I got this from John. It reminds of that post from Anne (https://benslavic.com/blog/2011/07/15/anne-matava-9/)
Ben,
Bob Patrick recently mentioned on our Latin Best Practices list that a few of his former students who have decided to continue with Latin/Classics at college, later decide to drop the major. They have made this decision because their classes are boring and irrelevant–unlike the previous four years they had with Bob. Amazing how after one semester, a student who thrived enough in high school Latin to decide to be a major, would then say “I hate Latin.”This is about the most frustrating thing for a Latin teacher, to cultivate a love for a subject in students for years, just to have some pompous grad student or junior faculty cause that student to HATE the subject. Here is my response, which, from what I’ve read on this list, is also of relevance to modern language teachers:
Bob,
I think this conversation has zoomed in on the front lines of a conflict that really will determine the future of Latin studies, at all levels. This is the AP. Here is where the interests of what university faculty think incoming students should know collides with the experiences of many middle and high school teachers in regard to what works for their students. The lower level teachers are increasingly taking their lead from what is of interest and relevance to their students – a bottom-up or grassroots approach. At the university level, we see a top-down approach that presumes to know what is best for the lower levels, in terms of both content and methodology.
When students like Bob’s (or Luke’s) enter the university, they will probably be made to feel that they must get with the program. If they don’t like the program because they see no relevance in it, they can either leave, or they can take ownership of their departments, advocate for themselves, and pressure their faculty to adapt to the needs and interests of their dwindling numbers of Latin students. Our students need to know what they will likely be facing when they get to college, if they choose to continue with Latin/Classics.
All of a sudden, preparing our students to be Latin scholars in college takes on a whole new dimension.
John
www.johnpiazza.net
The Essential Marcus Aurelius
Now available in bookstores, or via John’s website
The Problem with CI
Jeffrey Sachs was asked what the difference between people in Norway and in the U.S. was. He responded that people in Norway are happy and
