the Monmouth-Roseville Hs latin program is in danger
- Article: MRHS Latin Program in Danger Again from the Galesburg Register-Mail
From Professor Robert Holschuh Simmons, ([email protected])
Co-Chair of Classics at Monmouth College:
Latin at MRHS would seem to be thriving. The numbers in the three sections of Latin have been good, the participation in Latin Club has been robust and enthusiastic, and Magistra Baker is doing a good job of teaching. However, Monmouth-Roseville’s new principal, superintendent, and Board of Education are planning again this year to discontinue Latin instruction at the school--last year it was to add an assistant band director instead; this year it is to add a Spanish teacher instead. Stories about the saga over the past year are available here and here.
I would very much appreciate your help to try to communicate to these decision-makers the valuable, vital role that Latin plays at MRHS, 100+ years into its existence at the school. If you would be willing to write in support of Latin at MRHS, here are the addresses of the principal, superintendent, and school board:
In my own messages, I am using the salutation “Dear Mr. Ewing, Mr. Fletcher, and members of the Board of Education.” If you know of others whom you think could write in support of the subject, please pass on this communication.
Last year, the expressions of support for MRHS’s Latin program led the district to reconsider its decision and come up with a pretty sharp alternative: to hire Monmouth College graduate Maddie Baker to teach three sections of Latin and three sections of English Language Learners, another subject for which teacher demand exceeds supply. No beginning teacher can immediately be everything that Magistra Baker’s multi-award-winning predecessor, Brian Tibbets, was, but the roars of incredulity and leaps into plans for resistance by Latin students across levels when they heard of this latest plan show that she is inspiring the kind of passion in her students that many Latin teachers across the state and country do.
There are millions of points potentially to bring up in support of the subject and the co-curricular activities that accompany it. But personally-felt reasons are best, where possible. Among the themes that you might consider in your messages are the following:
*Latin serves a breadth of types of students (many of which groups can easily overlap), including the following:
*Latin’s co-curricular activities tend to draw people with big imaginations and a willingness to step outside of their normal identities:
*MRHS brings a lot of students to two high school Latin conventions each year, full of Roman-focused dress, role-playing, and other activities and competitions;
*MRHS has had big groups of students sing Christmas carols in Latin outside of local restaurants each December;
*The Latin Club has had a creative presence in each year’s MRHS Homecoming parade.
*Those co-curricular activities allow options for leadership by students who would not necessarily have thought of themselves as leaders:
*MRHS has hosted one of the state Latin conventions many times, including 2018, and it is scheduled to do so in 2020;
*MRHS students made up buttons with Latin expressions on them for visitors at several of Monmouth College’s Classics Days;
*MRHS students take primary responsibility for the questions, organization, and recruitment for each year’s Classics Bee for local 5th-8th-graders.
What seems to have won over the decision-makers last spring was a combination of the quantity of communications they received, and the passion of them. If you have many things to say, multiple messages would work just fine. If you would feel comfortable cc’ing me on your messages (as many of you did last year), it would help me to keep track of who all is expressing support for his program’s continuance. But please do not feel obligated to do so.
Thank you for whatever you can do to keep this local treasure alive. Monmouth-Roseville is a fine school, but Latin is one of the things that make it particularly stand out.
Co-Chair of Classics at Monmouth College:
Latin at MRHS would seem to be thriving. The numbers in the three sections of Latin have been good, the participation in Latin Club has been robust and enthusiastic, and Magistra Baker is doing a good job of teaching. However, Monmouth-Roseville’s new principal, superintendent, and Board of Education are planning again this year to discontinue Latin instruction at the school--last year it was to add an assistant band director instead; this year it is to add a Spanish teacher instead. Stories about the saga over the past year are available here and here.
I would very much appreciate your help to try to communicate to these decision-makers the valuable, vital role that Latin plays at MRHS, 100+ years into its existence at the school. If you would be willing to write in support of Latin at MRHS, here are the addresses of the principal, superintendent, and school board:
- Principal: [email protected]
- Superintendent: [email protected]
- Board of Education:
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
In my own messages, I am using the salutation “Dear Mr. Ewing, Mr. Fletcher, and members of the Board of Education.” If you know of others whom you think could write in support of the subject, please pass on this communication.
Last year, the expressions of support for MRHS’s Latin program led the district to reconsider its decision and come up with a pretty sharp alternative: to hire Monmouth College graduate Maddie Baker to teach three sections of Latin and three sections of English Language Learners, another subject for which teacher demand exceeds supply. No beginning teacher can immediately be everything that Magistra Baker’s multi-award-winning predecessor, Brian Tibbets, was, but the roars of incredulity and leaps into plans for resistance by Latin students across levels when they heard of this latest plan show that she is inspiring the kind of passion in her students that many Latin teachers across the state and country do.
There are millions of points potentially to bring up in support of the subject and the co-curricular activities that accompany it. But personally-felt reasons are best, where possible. Among the themes that you might consider in your messages are the following:
*Latin serves a breadth of types of students (many of which groups can easily overlap), including the following:
- Those who appreciate the intellectual challenge of a language structured differently from English;
- Those who hope to use it to improve their grasp on English and modern Romance languages;
- Those who wish to perform better on standardized tests;
- Those with certain learning disabilities;
- Those who value being intellectually transported to a time and place superficially very different from their own, but also very similar to their own, on closer look;
- Those who are more comfortable with the typical focus in Latin on reading and writing, rather than on speaking and listening.
*Latin’s co-curricular activities tend to draw people with big imaginations and a willingness to step outside of their normal identities:
*MRHS brings a lot of students to two high school Latin conventions each year, full of Roman-focused dress, role-playing, and other activities and competitions;
*MRHS has had big groups of students sing Christmas carols in Latin outside of local restaurants each December;
*The Latin Club has had a creative presence in each year’s MRHS Homecoming parade.
*Those co-curricular activities allow options for leadership by students who would not necessarily have thought of themselves as leaders:
*MRHS has hosted one of the state Latin conventions many times, including 2018, and it is scheduled to do so in 2020;
*MRHS students made up buttons with Latin expressions on them for visitors at several of Monmouth College’s Classics Days;
*MRHS students take primary responsibility for the questions, organization, and recruitment for each year’s Classics Bee for local 5th-8th-graders.
What seems to have won over the decision-makers last spring was a combination of the quantity of communications they received, and the passion of them. If you have many things to say, multiple messages would work just fine. If you would feel comfortable cc’ing me on your messages (as many of you did last year), it would help me to keep track of who all is expressing support for his program’s continuance. But please do not feel obligated to do so.
Thank you for whatever you can do to keep this local treasure alive. Monmouth-Roseville is a fine school, but Latin is one of the things that make it particularly stand out.