TIDEWATER REGION
ANNUAL REPORT
2000-2001
The Tidewater Region continues to enjoy strength and interest in the Classics at all educational levels. The primary concern of this Region is the shortage of teachers available for positions at the secondary level. Summaries of the state reports support a picture of great activity and energy in North Carolina and Virginia.
NORTH CAROLINA: Richard Cartwright, Vice President
1) Information on the activities of the state classical
association
The North Carolina Classical Association
(NCCA) continues to hold semi-annual meetings, and this past year has seen a trend toward
offering more topics of interest to middle school and high school teachers. The fall meeting was held in Raleigh as part of
the annual three-day conference of the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina
(FLANC). Two presentations called attention
to the use of computers in teaching Latin. Mary
Pendergraft introduced the GRASP method of improving reading skills, as outlined by Claude
Parvur at www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/languages/classical.latin/tchmat.pedagogy/
gr-pref.html. Jeannne O’Neill
shared her experiences using the Internet as a teaching tool for undergraduates at
Davidson College. Betsy Dawson talked about
her experiences teaching Horace to Advanced Placement students. Other topics included oral Latin in the college
classroom and the use of music and art to introduce students to Medieval and
Ecclesiastical Latin. The Spring 2001 meeting, to be held at East Carolina University in
March, will include several presentations on Vergil, a topic that should prove interesting
and useful to area high school teachers.
2) Promotional
activities in the state
Teachers at the high and middle school
levels continue to do a good job of promoting Latin within their individual schools, with
many teachers reporting that sponsoring a National JCL chapter is an especially effective
way to attract students and distinguish Latin from other languages. Those school systems lucky enough to have Latin
teachers in the middle schools are working to coordinate their efforts during registration
periods.
Sponsoring creative middle school
activities can also be very effective in making Latin an attractive option as students
move into high school. Orange County
sponsors an annual Academic Olympics that highlights students studying Latin. Many JCL chapters do school-wide activities
(normally as part of the annual publicity contest) that promote awareness of Latin as a
“fun” and “interesting” language.
Page High School in Greensboro sponsored a
‘toga night’ for one of its home football games and set up a special JCL booth
during an all-day curriculum fair.
Elizabeth Barbee (a past president of the
NCCA) is working together with Robin Farber (co-chair of the NCJCL) to send press releases
for all the North Carolina schools that register a chapter for the state convention in
Chapel Hill.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system
will be hosting an AP Latin workshop this summer (the last week in July) which will be a
great opportunity to share ideas, address concerns, and plan activities to promote and
advance Latin in North Carolina.
3) CAMWS
membership (efforts at promotion and results)
Current membership remains about the same as last year. The Vice-President has distributed membership pamphlets at all NCCA and JCL events, in addition to talking to colleagues on an individual basis. A more effective and sustained effort needs to be made in the upcoming year.
4) Use
of CPL monies, interest in CAMWS scholarships, etc.
No CPL monies have been requested this year, despite consistent reminders. Electronic means need to be used next year.
5) Problems
and challenges in the state
While the continuing teacher shortage was
less of a problem this past year, middle school teachers are still not common, even within
large school systems. The
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system (the largest in the state) has Latin teachers in all
twelve high schools, but only a single middle school teacher. Guilford County has fared better for its middle
schools, probably due to the proximity of UNC, Greensboro and its prominence in NCJCL (it
hosts a JCL mini-convention each Fall), but Guilford County does not have Latin teachers
in all of its high schools or its middle schools.
There is a growing emphasis in North Carolina to increase the enrollment and performance of students in AP courses. Teachers with no experience teaching such courses need practical “nuts and bolts” advice on how to prepare for and teach such courses.
6) Other
The M.Ed. in Latin program at UNC,
Greensboro continues to graduate students and exert an important influence on the Latin
community throughout the state; Dave Wharton will be offering a 3-week summer course on
Roman Philosophers for those who are interested. UNC,
Chapel Hill has announced a new full-time (14 month) post-baccalaureate program in
Classics for students wishing to explore graduate work.
The M.A.T. program in the School of Education has also been revamped with two
students in Classics graduating last year.
VIRGINIA: Trudy Becker, Vice President
The year from February 1999 to February 2000 has proven busy and productive for students and teachers of Latin at both secondary and university levels across the Commonwealth.
1) Information on the activities of the state classical
association
The cornerstone of Virginia’s Classical studies continues to be the Classical Association of Virginia. Membership in CAV, which peaked last year, remains strong. Under the guidance of our new president and former CAMWS VP, Carter Drake, CAV, at its fall meeting, celebrated proudly the 90th anniversary of the organization’s founding. The fall meeting included a special report from our historian, Julie Ann Herrick, on the history of the organization, as well as a gigantic birthday cake. The spring meeting of CAV will be hosted by Hollins University on April 28, 2001. Results of the CAV-sponsored 2001 Latin Essay Contest, the Classical Essay Contest (seven different contests and levels), and the 71st Latin Tournament will be announced at that meeting. As always, interest and participation in these contests remain high. Virginia’s Latin high school teachers are to be commended for their encouragement, support, and nurturing of their students, as seen in the success of many students in both CAV contests and the CAMWS contests.
2) Promotional
activities in the state
In addition to CAV, many other organizations, secondary, university, and student-led, promoted Latin and the Classics in 2000-2001. Their activities included lectures, conferences, and symposia by Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, Hollins University, William and Mary, and Hampden-Syndey. Virginia Tech organized its third year of outreach to the third grade teachers and students at nearby Kipps Elementary School. The Classics faculty at Virginia Tech, Trudy Harrington Becker, Andrew Becker, and Terry Papillon visited and lectured at the elementary school, directed college students’ presentations there, and most importantly, sponsored the second annual Virginia Tech/Kipps Classics Day on the campus of Virginia Tech. Over 80 students plus their teachers and chaperones spent the day at Tech engaging in four different Classics mini-classes. At the end of the day each student received a copy of Usbourne Press’ Greek mythology. Hollins University played host again to the state sponsored Governor’s Latin Academy (its 13th year) during the summer of 2000, and Randolph-Macon sponsored another version of its much appreciated semi-annual Saturday Seminar in December of 2000. In the summer of 2001, University of Virginia will offer again Latin as one of its summer foreign language institutes. The Virginia Junior Classical League enjoyed another successful state convention in November of 2000 in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to over a total of 100 chapters, at least nine chapters of the VJCL are now linked to the website for the NJCL, and share information and ideas with other state chapters as well as other chapters in the country.
3) CAMWS
membership (efforts at promotion and results)
[No new information was reported in this
category.]
4) Use
of CPL monies, interest in CAMWS scholarships, etc.
CPL grants were down this year. As of this report, only Doug Bunch of the Augusta
County Institute has applied for partial funding of his summer program. Publication of CPL grant opportunities was made
through announcements and flyers at the fall meeting of the CAV and through announcements
in CAV newsletters.
5) Problems
and challenges in the state
The granting of funds from CPL continues to
be a concern. We need to find ways to inform
potential grantees of this money, and at the same time, we need to find other ways to
continue supporting worthwhile projects which may already have received CPL funds.
6) Other
The summer of 2000 saw the inauguration of the Augusta County Institute for Classical Studies. Run by Doug Bunch, a Classics student at William and Mary, the nine-day institute won praise from students, teachers, and parents alike. Mr. Bunch spoke of the institute’s mission, pedagogy, and goals at the fall meeting of the Classical Association of Virginia. The interest and enthusiasm for his project from those in attendance was palpable.
Virginia’s new state VP for CAMWS, Trudy Harrington Becker, is in Switzerland this spring, teaching at Virginia Tech’s Center for European Studies and Architecture in Riva San Vitale. She has had to send this report without some of her notes so hopes any omissions will be forgiven!
This material was posted on the web by CPL Chair, Tom Sienkewicz, at Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois. If you have any questions, you can contact him at toms@monm.edu.
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