Curriculum Audit Findings

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.