Sunday, October 19, 2008

Learning Latin is In Because Latin Teachers are Cool!

So says US News and World Report (October 17, 2008), which reports that "dynamic, enthusiastic educators might actually be the key to the language's surging popularity."

Latin is undoubtedly becoming more and more popular because the quality of teaching is high, the methodology varied, and the content rich, rigorous and relevant. Latin teachers are working hard to inspire and educate their students -- by educating themselves through attendance and participation at American Classical League Institutes and Workshops, conversational Latin Conventicula (several listed here which occur annually and have proven so popular that there are often waiting lists), blogs, online discussions, webinars, increased teacher recruitment, and inspired graduate level training. Then they bring what they've learned into the classrooms. Latin teachers don't always agree upon the best way to teach Latin. There are often spirited disagreements, but this is just evidence that they are continually thinking about ways to expand and improve their teaching skills.

Read Latin Surges in Popularity in the On Education section of this week's magazine online.