Marcus Tullius Cicero once said "Assiduus usus uni rei deditus et ingenium et artem saepe vincit." I believe the same thing, "consistent work devoted to a single subject often wins out over both intelligence and skill." I also believe that a study of the Classics, from Ancient Greece through Ancient Rome, is one of the most important things an American student can study today, because so much of who we are as a nation and a culture comes directly from Ancient Rome. A study of the past is really a study of the present, and the more we know about where we came from, the more we can determine about where we will go in the future. Studying the Classics is about studying who we are.
I have three years of experience teaching Latin and Introduction to Foreign Language to middle and high school students in Northern Virginia, but I recently moved to Seattle and have brought my experience with me. I am hoping to work with students to help them gain an understanding of Ancient Rome or Ancient Greece, and also to help them gain an understanding of our world today. Though my training is in the Classics, I also feel very comfortable helping students with English grammar, English reading skills, and English writing skills. I am also happy to offer tutoring help in reading the classical authors in English translation. Vergil and Ovid were important to the Romans in Latin, but they can also be difficult to understand even in English.
In terms of tutoring methods, I am happy to work face-to-face, online, over the phone, or through Skype. My preference is face-to-face, because I find that allows for the most effective interaction between tutor and tutee. As for individual teaching, training, and practice methods, that will vary student to student. I've spent the last three years working with many different kinds of students who had many different kinds of teaching needs, and I'm looking forward to applying my work with them in group settings to tailoring sessions to individuals or small groups. I have been known to use everything from games and songs to lectures and repetition exercises to help students gain a full understanding of material.
Not only am I willing to help students already enrolled in classes, but I am also happy to help students who want to learn Latin, or Greek, or Classical Mythology, Culture, or History from scratch with lessons planned around each individual student and their personal educational goals. There are a number of online and mail-in tests available for students to challenge themselves by competing academically with other students around the world and across the country. There are also Latin Conventions in the Spring and Summer that students can attend to participate in all kinds of competitions, from 2-dimensional art competitions and costume contests, to pencil and paper testing sessions and oral competitions. There are also academic competitions similar to It's Academic that students can participate in which focus entirely on the Language, History, Culture, and Mythology of Ancient Rome. I am happy to help any student achieve any success he/she wishes to pursue.
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