Latin Class

Salvete, amici Latinae! Hello, friends of Latin! My name is Mrs. Cindy Del Monte and I will be teaching Ecclesiastical or Church Latin to students in 3rd through 8th grades. Additionally, students will gain an understanding of Classical Latin during the school year.

Many may wonder why Memorial has chosen to incorporate Latin into our curriculum, referring to the Latin language as either dead or arcane. Others may wonder why students in the Information Age need Latin. Considering the number of quality schools that for centuries taught Latin as an integral part of any good and sound academic training, the instruction in Latin should need no defense.

There are many reasons why Memorial continues to teach Latin to students:

Reason #1 Latin is a core curricular component in a classical school.

Classical languages such as Latin help students understand and think with greater depth about the world around them. Like many traditions lost in the name of "progressive" education, Latin's advantages have been neglected and forgotten by recent generations. Latin was widely taught in American schools as late as the 1940s and all but disappeared by the late 1970s. It was considered necessary to the fundamental understanding of English, the history and writings of Western Civilization, and the understanding of Romance languages such as Spanish.
It is interesting to consider that it has taken modern educators only 50 years to disassemble an educational system that took thousands of years to refine and establish. The classical method was born in the ancient Greece and Rome, and by the 16th century, it was used throughout the Western world. This form of education produced the greatest thinkers, leaders, and scientists in the Western world from the time of the Greeks until the late 19th century, including America's founding fathers. From the heritage of America's Ivy League colleges and classical day schools, leaders in every field continue to emerge from the fragmented legacy of classical education. Today, classical Christian education is unique in that it seeks to faithfully restore the most proven form of education ever developed.

Reason #2 Latin is a language that lives on today in almost all major Western languages including English and Spanish.

Over 50 percent of the English vocabulary comes from Latin. Training in Latin not only gives the student a better understanding of the roots of English vocabulary, it also lays the foundation for learning other Latin-based languages. Students are amazed when we tell them in our Latin classes at Memorial that they will learn as much about the English language as they do about the Latin language. Much attention is given to the many derivative words that emerged in the English language from Latin. Students will thus be able to "figure out" what English words mean by applying knowledge and understanding of the various Latin root words. For example, the Latin roots for "life" and "live" are "viv-" and "vita-" respectively; one can readily see these roots in English words such as "vitamin," "vital," "vivacious," "survive," "revive," etc. It is our intention and hope that this training will enable all students to use this knowledge and training across all subject areas, as well as to achieve higher scores on achievement tests, high school entrance exams, and other standardized tests.

Reason #3 Learning the grammar of Latin reinforces the student's understanding of the reasons for, as well as the use of, the parts of speech in the English language.

The best way to approach Latin grammar is to consider it a basic subject like math that is to be mastered by consistent effort over a period of years. Latin students will recognize the eight parts of speech used in the English language: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Additionally, Latin students will learn about the characteristics of nouns such as case [e.g., the nominative case, which is the subject of the sentence], number [i.e., singular and plural], and gender [i.e., masculine, feminine, and neuter]. Likewise, students will study verbs and verb tenses. Students will also learn to apply endings to Latin roots and stems, and will understand the significance of such concepts as noun / adjective agreement. Learning the grammar of Latin will reinforce and even enhance the student's understanding of the parts of speech being taught in our traditional language classes via the Shurley Method.

Reason #4 Latin teaches a student discipline and logic.

Latin is a highly structured and cohesive language. Because of this, Latin teaches a student structure, analysis, logic, and discipline. Students will be taught to translate from Latin to English and vice versa in a methodical, systematic and logical way. Since the Latin language is oriented around word endings, students will learn by rote model nouns for each of the noun declensions, and model verbs for each of the conjugations. Applying endings to Latin roots and stems - and making sure that nouns and adjectives are in agreement - is truly an exercise in structure, discipline, and logic!

I will be teaching Latin here at Memorial the "old fashioned" way! We will commence each class period with a daily recitation exercise.

Students will stand and recite the following:
1. The Lord's Prayer in Latin.
2. A Bible verse in Latin.
3. A model noun for each of the five declensions.
4. A model verb for each of the four conjugations.
5. The eight parts of speech.

Following the recitation component of our classes, the remainder of our class time will follow the format of short lecture and teacher-guided practice activities:
1. Learning Latin vocabulary words via flash cards and other strategies.
2. Translation exercises: words, sentences, paragraphs, etc.
3. Declension of nouns.
4. Conjugation of verbs.
5. Other grammar exercises to practice and reinforce concepts.
6. Locating Latin derivatives in the English language dictionary.

Quid faciunt discipuli linguae Latinae? What do Latin students do? Here at Memorial, all Latin classes will be taught in an age-appropriate and systematic way:

3rd and 4th Grades

Note: The course is designed for students who are still becoming familiar with English grammar but are competent readers.

Texts:
1. Prima Latina
2. The Vulgate [Latin translation of the Bible]

Texts:
1. Latina Christiana
2. The Vulgate [Latin translation of the Bible]

Texts:
1. Latin for Americans
2. Latin Grammar
3. The Vulgate [Latin translation of the Bible]

I will also be teaching logic to students in 3rd through 8th grades. Emphasis will be placed on logical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving. Students will practice skills such as seeing relationships, drawing conclusions, completing analogies, and using common sense.

The methodology of traditional logic was established by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle is regarded by many as the "father of logic." Traditional logic is the study of the classical syllogism, the oldest of all logic problems. The syllogism has three parts: the first two statements are called premises, and the last statement is called the conclusion. A syllogism can be either valid [true] or invalid [false] depending on whether the conclusion is supported by the premises. An example of both a valid syllogism and an invalid syllogism is as follows:

Valid Syllogism
Premise 1: All cats have fur.
Premise 2: Tigers are cats.
Conclusion: Therefore, all tigers have fur.

Invalid Syllogism
Premise 1: All tigers have stripes.
Premise 2: All tigers are cats.
Conclusion: All cats have stripes.

The study of traditional logic is typically introduced to students in classical schools at the high school level. You will find that our logic program at Memorial is age appropriate, and is geared to students in 3rd through 8th grades. As you saw firsthand in the example of a valid and invalid syllogism above, logic problems can be crafted for various age levels far younger than high school age. While we will work with syllogisms throughout the school year, we will examine many other strategies designed to sharpen our students' logical thinking skills. Students will find our learning materials challenging, entertaining, and instructional.

If I had to single out the #1 concern I've heard from parents regarding student homework, class work, and/or in-class testing, it would be this: students rush through their work and fail to thoroughly read the individual problems and/or questions, accounting for incorrect answers. It is my hope that students in our logic classes will learn to carefully read problems/questions before tackling the work.
All of the skills that the students learn through our logic program are, in reality, life skills. Academic skills used for reading, math, writing, and science all depend on one's ability to perceive and define relationships and to form inferences. Beyond the academic world, logical thinking is an integral part of everyday life. It enables students to analyze situations, see relationships, organize information, and draw generalizations. As students develop their logical thinking skills, they will approach all information with critical forethought.

Our logic classes will be an opportunity to learn and practice analytical thinking. Each class will be structured as follows: short lecture followed by an opportunity to practice using worksheets.

The grid that follows identifies several of the units we will cover this school year.

Logical Thinking
- Cause and effect
- Sequence of events
- Palindromes
- Poetic language
- Categorization

Interpreting Scientific Data
- Understanding differences
- Sampling
- Comparing states of matter
- Experimenting
- Collecting data

Students will have most of the class period to practice the skills that are being introduced to them, and will work both independently and in small groups. There may be instances in which a worksheet is so challenging that a correct answer may not be possible. In situations such as those, students will be graded on attitude, cooperation, and a willingness to solve the problem[s].

I am looking forward to a great year of logical thinking with your child!

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