Understand Latin from the Inside -- Not as a heap of rules

Dean F.

I provide a clear path toward understanding Latin and learning to read authentic classical texts. I work with everyone from complete beginners to graduate students taking advanced Latin courses.

My approach is **conceptual**. Rather than asking students simply to memorize an ever-growing collection of rules and exceptions, I help them understand what Latin forms and constructions mean and how they fit together.

For English-speaking students, this often means starting with concepts they already understand intuitively in English and using them as a bridge toward the sometimes very different ways Latin expresses meaning. My goal is not merely to help students produce the correct translation, but to understand **why the Latin means what it means**.

I have taught Latin for over thirteen years at a public high school and previously taught at the University of Notre Dame as a teaching assistant.

* AP-certified; attended two AP Institutes for Latin teachers
* Familiar with major textbooks, including *Ecce Romani*, Cambridge, Oxford, *Latin for the New Millennium*, and *Suburani*
* National Latin Exam preparation
* Since 2019, my students have earned dozens of top-five placements at Tennessee's state Latin convention, including repeated awards in **Grammar and Reading Comprehension**. One of my Latin IV students earned **Best of Show in Grammar**, achieving the highest grammar score among all Latin IV and V competitors statewide.

My ultimate goal is to help students move beyond decoding Latin one rule at a time toward genuinely understanding what a Latin sentence is doing.

Latin does not have to be a heap of arbitrary rules. Its structures can make sense when understood from the inside.