John McWhorter in his book: Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care, makes the observation that Americans distrust any language that strays very far from the everyday vernacular - but McWhorter believes that this has sorry consequences for our every day health:
"The new linguistic order compromises our facility with the word and dilutes our collective intellect. Our new sense of what American English is has upended our relationship to articulateness, our approach to writing, and how and whether we impart it to the young; our interest in poetry and our conception of what it is, and even our response to music and how we judge it."
To some extent, the return to classical languages among many homeschool families seeks to reroute this new direction. For this and other reasons, a proficiency with Latin will serve highschool students well as they prepare for college and beyond.
The Latin I Course is taught by Rick Patton, Headmaster of the Aleithia Learning Community. He has taught this course for the past fourteen years in the ALC setting. This course is open to any 8th-12th grader.
OVERALL OBJECTIVES
Using Wheelock's Latin, the high school level Latin I Course contains the following overall objectives:
The student will complete Chapters 1-10 in Wheelock's Latin.
The student will master vocabulary related to the above chapters and build and extensive English vocabulary based on these Latin roots.
The student will master the grammar and syntax related to the above chapters.
The student will demonstrate a proficiency in reading and translating Latin stories utilizing the vocabulary, grammar and syntax related to the above chapters.
The student will understand the phenomenon of language and specific correlations from Latin to English.
COURSE PROCEDURES
Weekly Format: Each week's lesson will be introduced and practiced in class. Students will then be given an assignment to complete for the following week. These assignments will be collected and evaluated.
Evaluation: Evaluation of student homework will be provided on a weekly basis. Quizzes, tests, and story translations on each chapter will occur as scheduled. A final evaluation of student work will be provided at the end of each 10-week semester.
Time and Location: The course will be conducted from 1:30-2:30 PM at the Parker House at Camp Sankanac, Spring City, PA.
COSTS
1st Child
2nd Child
3rd Child
Full Year Course:
Fall semester:
$115.00
$105.00
$90.00
Second semester:
$100.00
$90.00
$80.00
Third semester:
$85.00
$75.00
$70.00
Payment Procedure: Full tuition for each semester must be paid two weeks before the start of the course by credit card or by mailing a check (made payable to Aleithia Project) to Aleithia Project, 336 Furnace Road, Birdsboro, PA 19508.
GETTING STARTED
Complete the registration form and submit. The textbooks, Wheelock's Latin and 38 Latin Stories, must be obtained by you. They can be purchased at Amazon.com.
Space is limited - so register now! For more information, contact Rick Patton at 610-286-6361; or email at rickpatton@aleithiaproject.org.