Last spring during my practicum in
instructional leadership, I was asked to conduct a curriculum audit with a
focus on the cultural responsiveness of the Latin curriculum in grades 6-12 at my
school. In looking back at it this fall,
I realized there was a lot of information in there that might be helpful in
thinking about Latin programs, so I’m sharing an abbreviated version here. This week I’ll post my observations about our
program. Next I’ll follow up with
my recommendations. - Parva
Background
The Latin program at
our school was added about the same time as the seventh and eighth grades were
added in the early 1980s. Until two
years ago, Latin started in the fifth grade and was required for fifth and
sixth graders. The administration made
the decision to cut the program, and now Latin is only required for a four-week
trial period at the start of sixth grade, along with Spanish and Mandarin. At the end of this carousel period, students
choose one language to take for the remainder of the sixth grade with the
expectation that they will continue in that language through the seventh and
eighth grades. Most students choose to
continue to the upper school after eighth grade, and the majority of students
continue to study the language they chose in the sixth grade.
Findings
Finding 1:
The teaching staff. The Latin
teachers are experts in their field and have an excellent understanding of the
Latin language and appropriate pedagogy, but do not reflect the racial, ethnic,
and sexuality diversity of their students.
All four of the current teachers in the program are White, cisgender,
heterosexuals. Although they do not
reflect the diversity of their students, the teachers make a point to teach about
human rights, social awareness, and equity in the curriculum. One teacher observed that, while most of the
literature remaining from the ancient world is from an upper-class male
perspective, she makes an effort “to turn students’ attention to the ‘other’ in
the account.” Additionally, while
reading the Cambridge Latin Course text used in lower levels, she tries to ask
students about the motivations of the females and slaves in the stories. Another teacher mentioned that she plans
research in order for students to gain a better understanding of the lives of
slaves and women in the ancient world. An
administrator remarked that he had heard the Latin teachers mention that they
viewed teaching about privilege in the ancient world as an important lens
through which students can view the modern world in a more critical way that
tends to provoke less defensiveness. One
student remarked, “Teachers do a good job of offering different perspectives
and pointing out that sometimes we are looking at just one person’s opinion.”
Additionally,
students feel that the Latin teachers make a point of being open and accepting
to people of all backgrounds, sexualities, and gender identification. One student commented, “The safe zone sign on
the door gives a message of openness.”
Another student said, “[This] is one of the more inclusive private
schools in Austin in terms of its faculty and the environment created on
campus, especially for being a non-diverse school. The Latin Department leads the way for that –
even before there was a diversity director.”
Finding 2: Diversity in the
curriculum. The teachers in the
program are aware of the need to bring in diverse perspectives into the Latin
curriculum, especially since much of the literature from the ancient world was
written by White, Roman men. There is an
effort to incorporate diverse perspectives through several means. First, the textbook series used in many of
the courses in the Latin program has a variety of characters that exemplify the
non-upper class, male, Roman perspective.
The teachers interviewed all mentioned how important it was for students
to have these varied perspectives.
Additionally, other perspectives are brought into class via student
choice projects. Teachers mentioned
various projects on the issues of homosexuality, gender, and slavery in the
ancient world, among other topics. One student stated, “The teachers work to make Latin
meaningful to students of all backgrounds.”
Another student observer noted that the curriculum serves students well
by “preparing [them] for a multicultural world by
teaching them how to understand other cultures and giving them some degree of
freedom in how they learn.” That student
continued, “The curriculum prepares students for the world because discussion
is not just limited to Latin and ancient Rome; it’s Latin and Roman culture
evaluated through the lens of our own society. [The teacher] encourages
students to take lessons from ancient culture and apply them to their own
lives. She makes an effort to help students see how the Classics are still
relevant.” Finally, different
perspectives are brought into some classes through the reading of funerary
inscriptions and other evidence of daily life and historical fiction written in
English that offers opportunities to view the Roman world through different
lenses. One measure of the success of the
program in this regard is that 73% of student respondents on one teacher’s
survey identified Latin as a class that had changed their worldview in some
way. This is a clear indication that the
teachers are bringing in different perspectives and views to challenge students
beliefs and long-held viewpoints.
Finding 3:
Serving students of varying ability levels. The Latin teachers are making a clear
effort to serve students of varying ability levels well through a variety of
methods. The teachers in the Latin program are working to serve all their
students by offering students a variety of ways to learn, to assess learning,
and to collaborate.
Recently
the Latin teachers met to talk about recent changes to the curriculum. Most
teachers in the program have
been experimenting with a technique developed in response to recent research in
second language acquisition typically referred to as Comprehensible Input (CI). The teachers using these methods provided a
great deal of anecdotal evidence about how students who would have struggled
with a more grammar-focused method of learning were being successful in
learning Latin. In
an interview, one teacher stated, “I strive to make the communication we
use in class comprehensible to everyone.
I have taught students strategies to let me know that they don’t
understand. This is done without
judgment.” She went on to share the
story of a student who came into a class with no Latin background while the
others had previously studied for a year or more. The teacher reported that by the end of the
year that student was on an level playing field with the others in the class.
There is
also an effort being made by the teachers to account for variations in interest
and ability level. An administrator
noted that the way the Latin teachers structure homework and quizzes to allow
students to retake assessments suggests that “all kinds of different workers
are welcome and celebrated.” The
majority of the teachers offer a great deal of student choice in projects. One student observer noted that during class
a teacher offered students different options for completing a certain assignment. The observer wrote, “[The
teacher] offered several options for ways to complete the work depending on
each student’s skills and abilities and difficulties, e.g. for the reading
homework, [the teacher] offered the option to listen to the book as an
audiobook (and provided information on how to access it) and advised students
who have a hard time staying on schedule to get ahead on weekends. She appears
to be very thoughtful about the ways students learn and understands that one
size doesn’t necessarily fit all.” One
teacher reported in her interview that she offers ways to let students
perform in different ways depending on their abilities. She continued, “Writing is a way that
students with really high ability can show that off. Students with low ability can still make
simple compositions when given a glossary of vocabulary to choose from. Repetitions help students on the low
end. I give jobs like ‘quiz writer’ to
students on the high end.” Another
teacher mentioned that she uses collaborative work to make Latin accessible to
all. She said that pairing students of
high and low ability together is most effective, but added that “pairing low
level kids allows for more intervention from the teacher” and could be
effective at different times also.
Finding 4:
Students enrolled in Latin. Every
Latin class observed had an excellent rapport with each other and with their
instructor; although the percentage of students of color was lower in the Latin
program than in the student body at large. The majority of students who sign up
to take Latin (75% in one section of the sixth grade) are students whose
families have a deep connection with the school community, and thereby a
greater knowledge of the Latin program at the school. Sixth grade is an important entry point at
the school when another section of students is added. It is also the starting point for students to
enter the Latin program. This year not
a single student new to the community signed up for sixth grade Latin.
Once students
enter the Latin program, there is wide agreement that it is an inclusive
community. One parent mentioned that all
students feel welcome in the Latin program and are treated equitably no matter
their background. A student observer
noted in one Latin class that “everyone in the class
seems to be very close with everyone else and they are always joking around
with each other and with [the teacher].”
A similar esprit de corps was
present in every class observed for this curriculum audit.
