Blog

13 Assumptions That Undermine Your Children’s Future

I think it is becoming abundantly clear that the government indoctrination camps we call the public schools no longer have the best interest of the students at heart. Maybe.  I am beginning to wonder what it would take to wake people up. Perhaps the following article...

Tip# 211: Learning a new language doesn’t have to be scary.

Good morning! When people find out what I do for a living, they often say, “I wish I had time to learn a new language.” Turns out, they do.  And, so do you. Here are some quick and easy ways to create time to learn a new language. Wake up a bit earlier and study every...

Tip #210: The cheapest way to stay positive in a negative world.

Good morning! It’s easy to fall into negative thinking patterns.   In fact, if you consume any amount of media, you may suspect (as I do) that they want you to fall into those patterns.   The news is the only place where someone says “Good Evening!” and then lists all...

Skip the first year of college.

If you are going to college, please watch this video: https://youtu.be/zZyyyFWnemA   https://modernstates.org/news/meet-isaac-fox/   Find out more about Modern States right here:...

Tip #209: How did they build that blog?

Have you ever landed on a website and wondered, “How did they build that?” If the site was built with Word Press (which runs a quarter of the blogs on the internet) there’s an easy way to find out. Simply copy the url of the site and paste it into the search bar on...

How to find your grades

Hope you all are having a great break! Your grades are easy to find.  I created a short video for you.  But, it's simple, really.  Just go to my site: www.dwanethomas.com.  From there, find Members, then Watch Anytime, then scroll down until you see the class you are...

Do I need to memorize all those endings?

I received this question: Do we need to memorize the different tables for the different persons(2nd and 3rd person) and the table for the different words in Latin(this, these, that, these)?   Here is my reply: https://vimeo.com/616258700

Tip #208: IGBOK

Lately, it seems all the news is bad.   Here’s some good news. You can safely ignore all the people setting their hair on fire, running in circles and panicking about climate change. When I was a kid, it was global cooling.  The world was going to perish in an ice...

How to find the Spanish videos on my site

A student on my site is having a hard time finding the recordings of All Spanish Method by Guillermo Aviles. Honestly, I can see why. So, this video is for any of you who find yourself in the same situation: https://vimeo.com/614065705

Could I see an example class?

People are sometimes confused by all that I offer.  I get that.  There is a lot on this site. Here's what's going on. Visual Latin is a professionally filmed series.  I do not personally sell it.  It is available here from Compass Classroom. Once they have...

Q&A / Orientation

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...

Henle Help: Exercise 152

I received this SOS: Needing help with exercise 152 # 8-11.  First Year Latin by Robert Henle. Here is my reply:   https://vimeo.com/373147297

Tip of the Week #207: Cheaper Stamps

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....

What is the Spanish class like?

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...

How to use this site

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

How to catch up in the Spanish class.

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...

Spanish 2?

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...

Latin 1, 2, 3 and beyond…

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 tomorrow. Here’s what you need to know.

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 Back to School Sale

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...

Tip of the Week #206: Trust the Process

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...

Lingua Latina this fall

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...

Before you apply to college…

Every few months, I edit, or add to this post, and then re-post it.  Here we go again. College, for me, was a waste of time.  I naively did what I was told.  I did what every high school graduate was supposed to do.  I went to college. It was a four-year delay of...

Does Duolingo Work?

If you’ve been around my site at all, you know that I’ve dedicated my professional life to learning languages.  I just like learning languages.  Can’t really explain it.   Lately, I’ve been doing everything possible to learn French.   I’ve been listening to podcasts,...

What the Spanish and French “classes” are like.

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...

Duo Lingo French

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....

Tip of the Week #192: Coffee Break Languages

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...

Tip of the Week #204: Stop Acting Rich

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...

Visual Latin Confusion: Lesson 15

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...

Still the greatest defect in Latin education…

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,...

Lingua Latina and Exercitia Latina

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...

One Shot

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...

Tip #203: How to hit goals

It’s was too hot and humid in Tennessee, so I left.   Right now, I am in Nebraska.  This morning, I’m headed to the Agate Fossil Beds in Harrison, Nebraska… because I am fascinated by that kind of stuff.   There are fossil graveyards all over the world, as it turns...

Tip #202: Don’t be a digital potty mouth

This tip seems pretty obvious.  At least to me.    Evidently, it is not obvious to everyone.   Here’s the tip: Don’t be a digital potty mouth.   If you have a blog, a YouTube channel, or if you are on any form of Social Media, keep it clean.   I heard Seinfeld make...

The kind of education that matters

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...

What that degree stands for….

"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  

Don’t let school define who you are.

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...

Lingua Latina v. Exercitia Latina

There is (justifiably) some confusion about the Lingua Latina classes I offer on my site. Here's what's going on. I take students through two Lingua Latina books. There is the main book, Lingua Latina.  It’s the one you are reading.  Familia Romana.  I have taken...

Tip #201: How to retire early and financially independent

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....

Tip #200: Listen to audiobooks while you ride your bike.

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...

The Bablyon Bee strikes again.

Articles like this one from the Babylon Bee make me wonder...  Have the editors over there given up on satire? I can't tell.  Is this satire, or is this simply true? ================================================= The Pros And Cons Of Going Into Crippling Debt To...

Tip of the Week #147

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. ...

Tip of the Week #197

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...

Tip of the Week #199

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...

Tip of the Week #196

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...