by Dwane | Jan 7, 2017 | Motivation, Tip of the Week
Like you, I subscribe to several “tips of the week.” This morning I received one from Bill Meyers. I was already working on my own “tip of the week” when his showed up. It’s good. I am going to postpone mine and share his. You really...
by Dwane | Jan 6, 2017 | Motivation
This note made me happy: Let me start by telling you how happy I am to have found your website!! You have totally revolutionized the way we study Latin in my home. 🙂 This will be my 4thyear being a Challenge director for Classical Conversations, therefore 4 years of...
by Dwane | Jan 6, 2017 | Education, Latin
I received this question: I am planning out our 2017-18 school year. We have been involved in Classical Conversations for seven years now. Due to some changes in our family, we will be taking the year off from CC. I am looking into online Latin classes for our son and...
by Dwane | Jan 6, 2017 | Education, Italian, Latin
As many of you know, I’m studying Italian. This year, I hope to blog my way through the language. I am going to attempt to post something about Italian, or about my trip through Italian, every day. For starters, let me explain why I am starting Italian even...
by Dwane | Jan 5, 2017 | Vocabulary
I received this question: I have a few of questions about Beyond Word Up: Is it in the same format as Word Up? How many lessons are there? Since it’s not a live class, do you have to sign up for a year or just a couple months? Here is my reply: No....
by Dwane | Dec 31, 2016 | Tip of the Week
Many people make fun of New Year’s resolutions. Not me. I’m a fan. Of course, I don’t always refer to them as resolutions. I call them goals. Today is the last day of the year. On December 31st of every year, I print my resolutions/goals for the...
by Dwane | Dec 31, 2016 | Motivation, The Future
I majored in History in college. I never heard any of this. Did you hear any of this when you were in college? I doubt it. https://youtu.be/-ilFbbk9jw4 Author Douglas Wilson comments on this same subject in a post from 2011 entitled, Seven Memes for Keeping...
by Dwane | Dec 30, 2016 | Motivation
One of my favorite living authors is Bob Bly. His writing is full of practical, no-nonsense advice. I usually leave his articles with an idea I can use right away. Today, this showed up in my inbox. I found this inspiring. Perhaps you will as well....
by Dwane | Dec 29, 2016 | Italian, Latin, Uncategorized
I received this question: So what do you recommend after we have completed Latin 2?? Here is my reply: Ah. What a question. This rant may help: https://dwanethomas.com/world-world-winning/ And, this page may help: https://dwanethomas.com/?s=after+Visual+Latin There...
by Dwane | Dec 29, 2016 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
I received the following series of questions: Can you give me a little more info about this? How many video lessons per week is it designed for to get through in 1 year? I per day 5 days a week? Or 1 lesson per 5 days of work? Is it sent to our email address? Here is...
by Dwane | Dec 28, 2016 | Education, Latin
I received this question: Is it ok that I can’t translate very well at this point? It will come eventually, right? I just want to know if I am on track OR if should I spend extra time reading Lingua Latina and going over the vocabulary? Here is my reply: Good...
by Dwane | Dec 24, 2016 | Tip of the Week
This Christmas, I am thankful for many things. You are high on the list. A few years ago, I launched my site praying that I could survive for a year. Now, heading into my third year, I am thankful for you. You have kept me going. As you know, I teach Latin online....
by Dwane | Dec 15, 2016 | Education
Last March, my family and I became friends with Joel and Cathy Kramer and their kids. Cathy had wanted to attend a Harry Potter class that I offered in 2015. She was living in Jerusalem at the time and, due to time differences, was not able to attend the class. She...
by Dwane | Dec 12, 2016 | Latin, Motivation, Visual Latin
I received this email over the weekend: “Your classes have been wonderful, and for the first time Latin is actually making since to me and both my children. I am so thankful for you and your resources. Thank you, again, for all that you do because you are...
by Dwane | Dec 12, 2016 | Education, Motivation
I spend a lot of time grading Latin and Greek homework. Every now and then, someone asks… “Why not hire someone to help you?” I have watched business owning friends of mine hire and fire incessantly. No, thanks. I’ll save myself some time...
by Dwane | Dec 10, 2016 | Tip of the Week
This week, one of my students sent this email to me: Hi, Mr. Thomas! “I’m trying out this program called UnrollMe, which is supposed to send you all your subscription emails in one email, at one time, every day. I don’t know how many of those you...
by Dwane | Dec 10, 2016 | Education, Motivation
Sometimes, I really want to sleep in. Usually, I don’t. When I do, I regret it. When my alarm goes off, I have trained myself to think of this quote by C.S. Lewis. “If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end...
by Dwane | Dec 9, 2016 | Uncategorized
Once, back when I was teaching in the classroom, my students were laughing at the Romans. They couldn’t believe that the Romans actually worshiped their political leaders. It happened to be just after the 2012 presidential election season. Barack Obama had...
by Dwane | Dec 8, 2016 | Education, Latin
A 15 year-old girl sent a homework assignment to me. Here are the first three questions and answers: 1. Quid fecit Achilles? Hectorum ducem Troianum interfecit atque corpus eius mortuum post currum suum traxit circum moenia Urbis troiae. 2. Quid fecit...
by Dwane | Dec 7, 2016 | Education, Greek, Italian, Vocabulary
A few days ago, one of my kids reminded me of Babadum. How do I forget this stuff? I used to use Babadum. Then I forgot about it. Now it’s back. I am no big fan of flashcards. But, if the flashcards help you with pronunciation, I am a big fan. Babadum is a...
by Dwane | Dec 6, 2016 | Education, Latin
You can join EVERY CLASS I teach with ONE simple subscription option. That’s correct. Subscribe once and you will have access to each and every class I teach. Not only that, all subscriptions are FAMILY subscriptions. Everyone in the family is welcome to enroll. I...
by Dwane | Dec 3, 2016 | Education, Latin
Like over 20 other Americans, I suffer from a desire to reach personal goals. Around this time of year, I start planning the next. William James once said, “Think in the morning. Act in the noon.” I’d like to add one more sentence. “Laugh...
by Dwane | Dec 3, 2016 | Education
by Dwane | Dec 3, 2016 | Latin
Henle Latin is full of some of the most brutal sentences you’ll ever translate. One of my students just included this note to any national security agency might be reading our emails: “To any NSA member reading this, no I’m not a terrorist who...
by Dwane | Dec 2, 2016 | Uncategorized
Years ago, I owned a house with a big backyard and a decent sized front yard. I would spend almost all of my Saturdays mowing, raking, or maintaining that yard. It would sometimes take 8 or 9 hours. My wife and I sold the house and moved into a condominium. We did...
