Latin PhD, K-12 Teacher, Fluency through Stories and Speaking

Jacob A.

Salvē! I hold a PhD in medieval Latin philosophy from Loyola University Chicago. I have taught Latin and Logic to students aged ten to eighteen at Covenant Classical School since 2020, and I teach advanced Latin and philosophy at multiple higher learning institutions. I also serve as a houseparent at Jubilee Village, a transitional housing program for homeless single mothers, where I live with my wife, son, and daughter. And, occasionally, I sleep.

I started learning Latin at a classical school when I was six years old, and fell in love with it at eleven after I found a guide to Latin poetry. I am passionate about teaching students to engage with Latin as a living language, speaking it confidently, reading it fluently, and developing an intuitive grasp of the subtleties of Latin literature.

I also have learned and taught using several different teaching methodologies: grammar-translation, reading method, direct method, and input-based methodologies. I also have experience teaching special needs and twice exceptional students (I am on the ASD spectrum myself). I am able to adapt my teaching style to fit an individual student’s strengths.

Latin literature spans thousands of years and every genre imaginable; it is an inexhaustible treasure trove. Because I have experiencing reading Latin texts from several eras, I know how to select authentic texts that will fit a given student's skill and interests. And I am passionate about the cross-cultural nature of Latin: I grew up in a neighborhood of immigrants and refugees, and I believe Latin is a wonderful way to enter a new world, the world of the past.