Twice a week, students at Land O'Lakes High meet after school to study the language of Caesar and Cicero.

By ARLEEN SPENCELEY

Published December 5, 2005

When the final bell rings at Land O'Lakes High School, some student athletes warm up for practice by stretching and running. Others, like wrestling team member and 11th-grader C.J. Canton, spend the early part of their afternoon in an extracurricular Latin class, cultivating a deeper understanding of classical culture.

"I, of course, have to say something really funny," said 16-year-old C.J. of the custom he has created to start each twice-a-week, optional class with a bit of his wit. "And then we go through a lesson."

David Berger, who teaches International Baccalaureate English, Advanced Placement English literature and journalism, doesn't mind extending his workday on Tuesdays and Thursdays to offer the supplementary course.

"This year, I decided to offer it as a class to see who would show up," Berger said. "It was an incredible turnout in the beginning."

The semester's class began with more than 40 students during the first session but has dwindled to about 12.

"If one student shows up, I would teach one student and that wouldn't matter to me," Berger said. "(The regular attendees) are the self-motivated ones. They come because they want to."

Some Latin class regulars, including 15-year-old Courtney Wells and 17-year-old Shane Connolly, keep coming to the class because they enjoy the atmosphere that Berger creates during each session.

"He makes a lot of humorous references to everyday life that make you connect to the material," Courtney said.

"It's kind of neat because he jokes around with us," Shane added. "It's fun actually learning something while having a good time."

Berger said he enjoys the atmosphere of the class just as much as the students say they do.

"After a long day of classes, I enjoy having the chance to relax and not be a formal teacher all the time," Berger said. "I'd like to think that I add a sense of humor to what we do. The humor, the light aspect of it, the fact that it's not a heavy five-day-a-week experience right now gives them exposure to it, even if they never do it again."

C.J. has no trouble admitting that Berger's Latin class will not be the last effort he makes in Latin.

"I'm probably going to be a historian, so it's really important for me to know Latin," C.J. said. "Getting me involved and giving me an introduction is really going to help me."

Courtney agreed.

"I will definitely use it in college," she said. "I was thinking of taking a Latin course in college just for vocabulary."

The class, Berger said, not only offers students a glance at an important classical culture, but it also gives them the chance to learn the basics of a language in which the other subjects they are studying are often deeply rooted. Latin helps students improve in reading and writing, he said, and it teaches them how to translate words on their own, which will help when they take college entrance exams.

"The purpose is for students to broaden their vocabulary skills not just to learn new words, but to learn how to decipher new words," he said. "Knowing how to decipher language means you don't have to rely on dictionaries as much. It's also empowering to know that you can look at a word that you might have to look up, pick it apart (and) see for yourself how the word comes together."

Beth Petrovich, a 16-year-old junior, said she is getting "a better grip on vocabulary that other people are probably struggling with."

"It's really beneficial," she said. "Even if you weren't that interested in the language, you could at least know the vocabulary."

Berger said he commends the students for reserving the time to let him teach them Latin basics.

"I like the students," he said. "They're engaging, they're funny, they're interested."

Berger said there is no doubt in his mind that the students are excelling.

"I'm very proud of them. The success, the little bits that they learn is what keeps them going," he said. "And the challenge for them is to learn more."