• Welcome
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • About Me
  • Publications
    • Work in Progress
  • Blog
  • Provocations

“IT’S DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING I’D DONE” 

2/9/2016

1 Comment

 

 

Latin, that is. So says  Evan Colby, the only student  in the world who earned a perfect score on the AP Latin exam last year. And if you ask him how Latin is different from (Not than - please, Evan) everything else that he has studied, he will probably tell you what he recently told the News and Observer,  “I  like the rules that came with it.”
He’s right again, I suspect.  We don’t hear a lot about the importance of rules in education these days, but some very talented students, I believe, are attracted to Latin and Greek because the ancient languages have such distinctive structures to express meaning.  Sure, they are hard to master for an English speaker. They take discipline, and for some students that is part of their appeal.  They reward disciplined study by making it possible to live a more disciplined life.  What’s more they  have a jackpot: master the rules, learn the vocabulary and you win a free trip back a couple of thousand years, and when you get there, you can understand  what people are saying and thinking.  What a deal!
Evan’s comments remind me that we shouldn’t try to hide from students that Latin and Greek require disciplined learning.  They are a Marine Corps boot camp for serious students.  We shouldn’t try to make them look like English, or Spanish, or Film Studies or other fine and edifying subjects.   That’s not what they are.  These languages are different. They demand discipline and they reward it.  
 
 
1 Comment
thesis editing services link
4/13/2016 02:52:09 pm

You're so right - Greek is so much different from English! Even in different regions of Greece this language differs - and how can it be compared to other languages?
But the statement that Greek disciplines - that was like an enlightment for me.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    RSS Feed

    Picture