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I received this note: Hi Dwane, Hope all is well man! I have to say I really miss the Latin classes with you Dwane.  Since I finished VL2 in December I am trying to learn French.  I found a website called French 4 me/French with Vincent that has 4 grammar...

A friend forwarded this post to me. This is a lesson I am trying to learn... and internalize. I am sure you have all heard about Seth Godin.  This is from him. ================================================= Battle lines drawn. Positions solidified. Arguments made....

This week, a mother emailed me.  She was discouraged that she and her son were plodding slowly through Visual Latin.  They are feeling behind. Here is my reply to her email:  I have been studying Greek for almost ten years now… and, still don’t feel I have “gotten"...

I don't spend as much time reading Trent Hamm's articles as I once did.  But, when I do, I rarely regret it.   This one is a real winner. You may have set some financial goals for yourself a few weeks ago.   You remember... new year's resolutions. It turns out, it may...

I shared this post with my kids.  You may want to share it with yours. Be careful what you post online.  It sticks. ================================================= Twitter: Police Requests Increase Gary North - January 15, 2019 If you post it on Twitter, it’s...

One of my students forwarded this to me. Heh.

I received this question: How do I beef up Visual Latin to be worthy of high school course credit?  I remember something about adding in Henle or another starting after or with Lesson 16, but I can no longer find that information on the Compass Classroom site as I was...

You guys may have heard of Brendon Bruchard, the productivity guru.  I attended one of his events some years ago, and I still get emails from him. I found this paragraph from one of his emails interesting.  I like the sound of wandering around the city. Remember,  I...

Years ago, my father in law taught me one of the most useful tips I had never heard of. He showed me how to unclog a toilet without using a plunger. Though I am not quite as bad as Mr. Monk from the series Monk, I can't stand plungers.  Disgusting. I was happy when my...

I received this question from one of my students: Hello, Mr. Thomas! I have a question about the Roman slaves. (You mentioned this in Lingua Latina 1, I believe, but I don't remember exactly what you said.) Could you tell me again (or tell me what chapter it was when...

What America’s economy needs most is increased productivity. We need to be able to compete in world markets. We need more investment, especially in education, but not the education provided by tax-funded bureaucrats, i.e., classroom teachers. We need education in...

Not long ago, I received this note.  Couldn't have come at a better time.  Latin has got me down these days.  I am happy to know I am still helping people.  Means a lot to me. Hi Dwane, Hope you are well! Just wanted to say that I completed Visual Latin 2 today. I...

Guys.  Not going to make it to the rest of my early morning classes.  Terrible headache.  Will push through the Lingua Latina classes today.  We WILL be meeting today starting at 9 central.

As you try to hang on to your New Year's Resolutions a little longer, don't forget to watch TED talks for inspiration. If you don't have time to do that, just watch "Every TED talk ever". https://youtu.be/_ZBKX-6Gz6A

Over the Christmas break, I watched a movie on Julius Caesar.  I am surprised I had never heard of it before. It's very well done.  There are a few scenes that would merit a PG-13 rating.  But, just barely.  The entire movie is tastefully done and masterfully acted....

A student asked over the holidays, "Mr. Thomas, How do I say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Latin?" Here is my reply: ================================================= As for Merry Christmas, I would go with: felicem natalem Christi! It’s often helpful to look...

Well... the party's over.  Time to get back to work. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you are in any of my classes, we will be back to work on Monday.  Or, if you have decided to learn Latin this year, we will be back to work on Monday. As a...

Hey, everyone! There will be no classes from December 21 – January 6. Our last class will be this Thursday, December 20. We will be back on Monday, January 7. Hope you guys have a great break!

I get a lot of emails every day.  A lot.  It's hard to keep up. If you, like me, find yourself buried under a mountain of emails, you may need help. What I am about to tell you about will help.  It has helped me tremendously.  I still find myself behind on emails most...

Last night, I interviewed my friend, David Durham. David speaks seven languages and teaches French and Spanish online. Check out his site right here: https://daviddurham.org/ Here is the interview: https://vimeo.com/306361859

Good morning, everyone. Once again, I am locked out of my own webinar this morning.   Working on the problem right now.  I am sorry.  Sigh. Update: Okay.  I think I figured it out.  We will start with Italian today... in about 10 minutes. 6:02... well, I guess I was...

For those of you in the Italian class... the system is not allowing me to begin class. Working on this right now. I apologize. Update:  For reasons I can't explain... the system has locked me out.  Sigh.  No Italian class this morning.  I am very sorry.  :-(...

In the middle of the Christmas season, I know one question burns in your mind...  Is it better to learn Latin, or is it better to learn a modern Romance language like French, Spanish, or Italian? It's time to find out.  It's time to settle this. This Thursday...

Catching up on emails this afternoon. I was out in Heber Springs, Arkansas for a few days.  Was on my way to Oklahoma, but stopped off in Heber Springs to visit some Visual Latin students.  Ended up "iced in" in Arkansas and never made it Oklahoma. I emailed my friend...

Slowly catching up on emails.  While crawling out from a mountain of correspondence, this made me happy:   "Thanks for offering all of your classes for such an affordable price.  I truly appreciate your generosity!  And your humor.  Some days you provide me a...

Sigh.  For those of you in my early morning classes, I am doing my best to get Go To Webinar to turn on right now.  But, alas.  No luck.  For reasons I cannot explain. I apologize. UPDATE: Okay... problem solved. The following classes are on: Italian 2 New Testament...

If you are bored the day before Thanksgiving and you want to look over a test for Henle 2 (because what could be more fun), then this is the post for you! This is still up for comment.  I will be posting it into the automated system in a few days. Feel free to check...

I received this question: Is there online testing for Latin 2?  I told Janae I wasn’t seeing any reports of grades for her.  She’s only on lesson 9 right now, so are they at the end of a segment or just none for Latin 2?  Thanks, Here is my reply: Hi, Misty! For...

Guys, I am writing tests as quickly as I can these days. My goal is to have the tests for Henle 2 done before the end of the year. I am writing them in two stages. First, I am trying to catch up with the Tuesday class (currently in chapter 10)/ Second, I am trying to...

I received this question: Hi, I'm working through the Visual Latin curriculum with my kids. On lesson 6c (Reading and translation), I believe there may be a mistake in the declension of the word "herba" in a couple of the sentences.   -"Suntne bestiae et herba in...

I just wanted to say thank you for your Latin classes. I started Latin in 7th grade with classical conversation and did well in everything except Latin (I mean I was failing) and i didn’t get any better for 3 years. At the beginning of the year someone recommended...

Since John Gatto died a few weeks ago, I have posted some rather edgy posts about the government school system. Some people have suggested I tone it down. No. I will not back down. My fellow Americans love to vote.  We love to go to the polls.  We are going to get...

After I sent the last "Tip of the Week", I received this note: Thank you for sharing this Mr. Thomas.... GOD knew I needed this today.  Hope all is well with you and your family, especially your son! We still have him in our Prayers here in Colorado. Here is my reply:...

I voted again today. I voted with my children and with my family.  I kept them out of the arms of the government.   https://youtu.be/8ogCc8ObiwQ   Not sure what I am referencing when I say "I voted"? Read...

I skipped the voting lines today.  I had better things to do. But, I voted the day before.  And I voted the day before that. And, I will vote tomorrow.  And, the day after tomorrow. I voted with my children.  I kept them out of the government schools today.   I will...

This morning, while cleaning out some old files, I came across the most popular "Tip of the Week" I have ever sent. Since I wrote this nearly two years ago, many new subscribers have not seen this.  I thought I would share it again....

Last week, I responded on my blog to some complaints about my classes: https://dwanethomas.com/some-complaints-about-my-classes-and-my-reply/ I received this reply from one of my students: "I saw your post about complaints. First of all, any complaints you have about...

Guys, I am going to cancel all of my morning classes tomorrow (Friday, November 2, 2018). I abruptly canceled three this morning because I was having vision problems.  What I failed to mention was that I was also not feeling well.  I had hoped the sensation would...

Last summer, I received some complaints about my online classes. There were basically three: I complained about Henle Latin. I skipped some of the small grammatical points in the book. My classes are too long. The author of the email wanted to know if the complaints...

I received this question: Hi, Mr. Thomas! I've been taking your Henle II class. (The previously recorded ones, I have not been able to attend your live classes because of schedule conflicts.) I started my study of Latin my freshmen year of high school purely out of...

I received this question: Hi Dwane! Hope you are well. Getting along well with Lingua Latina at the moment. I have two questions: 1. How do you say the word "must" in Latin? (i.e. I must go to school, he must change his clothes.) 2. What is a deponent verb? (Explain...

I have adjusted the early morning class schedule. I have moved "Word Up: Live!" (which is really just an etymological hangout) back 30 minutes.  That "class" will now meet at 5:30 am (central time zone) instead of 5 am. I have also moved the "Book of the Month" class...

For lots of reasons, I am moving the "Tip of the Week" to Monday mornings.  Saturdays are just too unpredictable for me. If you think this is a terrible idea, just reply to this email.  I would like your feedback. But, I would also like to be consistent.  So, for...

I received this question: Would you please provide your input as far as having my children take the NLE this year? They are currently in your Henle Latin 1 class and although they cannot always attend your live sessions...they have been keeping pace right with the...

I received this question: Good evening!  I heard about your classes through a friend who's daughter is using your recorded classes.  I have a daughter who is a sophomore and struggling through an online French year 2 class.  My husband and I cannot help her b/c we...

This is more for me than for anyone else. I find the accent marks in Greek and Latin frustrating. I have been studying both languages for over 20 years.  The accent marks in both languages have helped me exactly not at all.  But, they have been a great hindrance and a...

Here is the Q and A from yesterday: https://vimeo.com/295663378   Here is the link for the next one: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/316911531104256513   Here are some links we talked about during the webinar: Reading the Bible in...