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I started typing this up a couple of weeks ago. I could probably ramble on and on with regards to this because, well, I can. At first, this was just some sort of brainstorming on what I think *I* would ask if I were interviewing a new teacher. Then part of it became, I dunno, a little therapeutic for me. Perhaps a reminder of why I do what I do.
Anyway, this is merely keeping me from grading. But to get it posted will mean one more think I can check off my to-do list. And now on to my grading. So, here are my questions, some answers, some musings, some ravings, and perhaps some incomplete thoughts. Make of it what you will.
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What I’m looking for in a teacher. The teacher interview.
What is your philosophy of teaching?
Boy, I used to hate this question. I thought it was all about methodology, I guess. I’m not even sure what I put. I remember I had to write a paragraph in the target language for one application, which I thought at the time was pretty amusing because WHO IN THE WORLD was going to read it?
My philosophy now seems to circle around these things:
· teaching reading skills and not decoding skills; developing those skills from day one
o What do you know about reading methodologies?
o Have you read Dexter Hoyos’s Latin: How to Read it Fluently?
o How have you applied reading methodologies to improve your own reading skills?
o Have you ever tried to explain these skills to a colleague or student?
· finding a way to reach all students; teaching in a supportive way that allows ample opportunities for all students who at least try to succeed at least to a certain degree.
o Have you ever tutored students?
o Have you ever worked with students or even peers who clearly learn things differently from the way you learned things?
o Have you ever thought about how you would explain how you learn things—what tricks you use for memorizing endings, etc.?
o Where do you picture yourself teaching? What sort of students?
· emphasizing the importance of good pronunciation, use of oral Latin, reading out loud, etc.
o How often do you read out loud?
o How careful are you with your pronunciation?
o If the text has macrons, can you read with correct accentuation without much of an effort?
o When you write Latin, do you write with macrons (without looking)?
o Are you comfortable asking and answering simple questions in Latin (quis, quem, cui, ubi, quō, quid facit, etc.)?
o Have you ever attended a Rusticātiō or Conventiculum?
· gaining insight into second language acquisition
o Have you ever read any material about second language acquisition?
o Have you ever attended any conferences that addressed issues related to second language acquisition?
I suppose my philosophy also encompasses these other considerations. I decided that on these, it might be worth my answering too.
· Things about being a teacher.
o Why did you want to become a teacher?
§ Teachers were and still are an important part of my life. I was not well liked in middle school and high school and I don’t think I could have survived if I didn’t feel like their rooms were safe places to be in.
o What teachers inspired you?
§ I was inspired by many good teachers, but primarily my Latin teachers, Doris Kays and Bob Hicks, and my biology teacher, Roger Robison. But I suppose I also think about my wonderfully patient and talented ballet instructor, Amory Oliver, as well as several of my professors, Gareth Morgan and Bill Nethercut among them. Come to think of it, I regularly employ the sudden loud outburst to wake up students like Gwyn Morgan would use in my Roman history classes.
§ Perhaps the truth is that I’ve taken a little bit away from every teacher that touched me, even fictional ones. Mr Keating (Robin William’s character in “Dead Poets Society”) greatly influenced me, perhaps more than any other if that is possible. I have been known to stand on chairs and desks, ding a bell and say “thanks for playing” and go overboard dramatically with anything I’m reading. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I know that this character, fictional though it may be, has influence me. Keating had that amazing ability to engage students. The teacher/administrator that followed him taught English as a cold subject that could be dissected with formulas. (The Pritchard Scale for judging a sonnet.) I don’t want my classes to ever be dominated by Latin grammar or the need to scan lines of poetry with absolute perfection. Does it matter what type of dative something is? After all we can dissect the Latin to death, but only if we read it in context, in word order, out loud like a Roman, staying in Latin and trying to THINK like a Roman. Who cares if we can write good English translations! It isn’t an English class.
§ So, like Keating, I refuse to let literature—that passionate stuff written to move our hearts and souls—be reduced to carefully parsed passages.
o When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?
§ I know I wanted to be a teacher the moment I stepped onto a college campus. However, I first wanted to be a theatre major. I knew I was not the stuff that Broadway actors were made of but I loved acting classes. Now I worry about how I could ever memorize enough lines (ha, and yet I have an iPod’s memory of songs in my brain). I didn’t get on with the chair of the theatre department and I was totally inspired by my first Latin professor, Bill Nethercut, as well as my first semester in Latin, so I switched to Latin as my main teaching field with English as my second.
o What do you think you have to offer students?
§ First, my empathy. I remember what it was like to not fit in, what it was like to be bright but clearly not the smartest or the best read of my peers. Second, my total enthusiasm and zany if not outlandish approach to teaching. I dance and prance around the room, I stand on desks, I will act out readings, I will do whatever it takes to hold their attention. I would rather a class that’s a bit rowdy but engaged over one that is quietly compliant but hardly engaged.
o Why did you choose Latin?
§ I’ve thought about this question for many years, and finally decided I must have been influence by BBC’s “I, Claudius.” I watched “I, Claudius” with students after school last year and found it every bit as enjoyable as it was in the late 1970s. That’s why I took Latin to begin with. I stayed with Latin because of my high school Latin teacher, Doris Kays, and her colleague at another high school, Bob Hicks, and my first professor in college, Bill Nethercut.
· Things about being a Latinist.
o What authors have you read outside of coursework?
§ I am partial to Martial. Admittedly I like to thumb through a Loeb, glancing more at the English until a particular topic catches my eye, and then I read the Latin (occasionally disagreeing with the translator!) I don’t teach Catullus, but have been known to read him from time to time. I like to practice my reading fluency with Eutropius. And I’ll look at any book that comes along from publishers. I just don’t have enough time to indulge my interests.
o Do you ever write in Latin?
§ I enjoy writing simple stories in Latin for my students. I have also been known to rewrite Martial epigrams to suit my own topic plus the occasional haiku. I email in Latin sometimes as well as post in Latin on Facebook.
o Do you ever play games in Latin?
§ I play cards in Latin; have played Twister in Latin and try to do other things.
· Things about being in the classics profession.
o Have you ever attended an American Classical League Institute?
§ Many times; I’ve presented at many.
o Have you ever attended a Classical Association of the Middle West and South annual meeting?
§ Many times; I’ve presented at many.
o Have you ever attended a Texas Classical Association conference?
§ Many times; I’ve presented at many.
o Have you ever attended a Junior Classical League convention as a student? As an adult/teacher?
§ Several as a student; only local ones as a teacher. My family life keeps me from spending even more hours with my students. One day I hope to.
o Have you ever served on committees in any organization?
§ National Committee for Latin and Greek; CAMWS Committee for the Promotion of Latin; various ad hoc committees for TCA
o Have you ever written articles or presented papers?
§ Numerous; many are online via my curriculum vitae. I’m currently planning one regarding growing a program/developing Latin students in Latin 1 who will be well prepared for AP Latin, no matter what their abilities are to start with.
