Blog
The future’s so bright, I’ve gotta wear shades…
I grew up with a very negative worldview. The world is getting increasingly worse, crime is on the rise, totalitarianism is around the corner, et cetera, et cetera. I am not angry with my parents. They did the best they could. I do get annoyed at the doomsayers who...
Video 52: The Nominative Case
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2_-u1OalGc
Words, words, words…
"Words matter. They help us define meaning. We think with words. We learn with words. Words are the fundamental tools we use for communicating. If we use them well, we can cut, and shape, and polish our ideas precisely, and beautifully. If we use them sloppily,...
Take a look at number 9.
Ten things you can do to get smarter everyday by Jessica Stillman You might be under the impression that intelligence is a fixed quantity that is set when you are young and unchanging thereafter. But research shows that, if so, you're wrong. How we approach...
A 16 year old reads New Testament Latin after 3 semesters!
Lingua Latina, by Hans Ørberg, saved my teaching career. For years I taught Latin. For years I watched my students struggle. I watched them memorize long lists of words and long lists of Latin endings. Worst of all, I watched as they struggled to read rudimentary...
From the upcoming book, How to Learn Latin.
In the introduction to his book, A New Latin Grammar, (which is now an old Latin grammar), Charles Bennet defines the Restored pronunciation. “The following pronunciation (often called Roman) is substantially that employed by the Romans at the height of their...
In depth Dative
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzcCHLoPknU
La bella lingua….
I intend to run an experiment on myself soon. I am going to teach myself Italian. This experiment will happen right here on the blog. My goal: to speak and read Italian by Christmas. We'll see. I wanted to run this experiment on myself this summer. Other projects,...
Good English
Good English, well spoken and well written, will open more doors than a college degree. Bad English will slam doors you didn't even know existed. - William Raspberry
Yarrow, or Achillea millefolium
Achillea millefolium, commonly known as yarrow has a long and interesting history. The name of the flower is part Greek, part Latin. Achillea, comes from the Greek name Ἀχιλλεύς. According to legend, Achilles would carry the plant with him onto the battlefield. He...
Introduction to the Dative Case
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF2NxgQ2SQY
Business, business, business… numbers, numbers… Is this working?
I've never loaded a video to wordpress before. This is a test. Is this working? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJyms7G8_IA
The hardest book you will ever read.
My students and I just finished another trip through Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata, by Hans Orberg. Today was the last day of a Latin class that began several years ago. Since we bogged down in the book, the class was off schedule. I promised students we would...
How to write good.
This summer, I read The Loom of Language by Frederick Bodmer. Years ago, I read Lingua Latina, by Hans Orberg. I was discouraged with Latin and ready to quit. Orberg's book showed up at the right time. Were it not for his book, I would not be a Latin teacher today....
Save yourself a little time.
It's no secret that I believe students should start with the Vulgate (the Latin Bible) before tackling the Latin Classics. In a recent blog about this, I provided a link to Faith Comes By Hearing. By using the link, and by typing "Latin" into the browser, you will...
Abdicate
Abdicate [ab: away + dicare: to dedicate, consecrate, or set apart] The literal meaning of abdicate is: to set oneself away from something. The dictionary definitions do not deviate far from the literal meaning. Abdicate: To relinquish; to renounce; to abandon; to...
Right? Wrong? Who cares?
Amoral [Greek ά (without) and Latin mos, moris (custom, habit, morals)]. The moral of a story teaches us a good lesson. From the moral, we learn the right thing to do. If we are amoral, we are without standards. We do not care about right and wrong. Sometimes...
The Vulgate Latin Course
In February 2014, I started producing a series of free screencasts. They are all on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/visuallatin I was using the Vulgate Course, by William Dodds. It is available free from Google Books. It is available as a reprint here on...
Abandon
Abandon Old French abandoner, from Latin ab (away from), and bannum (proclamation, edict). The Old French phrase mettre a bandon meant “to send under the control, or jurisdiction of another.” Pontius Pilate attempts “mettre a bandon” in the gospel of Luke. Eager to...
Get Smart.
For four years, I've posted a "word a day" to Facebook. No really. I have. See: https://www.facebook.com/laughatlatin Honestly, I should change "a word a day" to "a word most days". I don't post every day. Intend to. Try to. But, don't. As it happens the good...
One Backpack
I'm a bit of a minimalist. If you have ever been inside a classroom, you may have noticed something. Teachers are not minimalists. Teachers, like nature, abhor a vacuum. In a deliberate attempt to go the other way, I have trashed much. My goal, as a teacher, is to...