Re: Latin Form series on transcript
Hours spent is typically how credits are awarded; the content, and level of mastery, will vary from program to program. That is why there are almost as many definitions of "one credit" of Latin as there are Latin curricula and classes! Some programs prefer breadth but not depth. We prefer to truly master the material. Allow me to quote Martin Cothran:
As I said in Post #8 above, if you are more comfortable giving less than a full credit for a Form, based on how you implemented it in your home school, that is absolutely fine. At the same time, if someone wants to award a full credit for a Form, based on their implementation in their homeschool, that is also fine.
HTH!
Hours spent is typically how credits are awarded; the content, and level of mastery, will vary from program to program. That is why there are almost as many definitions of "one credit" of Latin as there are Latin curricula and classes! Some programs prefer breadth but not depth. We prefer to truly master the material. Allow me to quote Martin Cothran:
The programs that contain more translation than the Form series tend to be inductive in their approach. They try to immerse students in the actual language, much like they would have learned English when they were young. This is similar to the whole language method used to teach reading in many public schools. If you have an experienced teacher and you are able to spend several hours a day on Latin with a group of students who are able to converse together, this method can work. But the immersion method is harder to use if you don't have that luxury. The benefits of Latin go beyond the mere ability to translate or even speak Latin: the grammar knowledge and mental skills one acquires in Latin study are at least as important. Immersion approaches do not tend to emphasize grammar or present it in a systematic way and therefore do not give the student the grammar knowledge and mental training that come from more grammar-based approaches. ...
One publisher does indeed do the first Henle Latin text in a year. We would commend them for their ability to do this. Even with the many experienced Latin instructors we have at our school, however, we would not attempt this. We emphasize full mastery at every level of learning. It is certainly not impossible to cover that much Latin in a year, but we have always preferred an approach that ensures that the student has fully internalized the knowledge and skills of each aspect of the grammar. It's a bit like doing Bible study: you may have a choice between covering the Bible in a year or studying one book of the Bible for a year. They are both equally challenging, but they do two different things. Covering the Bible in a year will give you a good overview, but does not allow you to study any one thing deeply; whereas studying one book of the Bible over a longer period of time will allow the student to have a fuller and deeper knowledge of that one text. One method is deep and the other is wide. Many seminaries offer both of these kinds of classes, but give the same course credit to both. To cover Henle Latin I in a year is indeed a great accomplishment, but we prefer a slower approach that allows for full mastery at every level. [emphasis added]
One publisher does indeed do the first Henle Latin text in a year. We would commend them for their ability to do this. Even with the many experienced Latin instructors we have at our school, however, we would not attempt this. We emphasize full mastery at every level of learning. It is certainly not impossible to cover that much Latin in a year, but we have always preferred an approach that ensures that the student has fully internalized the knowledge and skills of each aspect of the grammar. It's a bit like doing Bible study: you may have a choice between covering the Bible in a year or studying one book of the Bible for a year. They are both equally challenging, but they do two different things. Covering the Bible in a year will give you a good overview, but does not allow you to study any one thing deeply; whereas studying one book of the Bible over a longer period of time will allow the student to have a fuller and deeper knowledge of that one text. One method is deep and the other is wide. Many seminaries offer both of these kinds of classes, but give the same course credit to both. To cover Henle Latin I in a year is indeed a great accomplishment, but we prefer a slower approach that allows for full mastery at every level. [emphasis added]
HTH!
Comment