Nobody's Fault But Mine

Nobody's fault but mine
Nobody's fault but mine
If I don't read, my soul be lost
Nobody's fault but mine

So runs the chorus in the classic Blind Willie Johnson song.  I was reminded of that this morning as one of my sophomores talked with a friend before first period.  My student and her friend came into the classroom, and the friend began asking her about Latin.  She immediately began to talk about how much fun it was, and that made me tune in a bit.  I listened as she shared with her friend activities we do and even taught her friend how to say hello to one person, Salve, and to more than one person, Salvete.

My student then took out her vocabulary list and explained to her friend that all the vocabulary for the quarter is available on our website, as is a course outline that lists all the homework assignments, tests, and quizzes.  She said to her friend, "I have no excuse not to do well."

Needless to say, such a conversation was music to a teacher's ears.  This is the kind of responsibility we want to see students take for their learning.  I have done my job by making resources available, but she is also doing her job by utilizing those resources.  Lest anyone think this is a rare student, I would venture to say the majority, perhaps even a large majority, of my students take her approach.  Does everyone get an A?  No.  Is every student prepared every day with every assignment?  Of course not.  They are human beings.  They do, however, know the right way to approach their studies, and I could not have been more proud of this student sharing that with her friend.

Teens Will Be Teens...And That's a Good Thing

Make no mistake, the students in my classes are genuine teenagers.  Some bring to class a stunning array of colored pens so they can take notes in alternating colors.  Others write in multi-hued Sharpies on their backbacks.  They wear t-shirts promoting their favorite bands, are quick to talk about movies like The Avengers, and display all the enthusiasm and humor of young people trying to discover their place in the world.

It is important to preface this post with such words, for when I describe the depth of thought displayed recently in our Latin II (3/4) and Latin IV (7/8) classes, one could easily think I teach an elite group of savants.  This is not the case.  These are normal teens, and this is what normal teens are capable of.

Yesterday, our Latin IV Advanced Placement class was reading Aeneid VI.594ff in which Venus speaks to the hero Aeneas.  She tells him that it is not Helen who is responsible for the fall of Troy, but cruelty of the gods.  One of our students observed that humans often made reference to the gods in a vague way when in fact they were speaking of the fates, some unseen force above them directing the circumstances of life.  He asked if the fates were above the gods, as they often seem to be in ancient stories, and if so, whether the gods would refer to them as gods.  The answer to this with regard to this particular passage comes in lines 610ff, where Venus points out specific deities who are undermining Troy, but this young man's question was a good one, and it led us to consider three scenarios:  (1) humans-gods-fates, (2) humans-fates-gods, (3) humans-gods/fates, with gods and fates being at the same level in the third option.  We also discussed the how our answers would differ whether the gods and fates were seen as anthropomorphic characters or purely as metaphors.  I had not anticipated this line of discussion, but it was just one more in a long line of meaningful digressions that we often encounter in this class thanks to the brilliance of normal, everyday teens.

Then today, one of our freshmen in Latin II (3/4), who began her studies as an 8th grader coming to our high school last year, asked a brilliant question in our introduction to the perfect subjunctive.  We drew the comparison in form between the perfect passive subjunctive and future perfect passive indicative.  This young lady offered a hypothesis as to why these forms are so similar.  She noted that the subjunctive already carries with it an uncertain, almost future feeling, and that it made sense for the perfect passive subjunctive to share forms with the future perfect passive indicative.  That one stunned me.  It was not that this young lady has not said brilliant things before.  It was the breathtaking depth of linguistic speculation.  In a freshman.

As I said at the beginning, my students are just regular kids.  They joke and act silly just as we would expect.  Yet they are also capable of intellectual engagement like what I have described.  Such behavior really can be the norm.

Diverse Brilliance

We are fortunate in Washington Township to allow our eighth grade students to come to North Central from their middle schools to begin their first year of study in one of our seven world languages.  As a result, we have students in Latin V (Latin 9/10) as seniors.  Some of them prepare for the International Baccalaureate diploma, but others take the year as an opportunity to engage in independent study of areas of particular interest to them.

This year we have eight Latin V students, and after spending the first quarter reading Ovid with those who are preparing for the IB diploma, some of them are now planning what they want to pursue this quarter.  It is impossible to say how intelligent and creative this group of seniors is.  As juniors they were already engaging our studies at a collegiate level.  Their insights are at times breathtaking.  It comes as no surprise, then, the depth and diversity of their thinking about independent study.

One young man has been reading about Stoicism.  I asked him some guiding questions, and he replied with a detailed approach to how he wants to explore this important school of ancient thought.  From his early research, he knows what he wants to read and from what authors.  He has developed his own guiding framework.  I suggested he incorporate a piece in which he explores his own thoughts about the tenets of Stoicism.  Largely, this was just for me.  I am eager to see how his mind works.

Another student, inspired by this, wants to pursue Epicureanism through the work of Lucretius and the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

One young man wants to marry his Latin work with his passion for theatre.  He will be exploring the works of Roman comedy and tragedy.

I met with one young lady from the class today to discuss her own philosophical interests, but the discussion quickly turned to the composition of Latin poetry.  She is an author and poet, but wanted to compose more Latin poetry in an extension of a project we had done last year.  I introduced her to Vates:  The Journal of New Latin Poetry and the Gradus ad Parnassum.  We talked about the standard dactylic hexameter and the variety of other meters used by Horace and Catullus.  It was clear from the light in her eye that this is the direction she wants to go.  I cannot wait to see what she produces.  I encouraged her to keep notes on her process, for this will make a fine introduction to the small book of Latin poetry that is her goal.

To say that I am excited by what these students will pursue is an understatement.  It is all part of the joy and old-fashioned fun of teaching Latin!

Where To Begin?

It is quiet now.  I am sitting in my classroom during my conference period.  There are still a few papers yet to mark before submitting grades for the end of the quarter, but I wanted to share a few words.  It has certainly been a  Friday like no other.

I arrived this morning a little before 6:30, eager to get in a bit of grading before classes began.  I quickly set up the "Do Now" or warm-up activity for our Period 1 class, and then settled in, pen in hand.  Once students began to enter the room, grading took a back seat to answering questions, and then I looked up to see Mr. Akers, one of our assistant principals, entering the room.  He asked for a few students to join others from other classes, and I called them over.  There was nothing unusual in this, for North Central students are often called upon for various opportunities outside the class.  As they left, I joked with the class that being taken away by an administrator is what happens when students are not working on their "Do Now!"  A few minutes later, I found out the real reason.

My door opened and our room was invaded by news crews, administrators, teachers, and friends.  Indiana Superintendent Glenda Ritz was leading my two children by the hand, and I saw my wife among the crowd.  Mrs. Ritz then announced that I was the 2014 Indiana Teacher of the Year and that I would be leaving my class for a press conference.  My first thought was about the "Do Now" activity on the board, and I asked if they had secured a class cover.  Our Washington Township superintendent, Dr. Nikki Woodson, assured me that this had been taken of, and off we went.

Upon exiting A526 I found upper A and H halls lined on both sides with students.  There were cheers and applause as I made my way downstairs and through this double line of students that I thought would never end.  For all the flashing of cameras and enthusiasm of the press, it is that line of cheering North Central Panthers that will remain one of my fondest memories.

It is hard so describe all that happened next.  I was mostly just trying to breathe.  Cameras continued to flash and numerous interviews with print and television media ensued.

As I prepare to finish my last bit of grading and try to sort through the barrage of emails and tweets that are coming through, I would like to conclude with this.  I am deeply and abidingly grateful to my family, friends, students, and colleagues for their incredible support and encouragement.  I will name names in another post, for to do so now would take too long and, as I am still overwhelmed, I would undoubtedly forget someone important.  Let it suffice to say that I love you all and thank you so very much for helping me do what I love...teaching.

Tribute to Classical Learning

What follows is precisely the kind of thing I have been talking about recently in my WJEL interview with Superintendent Dr. Nikki Woodson and in my interview with John Strauss for Indiana Public Radio.  It comes in the form of a Facebook message from my former student Jesse Moore.  He took Latin when I taught at LBJ High School in Austin, Texas, and is now an associate at a law firm there.  He offers a beautiful tribute to and raison d’être for Classical learning.

But, what I’m even more grateful for is that general Classical background. I got a lot more in college at UT with my appetite whetted from LBJ—our philosophy classes went heavily into Plato and Aristotle, literature had Homer and Virgil, and I took several Roman and Greek history classes from Palaima and some other great profs, read more Thucydides, Plutarch, Suetonius. Needless to say, being very enthusiastic about these subjects helped me develop the skills being taught. I still use those skills and think about their history—for instance, I was working on a trial recently and brought up Aristotle’s Rhetoric when discussing order of presentation with my boss (and we won.)

But, far more important to me is just knowing about these people and their histories and civilizations. It has made my life more complete and satisfying. I think we all have some questions about where we fit in both individually and as a group, and the Classical world has really helped me in my struggle with some of these questions. I might even prefer the poets to the philosophers—re-reading Catullus and seeing him grapple with love and loss and life and death 2000 years ago, and realizing nothing has changed, is more comforting than the Symposium. I don’t even know if I’d like poetry or have such an appreciation for good music lyrics if I hadn’t been taught scanning….  

Your grateful pupil--Jesse