Last week we were incredibly lucky to have Barbara Bell, author of the Minimus Latin books come and speak with us about her experiences with teaching Latin and the success of her books. The Minimus books are the top selling classics book on Amazon and she is sometimes compared to the J. K. Rowling of the classics world. While I found her story incredibly interesting and inspirational what I came away with most was how enthusiastic about Latin and Classics she was. In each story she told, whether it be about being involved with Latin in a disabled school or being granted an MBE by the queen, she was constantly promoting the field in which she works, and very clearly loves. That her enthusiasm was so evident led me to thinking about the way in which we teach ‘Literacy through Latin’ in schools, and how important it is to be enthusiastic about the subject that we are teaching. I know that I came away from the Barbara Bell meeting full of ideas and a renewed vigour for working with Latin and I hope that I am able to pass even a small amount of that passion on to the children I teach.
written by Michael Flynn, 30 March 2014
written by Michael Flynn, 30 March 2014