Blog

If you are having trouble navigating my site, this will help. I am planning to offer weekly live Q&A classes this year.  Already underway, in fact. But, not too many people are showing up. Either I am doing a really good job and you guys don't need any help, or...

If you still use postage stamps, or if your business does, this could be a very useful tip. You may know that postage stamps are going up to 58 cents at the end of this month.   Currently, you can buy the “forever” stamps for 55 cents.  You can buy them on the U.S....

I received this question: I have 2 students who have taken Spanish I in a class setting. Is your Spanish class for a first-year student or will the 2nd year students benefit?   Here is my reply: I’ll do my best to answer this, though I am not sure my classes are...

In case you missed it... and, didn't want to miss it, here is last night's orientation:   https://vimeo.com/586847404

During the live classes on my site, we simply read.  Currently, we are in chapter 18 of the book and are just slowly moving forward.  I don’t know how long it is going to take.  A while, I am sure.  Another school year, at least.  Over two hundred pages to go. Since...

I received this question: I have 2 students who have taken Spanish I in a class setting. Is your Spanish class for a first-year student or will the 2nd year students benefit? Here is my reply: I’ll do my best to answer this, though I am not sure my classes are what...

I received this question: Hi! My son is going into 9th grade and will be taking VL1 this year (along w/LL) for 1 HS credit, then VL2 (w/LL) next year for a 2nd HS credit. He would like to get at least 3 credits in Latin for HS. What should he do afterward for his 3rd...

Classes resume on my site tomorrow, and I want everyone to know what’s going on. So, here’s what’s going on. Classes resume tomorrow morning. Inevitably, something goes wrong during the first week of classes.  So, I am expecting things to go wrong.  If you expect...

Compass Classroom is having a Back to School sale right now.  You know what to do.  Click here: https://compassclassroom.com/bts-sale/ Just so you know... If you are heading over to Compass Classroom to buy Visual Latin... Visual Latin is more designed for middle...

When it comes to languages, I sometimes remind my students to “Trust the Process”.   Learning a new language (or skill) can be a frustrating experience.  Personally, I am pouring a lot of energy right now into learning French.  Some days, it feels like nothing is...

I received this question: When the live classes resume for Lingua Latina on August 10th, will you be starting at the very beginning of the book? Here is my reply: The short answer is… no. I have taught Lingua Latina for decades and have filmed and left classes up on...

I received this question: I have 2 students who have taken Spanish I in a class setting. Is your Spanish class for a first-year student or will the 2nd year students benefit?   Here is my reply: I’ll do my best to answer this, though I am not sure my classes are...

Fascinating. https://youtu.be/Ox6MdRTc0yE

This summer, I am pushing myself aggressively through DuoLingo French. I've decided to blog about the process. My guess is... some of you may be interested.  Some of you may have questions. Does DuoLingo really work?   Can you become fluent with DuoLingo?  And, so on....

In April of 2020, I sent out the following tip of the week: I don’t know how long I have been listening to language podcasts.  Since the beginning of podcasting, I think.   Podcasts are free audio programs.  There are thousands of podcasts covering thousands of...

A few weeks ago, I read the book Stop Acting Rich: And Start Living Like a Real Millionaire.   You may remember the author.  Thomas J. Stanley also wrote The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind. I had read his earlier books years ago.  This month, when Stop...

I received this question: Can you help us understand the answer to worksheet 15 B? 21. Agricola quem canis audit non in silva est. The farmer, whom the dog does not hear, is in the forest. Or, The dog whom the farmer hears is not in the forest. Or, The farmer, whom...

Dorothy Sayers passed some wisdom on to Latin educators years ago. She had a simple plan.  Why not read the easier books in Latin, like the New Testament, before moving on to the tremendously difficult authors of the Augustan age? Fat chance. They ignored her then,...

On my site, I take students through two Lingua Latina books. Here is the difference. There is the main book, Lingua Latina.  It’s the one you are reading.  Familia Romana.  I have taken students through all of that book, and those classes are up on my site.  They are...

I published this post back in January of 2017.  Can't sleep tonight.  So, I am updating some blogs.  Here is the updated version: ================================================= On Thursday, I drove to Birmingham, Alabama.  There, my cousins and I carried my...

Entrepreneurship is the American way.  It is what makes us rich. We are told that education makes America rich. By that, the education promoters mean tuition-funded, tax-funded, classroom education taught by risk-aversive salaried bureaucrats with tenure or seeking...

"A degree based on bureaucratic classroom instruction does not prove anything except this: the ability of tenured bureaucrats to promote the myth of classroom education, and the gullibility of the American public." - Dr. Gary North  

This was in my email inbox. ================================================= I’ve been on a bit of a rant, but I remember feeling so stupid as a kid. Why? Schools manufacture people who think that they're smart but they're not. Schools also manufacture people who...

I forgot to send a tip of the week out on Saturday.  So, here it is.  On a Monday! I’ve been binge-reading this blog lately: Trip of a Lifestyle.com. I have a nagging feeling that things are going to get weird financially before all this Covid stuff is finally over....

I’ve been sending a “tip of the week” every Saturday since 2015.  Not counting the Saturdays when I didn’t send one.  Heh.  I am trying to get more consistent.   I don’t know if that last sentence was good English.  Every now and then, I will scroll through the old...

I think we all know that common sense is not always common practice.   We know what we are supposed to do, and sometimes, we just don't. Here is my common sense tip of the week for you. Exercise. For years, I have struggled with stress.  Usually, financial stress. ...

This summer, I am slowly adding and archiving old "Tips of the Week" I sent this one out on May 8, 2021: ================================================= We are all pretty used to Google. Unfortunately, Google tracks everything we do.  We all know that. But, there...

You may not know it… but the Italian word for tomato can help you hit your goals. Sometime in the 1980s, Francesco Cirillo developed the Pomodoro Technique.   It’s a simple productivity idea.   When you have a task to do, set a timer.   In college, Mr. Cirillo used a...

I am still, slowly, uploading old "tips of the week" and archiving them here: https://dwanethomas.com/tip-week-archives/ Here is tip #196 from a few weeks back. Sometimes it’s too easy to get absorbed.  We get buried in work, or in a project and lose track of time. At...

This week I received an email that included this question: What are your thoughts on Classical education? Well... Here are my thoughts on Classical education.... I am still a fan of Classical education.  I think.  Still working through this one myself.  Although......

I recently stumbled across an astonishing quote by Derek Sivers, an author I know nothing about.  Or, didn’t know anything about until yesterday.   Here’s the quote: “I hate to waste a single hour.  I feel the precious value of time, most of the time.  I imagine my...

Hitherto the plans of the educationalists have achieved very little of what they attempted, and indeed we may well thank the beneficent obstinacy of real mothers, real nurses, and (above all) real children for preserving the human race in such sanity as it still...

I received this question: My son is a rising sophomore in Classical Conversations.  He has gone through Henle First Year and is about to start Henle Second Year.  We are pretty sure we want to get a membership to your sight.  My question is: do you offer any grading...

People often ask me, "How did you teach Latin to your own kids?" This is such a tough question to answer. It may be easier if I tell you what I wish I had done with my own kids. I started my kids out in Latin, but this was before I had discovered Lingua Latina by Hans...

Local Christian Parents Pay University $100,000 To Totally Destroy 18 Years Of Their Hard Work May 25th, 2021 - BabylonBee.com BOSTON, MA—According to sources, local parents Dale and Cherie Woodall are shelling out over $100,000 to send their son Dillan to college and...

A few weeks ago, I received this email: I’m befuddled and hope you can offer some suggestions.  Up through chapter seven of Lingua Latina, I was making myself flashcards of new words. Plus, I’ve also got six cards showing endings for the six cases.  With review, I’m...

I received this question: Comment: Hi! I am curious how many languages you are actively learning at one time, and then also how much time you spend every day maintaining the languages you’ve already learned. You have so many languages on your site; do you work on all...

When I was first making the transition from classroom teaching to online teaching, I designed my own website.  And, it looked like I designed my own website.   That's okay.   I recommend doing the same thing if you are just starting out.  Do as much as you can on your...

I received this question: Hi!  We are LOVING Visual Latin 1. However, we are considering homeschooling our almost-10-year-old son as well and I am curious: what Latin program would you recommend using before Visual Latin 1? Thanks so much!   Here is my reply:...