Blog
Missed class?
Many of my students did not receive a link to today's classes. I am trying to figure out what went wrong. I apologize. Meanwhile, I am converting the classes right now and will be posting them in the member's only section soon. Here is a Christmas cookie while you...
Why would you cancel?
There is a glitch in my system. Sometimes, when customers cancel, they are still charged. The solution is simple. Just contact me to let me know that you have canceled and I will double check your account. I will make sure your account is canceled. But, while we...
Schedule December 18 – 23
REMINDER: We will have class this week on December 19, 20, and 21. Then, we will take a two-week break and will be back on January 9. I recently realized that the syllabi I created for my classes some time ago are off. Rather than update them every year, which I just...
A reason for the silence…
After 20 years in condos, my family and I (rather suddenly) are moving into a house. It has been a nutty week. I like to blog daily, and I desperately try to stay on top of email. But, this week has been a hurricane of moving and cleaning. I will be back soon, and I...
Put that song on repeat.
Dwane Thomas' Tip of the Week - December 9, 2017 =================================================== If you are anything like me, and I know I am, sometimes you want to listen to a song over and over again. I do this often when I am up late answering emails. ...
After Greek 1?
I received this question: Hey Mr Dwane, I know this is an early question but what will we do next (school) year for greek? Will we run through Machen’s book again? Is there a second Machen book? Would you consider starting a class that just went straight through the...
🙂
"We really enjoy the Latin and appreciate the time and effort that it takes to put together a full course. Your touch of humor and simple (easy to understand) style make enjoyable an interesting subject.” - Julie
Visual Latin and the AP Latin exam.
I received this email: Hello Mr. Thomas. I really really love your courses and videos. As a matter of fact your videos convinced me to take Latin as a second language in school. Although in school, the class is slow and I like fast paces in language learning. As my...
Letter of the week. 🙂
We are so appreciative of the service you provide for the homeschooling community! I work in a small local homeschool bookstore, and it is hard for people to find a quality way to teach their children Latin (& Greek!). What you have provided is such an excellent...
First Year Latin by Robert Henle versus Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg.
I received this question: Here's a question that you might not have time to address, although I would say you are qualified. Which Latin curriculum do you prefer? Although we have been doing Henle for three years, I find it does not offer enough instruction for either...
This week’s class schedule.
I recently realized that the syllabi I created for my classes some time ago are off. Rather than update them every year, which I just do not have time to do, I am going to try to announce the class schedules every week here in the blog. Here goes: Lingua Latina 1:...
Hotter Coffee
Dwane Thomas' Tip of the Week - December 2, 2017 ================================================= Warning. The tip this week is completely based on a First World Problem (FWP). This time of year, my wife and I really enjoy coffee. And also... the rest of the year....
This is astonishing.
Watch Isaac Asimov predict the modern homeschooling movement in 1988. https://vimeo.com/125169091
I am not blogging much anyway….
I am in Florida with my family. I hope you are getting to spend time with your favorite people this week. I am not blogging much this week. In fact, I am going to end this blog now. With this. Because it made me happy. https://youtu.be/M1F0lBnsnkE
Affordable Medical Insurance that is actually affordable.
Dwane Thomas' Tip of the Week - November 18, 2017 =================================================== As most of you know, my son almost died in a car accident last April. My family and I were living in Athens, Greece at the time. I had gone there to study Greek. We...
Predicate nominatives
I received this question: My specific question is from Visual Latin 1, Lesson 25B number 20. In the sentence "Hic homo rex bonus est.", why is the word for king in the nominative form "rex"? Why is it not the accusative “regem"? Here is my reply: The reason rex is in...
Halfway there.
On October 27, 2017, I read the following article by author Bob Bly. (Mr. Bly gives full permission to reprint his articles as long as you give him credit.) I recommend you read the article in its entirety. Here it is (Actually, this is only part of the article. He...
Visual Latin and Lingua Latina?
I received this question: My daughter is taking your visual Latin year one. According to the syllabus, it says that in lesson 10 to start reading one chapter in lingua Latina every two visual Latin lessons. Would you please describe what this looks like or give me an...
Second Year Latin Test 1 is up.
Even though John Gotto wrote this, "Who wouldn’t get bored teaching students who are rude and interested only in grades?" and even though I agree with him, what am I to do? Incidentally, I don't deal with very many rude students. But on a daily basis, I deal with...
Italian article adjectives
I am struggling a bit with Italian articles. I found this video helpful. She teaches in Spanish, so it helps if you know Spanish, but even if you don't, I believe you may find this helpful if you, too, are struggling with Italian article adjectives....
Not all English words come from Latin…
Many of my students often have the misconception that all languages, including English, come from Latin. Nope. Not true. A lot of languages come from Latin, but English is not one of them. English is a Germanic language. We have borrowed a ton of vocabulary from...
The Roman Villa
In Lingua Latina class today, we learned about the ancient Roman villa. Here are some videos/virtual tours of typical Roman villas of the first century A.D. (One of my students found these. Thanks, Julia!) This first one is my personal favorite:...
The chilling actual purpose of modern schooling.
While doing some research for a recent rant, I came across the following article by John Taylor Gotto. ================================================= Against School by John Taylor Gatto I TAUGHT FOR thirty years in some of the worst schools in Manhattan, and in...
How many pages did you write?
Dwane Thomas' Tip of the Week - November 4, 2017 ================================================= Are you a writer? Do you sometimes wonder how much you are writing? Maybe that's a strange question. Let me explain. Every week Grammarly sends me a report like this...
Stolen Money.
Warning. Rant coming. I am a hard-core opponent of the public school system. But, let's get something straight. I am not mad at the kids in the system. They are victims. Why would I be angry at the victims? Why am I so opposed to the public school system? ...
Italian v. Latin
I am currently teaching myself Italian (and loving it). Here a native Italian speaker talks about the difference between Latin and Italian pronunciations. https://youtu.be/8SeRkjYPmiQ
Bam.
“The most erroneous assumption is to the effect that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence, and so make them fit to discharge the duties of citizenship in an enlightened and independent manner....
Made me happy.
"I'm so grateful for your help and love your videos. You are such a talented teacher and have helped me and my kids tremendously!" - Stacey Want to see what others are saying? Go here: https://dwanethomas.com/testimonials/ Want to join a class (or, all of them)?...
Safe You Tube
YouTube is an incredible place. I am convinced you could use it to learn almost anything. Unfortunately, it can also be a dangerous place. It is easy for kids to run across what they should not see. But, using safeyoutube.net, students can harness the power of...
Quod, quia, enim, and nam.
Students are often confused by the multiple forms of "because" in Latin. A student posted the following helpful explanation in the forums: ================================================= I think I have figured out the difference between: “quia, quod, nam, enim,...
What to pack
Traveling can actually be quite a hassle. Or, it can be a forced rest. Sometimes, sitting on a plane with nothing to do sounds nice. Every time I travel, I am always envious of the the cool, carefree travelers with one backpack. I am not envious when I watch the...
Finally back at it…
Over the weekend, I ended up sick. I've been sleeping in and as a result, my productivity has plummeted. If there is one silver bullet to my productivity is it summed up in the Spanish proverb: "A quien madrugada, Dios lo ayuda." God helps those who are up crazy...
Closed until Tuesday
I will not be around for the next four days. I will not be answering emails. I will not be on the forums. I will not be posting anything on my site. I will not be sending a Tip of the Week. I will be in Houston with my son (yes, the one who nearly died six months...
I fight authority. Authority always wins.
Every few days, I receive an email from someone who needs me to grade their work. Every now and then, I receive an email from someone who really wants to learn Latin, Greek, or Italian. It’s a bit frustrating. Grades overshadow everything. 90% of my students only...
Lesson 5 confusion
Some time ago, I received this message: Love the program so far. However, confused with Lesson 5 answers. The charts in teacher's worksheet do not match students' and we are confused by answers for: #1 Why not ablative and vocative too? #2 Why just nominative...
Exit interview
A subscriber canceled this week. She left this note: "Thanks so much, and thanks for all your help in Latin, couldn’t have done it without you!" – Krystal That's the kind of exit interview that makes me happy. ================================================= ...
Nope.
I received this question: To subscribe to Henle Latin 2, must I pay $25 for three years? That's how I interpret the section on subscriptions. Here is my reply: Hi! Nope. Join anytime. Cancel anytime. Most of my students stay with me for three or four years. After...
Brace yourselves.
Brace yourselves. I am about to tick a lot of you off. When it comes to students, I deal with two types. Some of my students join my classes because they want to learn Latin, Greek, or Italian. And, some of my students join my classes because they need a grade or a...
The Perfect Tense
In chapter 21 of Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg, we learn to use the perfect tense in Latin. You may find this overview of the perfect tense helpful: http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/101/PerfectTenses.pdf
Stop panicking.
I grew up with the worldview that everything was going to become increasingly worse until finally, the last few true believers would be pulled off the planet. After the rescue would come the apocalypse. I now believe that is nonsense. As Dr. Gary North says, "We are...
If I am grading your work…
I don't have much time to grade the work of my students these days. But, over the past few years, I had committed to grading the work of many. A few dozen of those students remain. If I had only girls in my classes, I might continue to grade. But, that is not the...
Grading…
I received this question: We are counting Henle 1 as high school credit. What do you recommend we assess for grades? I can grade the assignments you assign, there are your weekly quizzes - what else do you recommend? Also, how do you recommend I grade the weekly...
I’m back.
I took the last three weeks off. Well... from writing a tip of the week. Just couldn't find the time. August is the busiest month of the year for me. I spend most of my time getting ready for the upcoming courses, answering questions, registering students, and...
Visual Latin lesson 4
I received this question: Today I completed Latin Worksheet 4C and I had a question concerning it. There were 20 or so Latin sentences for me to translate into English, and one of them was: "Terra non est." My translation was: "Earth is not", but the Answers said that...
The home of Julius and Aemilia.
In chapter 6 of Lingua Latina, we learn about the home of Julius and Aemilia. In the Lingua Latina forum, one of my students posted an excellent tour of a typical Roman home. Watch this video and keep it in mind as you read chapter 6: https://youtu.be/gDiqKUzSeZM...
None shall pass.
I received this cry for help: I am trying to join the forum and it is not intuitive on your site. I’ve done a search and it you posted a students reply about “making an account in the blog” but under the blog tab there is nothing about making an account. I have gone...
Just in case you were wondering.
I am willing to bet some of you woke up this morning wondering, "What is a hapax legomenon?" Fortunately, you subscribe to my blog. And, fortunately, a word loving friend of mine sent this article to me this morning. And, so, fortunately for you... you no longer have...
IDK
Last year, when I was grading my students' work, I would get this response from time to time. I don't know. Here is my standard reply: IDK. If ever you encounter questions you cannot answer, check the “Student Answers” section under the “Members” tab of my site…. -5...
How to tick me off.
I spent twenty years in the classroom. What a silly place. And, I hate the word silly. I never use it. Unless I am looking at academia. In school, we punish kids for failing. In life, we learn by failing. One of my favorite quotes is by Richard Branson, founder of...
I no longer want to be popular.
I received this email: Your classes... I'd like to promote them... Is there an affiliate link I may use? (I'm a Visual Latin affiliate.) And, can folks try the classes for a month and then cancel if necessary?Thanks! Here is my reply: Yes. Join anytime. Cancel...