5 quotes from the Book of Sirach to help you navigate life

A little-known book from ancient times that provides timeless wisdom Many in the various online spheres have turned to ancient wisdom to help navigate and look for insights into how to manage the various problems and obstacles of life. Stoicism, an ancient Roman philosophy, for example, has become very popular in recent years. Greek and Roman literature contains much that is praiseworthy and still very useful as advice. You should not neglect another ancient book,…

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3 benefits of learning Latin

When you have been teaching Latin for fourteen years you get to see different students learn in different ways. You also see that there are general patterns from your own learning and teaching that you notice about learning Latin. Below I will write about three benefits of learning Latin. Access ancient language The first benefit of learning Latin is that you can access ancient knowledge without any need for an intermediary. Most of the works…

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Improve your self-talk to improve your well being

It could be the key to motivation and planning Ever since we can remember we have known that we feel emotions and that as we grow older we come to learn that there are proper ways and improper ways to express those emotions. For many of us as we grow up we tend to lose the ability to “feel how we feel.” That is, we can get disconnected from ourselves and just be on “auto-pilot,”…

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How to wake up early

Writers especially say that in the morning, when the mind is still sort of in a dream state, is the best time to get writing/editing done. You write out words effortlessly in the quiet of your room, the sun barely peaks through the clouds and trees outside. The clickety-clack of the keyboard is all you hear and soon, you produce 500-1000 words a day all before everyone else is awake. You feel satisfied as you…

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3 Reasons 9/11 is a meme and how to use memes to teach historical events

On September 11, 2001, as the first plane hit the first tower, I was asleep. I was asleep cozy in my warm bed. I was in college but the school year would not start for another week. My mother came into my room, around 8 am to wake me up by telling me in Spanish, “wake up son, we are under attack.” But then the second plane had hit so there was no question this…

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4 Lessons on how to govern from ancient Rome

People often ask what is the relevance of reading and studying history especially ancient history. Their problems and concerns seem so far removed from ours that it is difficult to connect with them anymore. Besides, we moderns have this belief that we have progressed and made some sort of moral advancement or evolution. The ancients have no use for us anymore. But in the following I will show you that this is not true. The…

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How to breakdown a Latin sentence

In the old days of teaching, grammar was the first step in the Trivium. One of the things emphasized was recognition of grammatical patterns. Teachers would have students diagram sentences, like this, in order to learn grammar and how language is built. Now there are many ways to do this and it can even be helpful, especially in beginning Latin to diagram sentences and parse out the different parts of a sentence. The method I…

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Starting over

A lot of teachers take time during the summer to do nothing school related or to go travel and take vacations to places that it would not be possible to do during the school year. Last summer was different because of COVID lockdowns and quarantines. I know that for me the second semester was exhausting and I was left with the feeling of whether I really taught everything that I needed to teach to everyone.…

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Ancient ways to learn Latin

Begin by working up from Monosticha Catonis, Disticha Catonis, Sententiae Publii Syrii, Sentences from the Vulgate, Sentences from Latin literature, Selections from Sacra Historia, and then read Vulgate, Gospels, Psalms, Proverbs. The student at this point should be ready to read Eutropius and then either Florus or Caesar. After that it is up to the teacher to decide but reading selections from Cicero and Pliny would be good. In the third level the teacher should…

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