Upper St. Clair High School

Latin teacher

Latin Club Sponsor

Group Leader for educational tours to Italy and Greece

 

The Latin Classroom

      Salve! As the Latin teacher at the High School, I have the opportunity to teach students the art of reading an ancient language. Although Latin is no longer spoken, it continues to live in the classroom as students work to translate the content of Latin texts into English. Respice, adspice, prospice--Look behind you, look around you, look ahead--is a phrase students learn early on in Latin that accurately mirrors their learning experience. From the moment they step into the Latin classroom, students begin to look behind them by reading what the ancient Romans had to say in their time. At the same time they're learning Latin, they see examples of it around them--ancient phrases still used today, Roman numerals to number the Super Bowls, connections to English words derived from Latin. Finally, students look ahead as they apply the skills they learn in Latin to other aspects of their lives. Who knows? Perhaps a "Latin Derivatives" category might someday make a USC alumnus or alumna a Jeopardy champion! The best part about the USC Latin classroom? Magistra et discipuli (teacher and students) working together to learn something new or a new way to look at something old.

Phone: 412-833-1600, x2562  Email: clardas@uscsd.k12.pa.us

 

Courses Taught

     LATIN 1: The first level Latin course presents an introduction to the Latin language. The course is based on the text Ecce Romani that follows a Roman family in the First Century A.D. The objectives of this course are to build Latin vocabulary and basic grammar skills, through drills and memorization, for the purpose of reading Latin, and to introduce students to Roman daily life.

     LATIN 2: This course continues with the same text series and objectives as Latin 1. As students master more vocabulary and grammar, they will be able to read more challenging stories. A heavy emphasis is placed not only on memorizing more vocabulary but also on memorizing all noun and adjective declensions and verb conjugations, both active and passive, in all tenses.

     LATIN 3: While the Ecce Romani text series remains a source of vocabulary, grammar and translation practice, and cultural information, third-year students begin reading authentic texts. Grammar demands increase as students learn how to translate longer readings containing increasingly complex grammar and syntax (sentence structure)

     HONORS LATIN 4: Students finish the grammar and stories in the Ecce Romani series and then focus on the poetry of Catullus. They culminate their high school Latin career with a reading of his poems as a senior project.