JANAN’S HIGH SCHOOL LATIN STUDENT ALUMNI/AE
ANSWER HER QUESTION:
“HOW HAS LATIN IMPACTED
YOUR LIFE?” (JULY, 2010)
Not only did Latin help me as a paralegal, with legal terms and also
going to Catholic Church services. It also helped me with Spanish. I think
it’s always helpful to know the root of words. I loved the history behind
Latin and classics. I think it’s a great major and very sad to see it fading.
Plus it helps my Latin teacher was pretty awesome 🙂 – Shannon Scott
Taking Latin helped me immensely as a teacher. I taught a vocabulary
program based on Latin roots as part of a county-wide push to raise our
district’s SAT scores. Let’s just say that my background in Latin made it
a LOT easier for me than for the other teachers.
Latin also gave me deeper and better understanding of syntax and parts
of speech that had been previously lacking in my education (English or otherwise).
I was able to transfer that understanding to my students.
Add to that the logical exercises and memorization tools you taught us
which were very useful. – Rachel Walker
How *hasn’t* Latin impacted my life? Your Latin classes led to my decision
to major in Latin in college and continue studying ancient and medieval
stuff for my Ph.D. And now, I teach Latin. You made Latin both challenging
and fun, and I’m working on figuring out how to do that myself. I’m hoping
I can do it without having my students make Christmas stockings out of construction
paper. Do you remember mine? Montani semper liberi!!!
Studying Latin in high school made me a better writer because it taught
me the fundamentals of grammar and an etymology for expanding my vocabulary.
Because Latin gave me a solid sense of how languages work, learning Greek
and French came easier.
Aside from the impact Latin has had on my professional life, it has been
a major player in my personal life. I met my husband in a Latin class (Cicero’s
letters…how romantic), and studied spoken Latin with the Vatican’s Latinist
on my honeymoon.
And I should also add that you (as a teacher and as a friend) have also
impacted my life. The conversations we’ve had about women writers helped
shape my graduate school projects and made me excited about becoming an
academic.
What Latin has joined together, let no man put asunder. Thanks, Janan.
– Sarah Miller
Though I was your colleague and not your student, I learned a great deal
from you, Janan! And I might add that it was my ability to (barely, by skin
of teeth) teach Latin I that landed me my first teaching job. The English
Master’s and teaching certif. were a dime a dozen; but, if I could teach
Latin AND English, well they had a job for me . . . – Amy Rust
I wanted to take History of the Roman Empire in college but the professor
had a rule about not allowing dumb engineering majors in (because we aren’t
capable of reading and writing apparently). Once I told him I had taken
4 years of Latin under you and had gone to Italy with you, he let me stay.
I got an A in the class, in large part to what I had learned in your classes
and on our trips. He also called on me all the time to translate various
words and I (mostly) remembered them! – Stacey Phillips
I agree with the more general comments about grammar; your Latin class
was the first time I’d been exposed to learning about parts of speech, syntax,
etc. And you were certainly superior to most of the other high school teachers,
as well as all of my seven or so college teachers, including the two Latin
ones. (I wish you hadn’t made fun of the board game I made for extra credit,
though.) – Alvin Sloan
Latin taught me, as others, a better understanding of grammar and syntax,
etc., which in turn has made me a better writer. It also taught me, more
than any speech or English class, how to construct an argument, which has
proven very useful in jobs after college. Being a Latin and Greek major
in college has also made me stand out among the many business, real estate,
political science majors when applying for jobs. Then, there’s also the
pretty big impact of meeting my husband in Greek class my senior year of
college! – Sarah Grathwohl
Your introduction of the classics to my life encouraged a very important
skill, empirical study of the arts. As someone who lives and works in the
creative industry, I simply cannot thank you enough. – Mary Collins Bryne
Studying the classics, and in this case Latin, increased my English vocabulary
and also aided in my understanding of English grammar. I found that it helped
me tremendously as I earned my English Literature degree to learn the roots
and origins of the mother tongue of Western civilization. The challenge
of learning a classical language implemented a new way of appreciating language
by opening my eyes to a cultural literacy that I had never been exposed
to before. From studying the classics, I developed a new appreciation for
the art of language and the history behind it. It is astonishing when you
discover how “classic” languages have had such an impact on our
current culture. Language directly reflects culture and the worth of studying
the “classics” is immeasurable. The early exposure of Latin in
high school contributed to my life long quest of becoming a student and
teacher of language. – Justin Richards
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