Advanced Latin Literature 1

What is a great Latin essay?

A few rubrics to help spark your thoughts: here, here, and here.

We will talk about our own class rubric and the approach to essay writing that we will take in the second trimester after Thanksgiving.

The students have become the teacher

What a remarkable day. Thank you for sharing with me, Latin class. I thought I would document a few of the things you shared today about empathy:

Empathy cannot be taught. But it can be learned.
Empathy is not imposed. It is uncovered.
Empathy is impossible without diversity. Diversity and inclusiveness pave the path to empathy.
Empathy is hard. Empathy demands courage.
Empathy is also inward. Can we be as understanding and open-minded to ourselves as we aim to be with others?

How enriching! And all of that is just from those of you who decided to share. To those of you who chose not to share: were you quiet because you would have felt uncomfortable voicing a dissenting opinion? If so, I hope I can convince you to take a risk and share your perspective. I promise to keep working to make sure you know that there is room for your voice. (And for the sake of empathy — we can all work to understand the world from your perspective too!) If you aren’t sure if you want to speak up, remember that struggle yields growth. If there were no friction between our ideas, I would worry that we aren’t really even having the same conversation.

Where do we go from here? We are only 1/3 of the way through Latin Lit 1; the arc of our year still has much more in store for us. For example, just reflecting on class today might bring up a few questions:

What is the difference between empathy, sympathy, and compassion?

Does empathy apply only to negative experiences? Can it apply to positive experiences as well?

How does our understanding of ourselves affect our understanding of each other?

Is it possible to understand empathy in a way that is completely unemotional?

Can we “uncover” empathy in such a way now that will let us read other authors with empathy? What about when we read Ovid’s Metamorphoses or someday Virgil’s Aeneid? Better yet — can the practice we get from reading these ancient authors help us treat each other with empathy too?

Teaching empathy

What is empathy? Should it be taught in schools? Can it be taught in schools?

As the world changes, education is called to change as well. Education isn’t just about facts and information anymore. Facts and information are abundant thanks to the internet. Education is then about what to do with facts and information. Teachers talk about 21st century skills: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity… and empathy.

How does empathy fit into our curriculum? Why should we make empathy a part of our curriculum? Is empathy even a teachable skill?

Here’s what a few people think:

Alan November, a thought leader in the realm of education, prioritizes empathy above other 21st century skills
Educon is one of the most innovative conferences for teachers in the country
Businesses and business leaders value empathy as a necessary skill
Oh, and this guy thinks it’s important too.

Tips on essay writing

Sorry to miss you today, Latin class! Here is your objective for today:

split into groups of three
read and comment on each other’s essays (passing them so that each person will read the two other people’s essays)

The thing to focus on here the most is to analyze the text in question and not to summarize it. Do not quote Catullus and assume that the poem speaks for itself: characterize it with carefully adjectives and support your point by using the text. Assume that the reader has read the poem before and does not need a summary; instead assume that they need to be persuaded of your analysis with the word-level evidence that you supply.

Some useful resources that you can use to generate good adjectives can be found here and here. (And of course there are plenty more places to find resources… this is just a start!)