Latin Online

I became a Latin geek this year. I learned that Caesar was an illiterate turtle, Cicero vividly described his bowel movements, and Catullus lied about having eight straight men. You know, just the casual things you learn in Latin…

In the summer, I applied to Stanford Online High School as a part-time student so that I could take my Latin class for the year. I had taken three years of Latin previously and found that it came naturally to me at my old school.

After taking the placement test, I decided I needed to take Latin III again. I don’t actually know how I did on the test, but the test gave me a sense of how much more challenging Stanford OHS would be. I do not regret this choice as AP Latin would have involved spending a year on just two works, whereas in Latin III, I would get to read multiple enjoyable works that I didn’t get to read in my previous Latin III class. 

Though at first I disliked the idea of being tied into a specific schedule for class, the class sign in time has yet to annoy me. I can sign into class from any computer or phone in any place with internet connection. I have signed in from Santa Monica in a theatre before a tech run, I have signed in from the car while changing clothes, but most often I sign in from bed while eating cereal.

 I don’t know what words could possibly express how much I love my Latin class. Though grammatically I struggled for the first couple weeks, my magistra is supportive and available for one-on-one help. I had the pleasure of meeting her for lunch on a visit to Stanford. Her enthusiastic personality shines online just as well as it does in person. My classmates are fascinating, accomplished artists and athletes, and yet ardent Latin geeks. I look forward to meeting them at Latin Con. Having such a vivacious classroom has pushed me to step up my Latin game and to find so much enjoyment in it. 

ps. Check out the tumblr blog that I made on Cicero! thegreatcicero.tumblr.com