Latina mortua lingua est,
Ut mortua potest esse:
Necavit omnes Romanos,
Atque necat me! |
(Latin is a dead language,
Dead as it can be:
It killed off all the Romans,
And now it’s killing me!) |
The rumors of my death, unfortunately, have not been so greatly exaggerated as one could have wished. As you may recall, I was offered a job about a year ago to teach Latin at a classical school in Concord, North Carolina. This was very odd because, well, several reasons:
- Though I love teaching, I had never taught in a classroom setting, nor had I been trained in any way to do so.
- Though I had decided I wanted to try teaching, Latin was the furthest thing from my mind. I had applied to teach English.
- Of all the positions to offer me, Latin was the least likely. I like languages, but I had never studied any with the diligence that produces proficiency. In other words, I didn’t know what I was talking about.
Nevertheless, the school and I endeavored upon a noble experiment, based in necessity: I needed a job, and I was interested in teaching. They needed a Latin teacher, and they were willing to try me, apparently because I sounded pretty good on paper.
About a month ago, I learned with the finality that the experiment was to be considered a failure. Contracts at our school are offered on an annual basis with no guarantee as to future years. I was not to be offered a new one. Continue reading “In which I tell you everything”
neumatikos 