The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love!

Thinking about becoming a Latin teacher because you'll only teach brilliant, highly motivated kids in the TAG (Talented and Gifted) program?

Ginny Lindzey's insightful article It's a Lot of Work should be required reading for all Latin teacher candidates. Unless you are teaching in a highly selective prep school -- and even that's no guarantee -- you will have students with widely varying abilities. You will also have students with special needs.

It's estimated 1 in 150 children are on the autistic spectrum. Some have classic autism. Others have higher functioning forms of autism, including Asperger's Syndrome. These students are often quite academically able and may very well sign up for Latin. You will have to go to IEP meetings. Don't skip that special education course because you think you won't need it.

Latin Outreach in London, UK

The BBC News reports that inner city students in London will be learning Latin from 15 university students from Kings College and University College of London as part of a project conducted by the Iris Project, directed by Lorna Wing, and sponsored by various classical organizations in the United Kingdom. Teachers and students are responding enthusiastically to the project, which is getting a great deal of positive press coverage.

This is a initiative definitely worth following as it progresses!

You Could Be Speaking Latin Right Now...

...and not even realize it!

Here's a handy list of 333 words borrowed directly from Latin into English, compiled by Bruce Deitrick Price.

Dying Languages

According to this Associated Press story, another language dies out every 2 weeks!

Did You Miss the ACL Institute Last Summer?

Nothing can compare to actually attending an American Classical League Annual Institute! Definitely plan to attend next year if you can!

However, if for some reason you didn't get to go -- or the presenter ran out of materials -- the ACL has created an online directory of presentation handouts from last June. Not all presentations have online materials, but many do. Most are Microsoft Word documents, although a few are in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format.

O Tempora! O Mores!

That's right, school is back in session.

Last weekend's Prairie Home Companion broadcast (honoring education) featured Emeritus Professor Robert Sonkowsky (University of Minnesota, Classics) performing a dramatic reading from Cicero's Oration Against Cataline (In Catalinam I), with a witty English translation by Garrison Keillor. In this show, Keillor also reminisces about his former University of Minnesota Latin Professor, Margaret Forbes.

You can hear more of Robert Sonkowsky's readings at the Society for the Oral Reading of Greek and Latin Literature (SORGLL) site, where you'll also find readings by other highly respected classicists.

Nuntii Latini Resumes Fall Broadcasting

Nuntii Latini, the News in Latin, is a worldwide broadcast produced by the Finnish Broadcasting Company. After a summer hiatus, Nuntii Latini has resumed its regular program. You can listen online at their site (and read transcripts) or download podcasts from Itunes. The current lead story, Incendia Silvestria Graeciae, reports details of the devastating fires in Greece.