ginlindzey

Last year my split level class worked fairly well. My Latin 3's were pretty independent; my Latin 2's more needy but I thought I got them working through things ok.

This year my new Latin 2's--all of 9 of them--have turned into real whiners. 3 of them especially. In fairness, they don't get stuff. They don't get stuff because they don't want to get stuff. They say they do, but when you say things like, "in order to complete the following is, ea, id chart, you might want to sing your noun-ending song and jot down those endings." But heaven help them do any work. Did anyone jot down those endings? NO. So, eventually we sing the song together, they give me the endings, I write them on the board, and then we look at the chart I made for the warm-up with the missing blanks. Hand holding yet again.

You'd think I had suddenly written Greek on the board.

Then we move on to go over some PTL's on present participles (we're TRYING to finish stage 20). You'd think we'd never mentioned them, that there wasn't a participle in the chapter, that we hadn't read stories that incorporated participles.

I'm drawing arches to show the nesting aspect of participles. "I don't get it." "What don't you get?" "Any of it. The endings. Why are they 3rd declension?" "They just are; those are the endings present participles use. Remember? It's like the adjective ingens." I decline ingens on the board to show them. You'd think ingens had never been in the book. You'd think we hadn't already spent time declining participles with a noun they modify.

Then we talked of case, number, and gender. It was as if I'd never discussed it before. Hello? Like I didn't with adjectives? Like I didn't with relative pronouns? OHMIGOSH.

Then I realize my only Latin 4 really doesn't have that great a grasp on grammar but just likes Latin.

I'm starting to realize a lot of things--many of which make me feel like a failure, but I know that's just part of being sensitive to students' needs and not indifferent to them.

First and foremost: having my Latin 1's write stories in Latin gives them what the more advanced students never had--composition work. It's not drill and kill work, but it does the same thing AND HAS ITS OWN INTRINSIC INTEREST because the students are making up the stories. I glanced at the next batch I've had them write today and I'm greatly amused already. I can't wait until Weds when we really go over them.

The thing is, THIS will make them pay closer attention to details than my assigning 3 times the assignments that are just transformation of forms with no intrinsic value. So that's the first thing.

Second: I may have to do some of the sort of detail work I hate--parsing stuff--because that's what the students will need to focus on details and put it together. In the AP workshop I attended this summer it was recommended that students write out/type out the Latin text with large spacing in between to provide room for grammar ID's, vocab, plus a running translation.

The thing is, this goes against everything I feel deep down inside about learning to read Latin. Maybe my problem is that what I want to see students achieve I can't just leap to. I didn't think I was leaping to it; I thought I was teaching those reading skills all along with my metaphrasing and other things. BUt I guess those skills really only work if the students are going home every night AND REREADING.

I looked at the struggling Latin 2's and told them to stop being angry with me. They don't come in for help during tutorials in the morning, they don't email me for help either. Then I asked whether they ever bothered to REREAD a story, especially one that we just read together in class? Dead silence.

OF COURSE IT'S DEAD SILENCE! They wouldn't be having problems if they were rereading stories.

Another thing I'm having my Latin 1's do: read/translate a story on their own in each stage. Am I grading their translations? I didn't this last time. What they need is IMMEDIATE feedback--so I gave them a quiz over the story. 5 questions and you can use your translation but not your book. If they translated it correctly for the most part, they could pass the quiz fine.

And I keep telling them, hammering it home as hard as I can: REREAD the stories. The more you reread the stories, the more you will fix the Latin in your head and the EASIER it is to face reading a new story on your own.

I just have to keep this up. Reading a WHOLE story on their own--especially when the stories get longer. I MUST keep doing this.

My pace is better in Latin 1 this year, I think. I'm behind in Latin 2 and 3. I know I am. Oh, hell, I'm probably behind in Latin 1 too, but it just doesn't feel like I've wasted time (like in past years when I've foolishly taken time out to make signet rings and such).

Maybe the truth is that I'm not that great of a high school Latin teacher. Maybe I'm just meant to be a middle school teacher. Well... I don't really believe it. I do think I'm good with Latin 1 and that each year I get better at it. But I'm waiting to see a Latin 2 class that pays off yet. And at this rate, will I have the stamina to keep going at my current school? This year is killing me. Last year was killing me.

Well, I shouldn't have spent so much time writing this, but when things go poorly it is frustrating. It is easy to blame the kids, but I always look in the mirror too. Some days I just don't like what I see. I guess the worst thing is that I'd like time to THINK about it, but outside of venting, that's about it. No time for more.

Just thought I'd put a few things here down that's working with my multi-split class. I have 17 Latin 2's, 8 Latin 3's, and an AP Ovid student all in one class.

The 3's can work more independently and are in one corner of the room by the computers. Most days I have a PowerPoint warm-up for them that walks them through something and then gives the answers, followed by instructions for the day. I have 3 bean-bag chairs and they usually go out in the hallway to work, often working all together or in two groups of four.

Some days I spend more with them, some days more with the 2's. Fridays are for the AP student. On those days I've started giving written assignments to the 2's and 3's. Because I'm worried that I'm not giving them the feedback they need, I decided to start making ANSWER KEYS with hints and helps that I print up, fold and staple closed. They are NOT allowed to look at them until everyone is done in their group, then they check their answers and correct them. It provides immediate feedback, and keeps the work from being "busy" work that doesn't take grading. I need to grade more of their work, but my 4 English classes are swamping much of my grading time, as is simply prepping for books I haven't taught from before.

The students like this, and I feel better about them getting feedback.

I emailed with a couple of parents the other night of the 3's because I postponed a test. One told me that her son said he'd already learned tons more from me than the previous teacher. Well, I don't know about that--I just take time to work on HOW IT ALL GOES TOGETHER instead of memorize the next set of forms and put it all together.

It felt good either way, especially because this was from a young man who--meaning no offense--told me that while I loved Latin most of them didn't even like it. They just needed their three years. It was just a statement, and yet he thinks highly enough of what I've been able to impart in this bizarre three-split class that he's talked to his mom about it.

That says something, doesn't it?

Makes me feel good anyway.

Now, if I can just think of a decent place for the 3's to take their test in peace on Monday. Maybe the library....