VIEWS AND GOALS ON LATIN EDUCATION

I am a certified secondary math teacher and a pastor, who has taught and tutored in various contexts since 2001.  Though not an expert, I am proficient in Hebrew, Greek, and now Latin.  During that time, I have become convinced that a love of learning can never be divorced from clear, organized instruction.  Exuberance without clear instruction always leads to frustration.  At the same time, organized but dull instruction will suck the energy out of any student.  However, more often I have found excited people who don’t know how to communicate clearly.  They love what they are teaching, but they don’t know the best way to explain it.  They want their students to love the material, but they have not effectively communicated what the material is. 

 

Along with this, I have been convinced that quick, clear feedback is needed to continue progressing in learning.  There is a massive difference between being aware of information and knowing information.  This became apparent when at the end of Challenge B our Blue Book exam revealed how little one student had learned. I know that in CC the director is not the teacher for it is up to the parent to ultimately assess and grade.  However, I felt like I had failed to help this student since I was not aware of how much they did not know. If I had realized how much they were not getting, I would have stopped and made sure they were tracking.

 

Thus, I have created class notes that not only explain the new material, but also have extra examples.  Hearing a new idea and immediately practicing it greatly helped the students and me assess what we had learned.  These clear, organized, and simple class notes allows you to utilize the precious time you have in community. It also saves you countless hours in preparation.

 

Also, each week I gave the students a homework check (aka a “quiz”) over the prior week’s homework.  The questions were not meant to trick them, but to just see what they had truly understood and learned, not just became aware of. The students had five-six minutes to take it, and then we went over it.  We did not put a grade because that is not my role, but this "homework check" drastically helped me and the students.  The students quickly became aware which weeks they actually knew the material and which weeks they were just aware of it.  As well, it helped me know where to pause and reteach, and when we could progress forward.