Classical Education
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Challenges with Scott and Jones’ Latin
By 1911, Scott and Jones had published a twelfth edition of their First Latin Course. In the introduction, under “Notes to Later Editions,” they acknowledge the evolution of the text in response to teacher feedback: in the second edition, typos were corrected and additional exercises were supplied; in the fifth, new sections were included; in the eighth, fine linguistic details were emended; and in the twelfth, the Grammar was expanded. The “Preface,” dated 1901, indicates that the textbook had been in circulation for only a decade—with a dozen iterations pointing to its experimental nature. The success of the direct method in modern language study greatly inspired the work of Ernest…
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Learning Citizenship via Cicero
The ancients captivated my imagination when I enrolled in Latin during my tenth grade year. At the time, I knew very little about the Roman empire and even less about Latin, but I believed I was signing up for higher test scores and academic distinction. In actuality, I was encountering my destiny. Five years later, I was majoring in Classics at university and pursuing the path to teacher certification. In the course of my studies, I met the Latin authors of poetry, satire, and epic; but a summer course with the statesman Cicero inspired my passion for oratory. “Who is this Cicero?” you ask. Marcus Tullius Cicero was a popular Roman politician…
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What Does Charlotte Mason Say about the Value of Latin?
The mere thought of teaching Latin is daunting to most homeschooling parents. This is understandable—few parents have studied it themselves and no one speaks Latin anymore! Why should we study it?!? I regularly see this question pop up in the AmblesideOnline Facebook group and in the AO Forum. When I have the time, I love to chime in (because #latinteacher #latinsnotdeaditisimmortal #haha). This summer, I was challenged to study Ms. Mason’s view on Latin after hearing a CM speaker share a perspective that I felt did not fairly represent the importance and value of Latin in a Charlotte Mason paradigm. So, when the opportunity presented itself just this past week…
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CM Latin: Curriculum Options?
Salvete Omnes! Thank you for your interest in teaching Latin the CM way…and in uncovering and restoring Ms. Mason’s PURPOSE for the study of this challenging ancient tongue. I had a Facebook-messaging conversation with another CM homeschooling mama today about CM-friendly curriculum options. I have pasted her original question and the transcript of our discussion below (edited for clarity): ______________________________________________ Q: HOW do we teach Latin in a way that doesn’t reduce the study to mere mental gymnastics?? Which curricula do you recommend, especially for the parent who is clueless in Latin (yours truly)? Which curricula approaches it for the right reasons and does the language justice? I am leaning towards Latina Christiana…
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Latin and the Homeschool Movement
I’ve been seeing quite an uptick in the popularity of classical education among my friends and acquaintances of late. At least, that’s what my Facebook newsfeed tells me. Within the past year, many of my Christian homeschooling friends across the country have plugged into Classical Conversations (CC), a faith-based support/cooperative community with an emphasis on Christ-centered, classical education at home. What is particularly interesting about CC is its “old-fashioned” educational values: heavy memorization, rote and ritual, traditional subjects (the three R’s), and western (i.e. Ancient Greek) philosophies such as Latin, logic, and rhetoric. These disciplines are viewed as the reflection of an orderly and creative God who reveals truths about…
