I may have said something on the phone, a throw away comment, to a journalist. Journalist inadvertently sets said comment as a flashy jewel in an otherwise helpful gift to Latin teachers nationwide.In fact this refers to the Guardian article on That Book which I noted here.
I know exactly how this teacher must feel. I remember the journalist from a regional paper who rang me and was just waiting for me to say something unguarded about guitars (It's too long a story!). Then there was the woman from the Daily Telegraph who said "Oh that's a good quote" and wrote it down. What I had said was that the surroundings and candlelight in a particular village church were so breathtaking that people wouldn't notice if the choir's singing at the carol service was not perfect. Help! Would the choir members that I was trying to train take it as a great insult?
Journalists are always looking for the throw away comment.
Perhaps I should have made more allowance for this before I commented as I did in that blog post. But I was commenting on the article as I read it.
As someone who has taught Latin using Path to Latin, Approach to Latin, Ecce Romani, Hillard and Botting/North and Hillard, The Cambridge Latin Course and The Oxford Latin Course, and probably others that have slipped my mind, I can see strengths and weaknesses in them all. I have a sneaking admiration for Oxford. It was at my invitation that Maurice Balme came to give a demonstration lesson, using the newly published first edition of that course, at an ARLT Summer School. The idea of using Horace as the hero of the course was a good one. The first edition provided far too much reading material; only a scholarship class could cope with it all. I think that the present edition is much more realistic. The important point, though, with all the reading-based courses is that the narrative should be enthralling. That's where Cambridge wins by several lengths. In fact, I have myself been seduced on occasion by the narrative and the pupils' interest in it into neglecting the grammatical content of the course. The grammar is all there. We teachers just have to let it have its place as the course itself directs. What about the traditional courses? There the pupils' interest is won by the satisfaction of getting things right. To have written ten Latin sentences from Hillard and Botting correctly brings many pupils a huge buzz. It's a different kind of buzz from concern over the death of a faithful dog in Pompeii, but it can be equally an incentive to go on. It's the way I learned myself. I went on to enjoy writing Latin prose in the style of Tacitus and Latin verse in the style of Virgil or Ovid. And I enjoy crossword puzzles too!
What I beg and beseech my colleagues is that while having our own favourite teaching methods and textbooks we respect the preferences of others, and present a united front in working to bring opportunities of learning Latin to as many people as possible. The experience of working with Classicists of widely different backgrounds at the Language Show has made me more convinced than ever that together we can make an impact.
As the teacher whose web page induced these reflections wrote finally (and I welcome this sentiment more than some of the uncomplimentary remarks earlier), we are, after all, on the same side.
