Thursday, May 31, 2007

Adventures in teaching

For the last school year, I have had the opportunity to work with some home-schooled students. Not only was it fun, but I learned a lot too.

Here are some things I learned over the course of the year.

In our first encounter with Latin poetry, I introduced Catullus to my students. We used Catullus: A Legamus Transitional Reader, and it did what it claimed it would do. It took the students by the hand at first and slowly let go.

The "Making Sense of It" section was my favorite tool. It showed words that went together with special type, included gapped words and built student confidence. When we reached the "As it Was" part of each chapter, the students had a handle on what was coming. They could see that word order was not complex for metrical purposes alone, but for artistic reasons. By the end of the book, they felt comfortable enough with Catullus's style to manage without the help of inclusion of gapped words and special type.

We also dipped into Medieval Latin with Medieval Mosaic. My students really enjoyed this. I also enjoyed it, because I had not previously had much exposure to Medieval Latin. My students perceived the Latin in this book as easier, but I am not so sure—there are still plenty of complexities. The book's selections are varied in both time and subject matter, which also helped keep student interest.

As part of my own continuing work on my Latin skills, I read part of Eutropius' Breviarum. For those of you who do not know, it is an overview of Roman history and is written in fairly simple Latin. I found it to be simple enough that I could keep the reading all in Latin without needing to translate to English. Where did I find this gem? Lectiones Secundae, of course. Though this book is meant to go with Level II of Artes Latinae, you can enjoy it all on its own.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Looking at Latin Reviewed in Spring 2007 ACL Newsletter

The Spring 2007 newsletter published by the American Classical League (ACL, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 13-14), featured an outstanding review by Boston Latin Academy's Suze Herold of Anna Andresian's Looking at Latin pre-college grammar. Below is the review in its entirety:

"Anna Andresian, a former middle- and upper-school Latin teacher in East Greenwich, Rhose Island, presents in this ancillary text a plethora of topics that are arranged by grammatical category. The book begins with guidelines for its use, notational and pedagogical remarks, and ends with the appendices. The detailed table of contents simplified locating topics. This book is a grammar review and reference that is appropriate for Latin students beginning their first year of Latin not only at the middle-school level but also at the high-school level.

"The strength of the book is in the spiral approach to learning the basics: starting with the basic concepts such as noun terminology, alphabet and pronunciation, declining and conjugating and building the students' knowledge base until supine, passive periphrastic, and subjunctive mood are attained. The writing style is easy to read and comprehend. The visual elements create optimum appeal and intrigue. they guide the students to an ongoing, alluring, and effective presentation of the forms and syntax. They also bring clarity and synergy. Every lesson is designed to cover a single topic and every page has layouts adorned with text boxes, arrows, example sentences, and color illustrations. The text boxes assist students to follow a step-by-step approach. The arrows connect information to the example sentences and important information is highlighted in colors bringing vivacity to the page. The pictures reiterate the author's purpose, which is for 'people of a variety of ages and ethnic backgrounds to engage in a wide range of activities.' Middle-school and high-school Latin students are reflections of our diverse society and they are able to see themselves and accept students with perspectives other than their own. In today's times, teachers need to diversify their syllabi, to be more aware of classroom dynamics, and to pay more attention to how their students are experiencing the learning process. This dynamic book will cater to diverse classrooms.

"The book is extremely well designed and compiled. It is a great companion to Latin for Americans (especially the 1st book). It is a useful and practical tool for students studying Latin at the middle-school or high-school level."

-30-

To order the book (or a classroom set), click here. Also, look for Looking at Latin on-line later in 2007 with interactive drills, exercises, and a community for both teachers and students!

Andrew

a.d. IV Kal. Iun.

Stultus nil celat: quod habet sub corde revelat.
–Medieval

Friday, May 25, 2007

New Bolchazy-Carducci eLearning site!

Salvete, Omnes!

Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers officially announces the launch of its new site dedicated to digital didactics (that's eLearning to those of you scoring at home), eLatin eGreek eLearn. Pitched to both students and teachers of Latin, ancient Greek, and Classical literature, this site encourages dialogue on how technology works (or occasionally fails) in the Classics classroom. You can also start your own discussions and comment on others. Plus, navigate to links you can use to help you teach and learn ancient languages, and spend a few minutes watching videos of class projects, animations, and virtual worlds all revolving around ancient Greece and Rome.

Since the site went live earlier in May, we have had nearly 4,000 hits and can boast over 50 "official" members in the eClassics network including the Rogue Classicist himself, David Meadows, and Wheelock maven, Rick LaFleur, plus teachers and students from Australia, Norway, Greece, Italy, Canada, and the US.

This is your invitation to join eClassics, Bolchazy-Carducci's portal to eLearning. More wired than a Roman Internet café!

Vale,

Andrew

Thursday, May 24, 2007

a.d. IX Kal. Iun.

Vulgoque veritas iam attributa vino est.
–Plinius Secundus

Locus: Natural History, XIV 141

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

a.d. X Kal. Iun.

Etiam instanti laesa repugnat ovis.
–Sextus Propertius

Locus: Propertius, Elegies 2.5.20

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

a.d. XI. Kal. Iun.

Ira perit subito quam gignit amicus amico.
–Medieval

Friday, May 18, 2007

Digital Projects at Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

Hello everyone,

Bolchazy-Carducci is entering what could be called a digital summer as several new and exciting electronic projects are either underway or are nearing completion. Top of the list: Artes Latinae version 2.0 is set to release in June for Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Mac OS X, and July for Linux and Unix. The latest version of AL has the same great content as earlier versions, but has an updated interface, is even easier to use, works on modern operating systems, and does not require the disk to be in your computer when you are learning Latin. We're updating our Artes Latinae web site with a new look and new content, so please visit soon!

Anna Andresian and I are getting ready to embark upon designing an on-line resource for her Latin illustrated grammar, Looking at Latin. The site will contain drills and exercises, reviews of grammatic concepts, and a user community (one for teachers and one for students). Looking at Latin can be used in conjunction with ANY program of Latin study. Look for Looking at Latin on-line by APA in January for its official launch.

We're continuing work on Dr. Tony Hollingsworth's amazing Digital Scholia, an electronic deconstruction of Cicero's First Catilinarian with components including classroom lecture that supports real-time sentence diagramming. Learn grammar, vocabulary, and rhetoric sentence by sentence.

Lastly, we are entering into a number of agreements with global distributors of electronic content. What this means is that you will be able to find and use titles from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers at libraries worldwide via their on-line subscription services.

If you have any special digital requests that will make your teaching and learning of the Classics easier, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below!

Andrew

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Medieval Congress 2007


It was wonderful meeting everyone at this year's Medieval Congress at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. We sold a lot of books (one of the top sellers was Anna Andresian's Looking at Latin illustrated grammar) as well as several copies of Artes Latinae (version 2.0 out soon!). We learned a lot about high resolution digital scanning of manuscripts (perhaps we can consider integrating Latin learning via actual scans of Latin manuscripts, creating eLearning-friendly meta-texts that incorporate grammar, syntax, and even paleography). Whew!

Remember that all Medieval Congress delegates can still qualify for a 20% discount on purchases from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers if they order by June 13 by calling 847.526.4344. Please tell the customer service professional that you were at the Congress to qualify for the discount.

See you in Kalamazoo next year!

Andrew and Betty

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

a.d. XVII Kal. Iun.

Neque enim omnia Deus homini facit.
–Seneca

Locus: Quaestiones Naturales 7.30.3

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Id. Mai.

Nil homini certum est.
–Ovid

Locus: P. Ovidius Naso, Tristia, 5.5.27

Monday, May 14, 2007

pridie Id. Mai.

Rex est qui metuit nihil, rex est quiqe cupit nihil; hoc regnum sibi quisque dat.
–Seneca

Locus: Thyestes 388–390

Friday, May 11, 2007

The weather in Kalamazoo

Hello everyone! Bolchazy-Carducci is enjoying the 85-degree heat here in Kalamazoo at Medieval Congress, and that's just in the exhibition hall! Thanks to all of our shoppers for making it such a great day for us. We hope to see you all back in the booth tomorrow to finish stocking up on your Wheelockiana, Artes Latinae, and Medieval titles. Booth hours are from 8 - 6:30 Saturday, and 8-noon Sunday. Thanks again for stopping in to say hello, to see what's new, and to talk about the future of the Past.

Andrew

Thursday, May 10, 2007

a.d. VI Id. Mai.

Homo homini aut deus aut lupus.
–Erasmus

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

a.d. VII Id. Mai.

Cui Fortuna favet multos amicos habet.
–Anonymous

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

a.d. VIII Id. Mai.

Regi et patriae fidelis.
–Motto

Monday, May 07, 2007

Non. Mai.

Forti et fedeli nihil difficile.
–Motto

Friday, May 04, 2007

a.d IV Non. Mai.

Bonum quod est supprimitur, numquam exstinguitur.
–Publilius Syrus

Thursday, May 03, 2007

a.d. V Non. Mai.

Quod in iuventute non discitur, in matura aetate nescitur.
–Cassiodorus

Locus: Variae 1.24

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

a.d. VI Non. Mai.

Os, oculus, vultus produnt quod cor gerit intus.
–Medieval

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Kal. Mai.

Qui sua perpendit, mea crimina non reprehendit.
–Medieval