that those who need reteaching or more practice can receive it from me in a special help group and those who wish and need to excel can have the opportunity to work on special projects or assignments before we reconvene for new material, checking activities, or otherwise moving ahead. I can set aside time after school to set up tutoring sessions for those who desire them. I can seek out volunteers from my advanced students to help teach, reteach, review, and practice.

Now comes the task of making it all happen. I will revisit these thoughts as the summer comes to a close and the new school year starts ramping up. Now is the luscious time for thought, reflection, tinkering, and trashing. Send in the clowns!

Living the Happy Life

2006-05-17T18:40:00.001-04:00

I offered this poem to my Latin III students recently. They dutifully translated it, but, as it should be, they did not appreciate the message:

Martial X.47: "Living the Happy Life"

Vitam quae faciant beatiorem,
Iucundissime Martialis, haec sunt:
Res non parta labore, sed relicta;
Non ingratus ager, focus perennis;
Lis numquam, toga rara, mens quieta;
Vires ingenuae, salubre corpus;
Prudens simplicitas, pares amici;
Convictus facilis, sine arte mensa;
Nox non ebria, sed soluta curis;
Non tristis torus, et tamen pudicus;
Somnus, qui faciat breves tenebras:
Quod sis, esse velis nihilque malis;
Summum nec metuas diem nec optes.

And here is my (somewhat free) translation:

Martial, my good man, these things make for a happier life:
stuff not gotten from work, but left to you;
a happy garden, always a fire in the stove;
never being called to court, a little-used suit, a mind at peace;
free-born strength, a healthy body;
straight-talking wisdom and friends who feel the same way;
modest entertainment, simple food;
not partying all night, but free from cares;
not sleeping alone, but not around either;
dreams which make the night pass quickly:
may you want to be who you are and long for nothing;
may you neither dread your final day nor look forward to it.

Certainly words of wisdom which could have been typed by anyone seeking to shut out the frenzy of the modern world and not penned by someone over 1,900 years ago.

Cheering for Compositions

2006-05-16T18:34:00.001-04:00

Composition, the translation of English into Latin, has long been a chore for students learning Latin. I've always enjoyed the mental exercise and find it to be a useful teaching activity. What other assignment requires students to apply everything they've practiced and learned in one, neat, little package? My students, though, can find it tedious and even frustrating. I'm sure that I'm not the only teacher who has this experience!

I do have a game we play occasionally to make composition more interesting and exciting... turn it into a competition!

This is what I do:

1) Divide the students into three teams. You can do this randomly or assign them by ability to get a good combination on each team.

2) Divide your blackboard/whiteboard into three sections; assign each team to a section. Keep the sections close together so that you can see all three at the same time.

3) Announce that each team will be translating the same sentence into Latin and the first team that gets the sentence completely correct will win the point or get credit. Here's the catch: each team puts their sentence on the board but the teacher can only say, "There are no correct sentences on the board" until one of them is completely correct. The teacher can offer no assistance or even tell the teams where the problems are -- that is the job of each team to determine.

4) Continue assigning sentences from a list or an exercise in the textbook as time and tolerance will allow. The team with the most points at the end of the game will receive credit, extra credit, or some other reward.

Suggestions:

A) Only one person from a team at the board at a time. This allows the teacher to see the whole board and determine which sentence is correct first. Students have to "tag team" to get to the board. A team shouting at a member on the board often leads to confusion or frustration. Have the team member return to the group's huddle.

B) Don't assign the sentences for homework ahead of time. One diligent student can dominate the team and the whole game.

C) Don't worry about teams "copying" the sentences from other teams on the board. This is part of the learning process. Also, savvy teams have been known to leave an obvious error which can lead another team astray but can be easily corrected to catch the win.

D) Encourage the members of each team to work together to figure out the sentence. When the pressure is on and there are three incorrect sentences on the board, the suggestion or idea of everyone on the team can make the difference between winning or losing.

E) You can make more than three teams if you have enough board space and you feel comfortable looking at multiple sentences at the same time.

I have found no other technique which makes translating into Latin so exciting. To hear students cheer when they have translated a sentence correctly is truly music to a Latin teacher's ears!

Amy High Latin Foundation

2006-05-14T16:34:00.001-04:00

I attended a fundraiser for the Amy High Latin Foundation on Saturday, May 13. I decent event, all in all. One of the highlights was a demonstration by the Legio XX:

It seems there is a living history event called Roman Days 2006 coming up in Maryland the weekend of June 3-4, 2006. I just might have to check it out!

But back to the subject of my post... Amy High was a dynamic teacher who taught Latin on all levels, her last assignment was teaching third-graders in Fairfax County, VA. You may have seen an article on her in Time magazine back in December of 2000. You may also remember her as Iulia Pauli, the roving reporter in the Forum Romanum video series produced by the National Latin Exam. Tragically, Amy died a few years ago. She loved traveling to Rome and studying oral Latin under Reginald Foster, the Latin cleric to the Pope. As her legacy, her husband and several very close friends established the Amy High Latin Foundation to support aspiring and experienced Latin teachers who have a desire to travel to the Eternal City and study. To date, the foundation has awarded more than $30,000 in scholarships.

If you are a Latin teacher (or will soon become one) and have any interest in traveling to Rome to brush up on your oral Latin skills, this is a valuable source of inspiration and funding.

Finally, the Foundation is always looking for donations. If you have extra funds in need of a worthy cause, this is one of the "biggies" for the study of oral Latin.

From Humble Beginnings

2006-04-21T08:19:00.002-04:00

April 21st has arrived and provides us with the opportunity to reread Livy and revisit the founding of Rome:

Ita Numitori Albana re permissa Romulum Remumque cupido cepit in iis locis ubi expositi ubique educati erant urbis condendae. (Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, I.vi)

Further down the passage we read (in a nice chiastic relationship, Palatium Romulus Remus Aventinum) that Romulus prefers the Palatine Hill for his bird-watching and, later, his city-founding.

Anyone who has ever climbed the path up the Palatine is immediately rewarded for his efforts by the appearance of tall trees and green grass, a welcome change to the usually hot and dusty Roman Forum through which the hill is reached. There is also the splendor of a Renaissance villa and the jumble of Imperial, Republican, and even Regal ruins. This hodge-podge is quickly overwhelming to the eye and causes many a tourist to snap a few, quick, panoramic photos of brick walls and marble floors and hustle back down the hill.

The gems of the place, available to anyone willing to spend the time and effort to sort out the rubble, include the marble flooring and other architectural details from the numerous palaces of the Roman emperors, the impressive frescoes in the House of Livia, the postholes from the Hut of Romulus, and spectacular vistas of the Roman Forum and the rest of the City.

My favorite place on this sparkling list is the one which looks the least impressive to most visitors but is very inspiring to me: the Hut of Romulus. Several postholes, outlining the circumference of a small hut, can be seen in the natural bedrock. Nearby there are other postholes and the remains of a rustic wall and cistern. When I show this site to students and others, they are immediately struck by the small size and lack of grandeur. They often reply, "That's it? This is the actual hut? Did Romulus really lay there on a grass mat and plot the rape of the Sabine women? How do we really know?" Then they usually snap a quick pic and ask if they can head down the hill.

Of course the site is unimpressive. The importance comes in its symbolic meaning. The Romans believed that this was the site of Romulus' hut and that's good enough for me. Even if the scanty remains are those of Romulus' annoying neighbor who always allowed his dog to do his duty in everyone else's yard, it doesn't matter. What I find important is that this site is the most direct link we have to that April day so very long ago and that this hut, or one so very like it, gave rise to the massive and sprawling palaces that surround it.

Of Olives, Figs, Dates, and Grapes

2006-04-07T19:46:00.001-04:00

In Latin II we have been discussing Roman food and dining habits. Of course we covered reclining in the triclinium, garum, olive oil, and the undying myth of the vomitorium.

I always like to teach about the food and dining of the typical Roman on a typical day. We do talk about the banquets and the drinking parties, but it is the everyday element I like to stress. With that in mind we have a food-tasting day in which students bring in and sample different types of crusty, whole-grained, rustic breads, flatbreads, different varieties of cheeses, green and black olives (with pits in situ, soaking in jars, not tinny-tasting cans), figs, dates, grapes, a wide selection of fruits and vegetables, olive oil, honey, and grape juice.

I am always amazed at the students who have never tasted an olive or honey or even cheese that doesn't come wrapped in its individual plastic sleeve and think that figs only exist in a newton. I encourage them to keep an open mind and try at least something new. Some really do expand their palate.

What is popular with my students in recent years, due largely to the practice in some of our local Italian restaurants, is dipping (or even soaking!) crusty bread in olive oil. Now if I could just get them to rub some garlic on it first!

I have, of course, done the Roman banquet thing in the past and have found that it is not worth the time and expense of having students (and their parents) whip up a "real Roman dish" and then have students refuse to taste it. Keeping it simple is always a plus!

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi

2006-04-03T22:55:00.003-04:00

It has been too long since I posted a picture so I offer this image of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:

I took this photograph in July 2004 - I use it as the background screen of my computer.

I'll Do It Tomorrow...

2006-04-03T21:59:00.001-04:00

The poet Martial writes in Epigram V.58:

Cras te victurum, cras dicis, Postume, semper:
dic mihi, cras istud, Postume, quando venit?
Quam longe cras istud! ubi est? aut unde petendum?
Numquid apud Parthos Armeniosque latet?
Iam cras istud habet Priami vel Nestoris annos.
Cras istud quanti, dic mihi, possit emi?
Cras vives? Hodie iam vivere, Postume, serum est:
ille sapit quisquis, Postume, vixit heri.
And I offer this translation:

You always say that you will live tomorrow, Postumus, tomorrow!
Tell me, that tomorrow of yours, Postumus, when does it come?
How far away that tomorrow is! Where is it? Where must we look for it?
Does it hide out among the Parthians and Armenians?
That tomorrow of yours is already as old as Priam or Nestor.
Tell me, how much will that tomorrow of yours cost?
Will you live tomorrow? Postumus, it is already too late to live today:
He is wise whoever lived yesterday, Postumus!

This poem has come up in class at a very interesting time. It is the end of the marking period and I have just spent a very unpleasant weekend grading papers, tests, essays, and make-up work. When I say that I spent the weekend, I mean, literally, the whole weekend.

The first part of the problem comes from my own procrastination. I let the papers pile up and then they become a chore. When they become a chore, they are avoided. When they are avoided, they hang over my head and make me more anxious than any sword of Damocles.

The second part of the problem I attribute to overextending myself and saying "yes" to far too many things when I am already taxed. We moved to block scheduling this year and that means three 90-minute shows a day, each show different, interesting, and, I hope, productive.

Finally, I am beginning to realize that the third part of the problem is that I am requiring too much graded work from my students. There are quizzes on vocabulary, grammar, syntax, translations, culture, history, mythology, and then tests, benchmark tests, and exams. I also require prepared translations and exercises and even the occasional poster or project. Those who are marginal students are quickly overwhelmed and become discouraged. In frustration they come to hate the study of Latin, regret their decision of taking it, and refuse to go on.

My realization, some twenty years after I started teaching: not everything requires work, not all work requires a grade, and not every grade needs to be recorded. As a young teacher fresh out of college I would have considered this blasphemy. Now, as an experienced teacher in the middle of my career, I realize that this is the approach that will allow me to see the wisdom of Martial's words.

Why Do I Teach?

2006-03-30T18:15:00.001-05:00

“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” I think I first heard this smirky phrase when I was a student in high school. I probably even laughed along with it. After all, I never intended to be a teacher. I entered into Virginia Tech planning to major in math and computer science. I was going to get a high-tech job and bring home some high-tech money. So how did I end up teaching Latin? I had taken four years of Latin in high school and kept it on my college schedule just for fun. I wasn’t ready to give up something in which I had invested so much time and effort. It was my comforting diversion from all those numbers, proofs, and commands. As I slogged my way through five-hour freshman calculus and computer science classes stuffed full of math geniuses and techie wannabes, I took a look around one day and asked myself, “Do I really want to do this with my life? Do I really want to chain myself to a desk and stare into a computer screen all day long?” Searching my soul and receiving a bit of advice from those who knew me better than I knew myself, I realized that the world of numbers and crunching them wasn’t for me and I turned my diversion into my vocation. In the spirit of Robert Frost who knew something about wandering around the woods, I went from the major of the masses to the major of the obscure few and, indeed, that distinction made all the difference.

I have loved the ancient world as far back as I can remember. I recall being thrilled when I flipped through the television channels as a child and stumbled upon such wonders as Ben Hur racing his chariot, Spartacus leading his army of slaves, or even Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck being chased by lions in the Colosseum. I fondly remember discovering my mother’s Latin textbook, opening it at random, and resting my eyes on the Latin word amicitia - “friendship.” Ever since that time I have nourished this friendship with the ancient world and turned it into a love affair.

Taking the less-traveled road of being a Latin teacher, though, does come with a challenge. I have been part of many conversations which play out in a predictable direction. I meet somebody new and she asks, “What do you do?” “I teach,” I reply. “Oh, really?” she says, often with some sort of surprise or disappointment in her voice. “What do you teach?” “I teach Latin!” I say with pride and look her straight in the eyes, knowing her reaction will come in one of two ways: 1) her eyes open wide and she responds with amazement, “Do they really still teach that? Isn’t Latin a dead language?” or 2) her eyes narrow, her top lip curls, and she responds with disdain, “I hated Latin when I was in school! I can’t remember a thing and it never helped me out anyway!” On occasion I will come across the individual who actually loved taking Latin in high school, admitting how he benefited from Latin in learning English vocabulary or grammar, in conquering the SATs, or in getting an A in some other, now-forgotten, Romance language. All too often, though, a parent will admit that his child was taking Latin and, although he really wished his son had taken a more practical language, “You know -- something he can really use!” he was actually enjoying the class.

I take in all these responses, often with a nod and a grin, and remain confident that what I am doing with my life is a good thing. I do not have to remind myself that I get to spend all day working with a subject I love and even getting paid for it! What is more, I get to pass on to others my affection for Latin and watch with pride as they learn and grow. I do not have any misconceptions that all my students will share in my enthusiasm or even develop their own friendship with the ancient world. Indeed I dare to say that some will take a year or two of the language and make conversation in the not-too-distant future about how they are surprised that Latin is still in the curriculum or that they had an awful time having to do all that work back in high school and still didn’t get a 2400 on their SATs. On the other hand, there will be those lucky few who persevere and reach the upper levels, reading and translating works of authentic Latin literature which contain messages still fresh, meaningful, and practical two thousand years later. Those who stay with the subject through their senior year not only take fours years of Latin, but also take four years of Mr. Keith. That is a scary thought. I know that this carries with it great responsibility and I stand in my pulpit and wield my pen carefully and thoughtfully. I like to think that they move off into this world with a bit more knowledge and wisdom than when they entered high school. That, in essence, is the very nature of education. They will become the mathematicians and the computer scientists and a host of other professions, some of which we haven’t even begun to imagine, and they will take with them a touch of humanity. It is my hope that I have taught them not only how to think but that I have given them something to think about.

Why do I teach? I teach because I can.

This essay was my entry in a contest for Riverbend HS faculty in 2005.