Professional ENvelopment

Summer is halfway over. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

It started at the end of May with a few days on the beach helping my daughter and her friends celebrate their graduation from high school. I cooked for them, but other than that, I spent my time literally staring at the ocean and listening to the waves. I guess I needed that. The beach was quickly followed by a jam-packed epic trip to visit the archaeological sites of Roman Britain. I'll do another post about that soon.

Besides "resting" most teachers spend their summers learning how to be better teachers. It's what we do, and I'm no different. I LOVE to learn new stuff especially when I don't have the pressures of work/teaching to worry about. My trip to England was exactly that, a time to learn without worry.

Now, I'm sitting at MSY waiting for my flight to depart for the annual Summer Institute of the American Classical League. I attended this conference sporadically for decades. For the past few years, I've gone every year to present my work on Myth Makers and Roman Technology, classes I've been developing. I seem to know so many more people there now, and what used to be professional development has turned into professional "envelopment". I made that word up. It's kinda like work but really more like friends that you know through work that spur you on to continue learning and loving teaching classics. You're enveloped by a sense of fun and excitement to see them and learn from them.

I'll be presenting three sessions:

Hands-on History: Roman Board Games and Dice Boxes

Come play a game with me! In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create and play three Roman board games that you can teach to your students. Then, you’ll participate in a Roman STEM challenge in which you and a partner will design and build an ancient Roman-style dice box to use in playing dice games. Utilizing simple and cheap supplies (all provided for you), you’ll have a ton of fun and walk away with engaging activities that you can integrate into your regular Latin classes or use as a stand-alone club experience. Can't participate in person? Don't worry - I'll demonstrate how to play these games online too, and the STEM challenge is one that can be done at home with simple supplies from around your house.

Hands-on History: Write Like a Roman

Explore ancient writing! In this workshop, you’ll learn how to write like ancient Romans and Greeks by exploring the tools they used. After learning about the textual and archaeological evidence for different types of writing tools and materials, you’ll experience writing on papyrus and wax tablets, using squid ink, and making your own oak gall ink. All supplies will be provided - participants will receive a stylus, a small piece of papyrus, and their own container of ink. You’ll walk away with engaging activities that you can integrate into your regular Latin classes or use as a stand-alone club experience.

Engagement and Inclusion Through Narratives and Games

(I'm joining others for a segment of this one. Can you guess which part is mine? LOL) The Latin classroom can be a place of fun and imagination, and this workshop incorporates those ideas in three ways. The first presenter will speak about the power of stories to capture the imaginations of students. Attendees will receive an adapted text of an inscription to study the life of an accomplished woman in the Late Republic. The second part of the workshop will be a presentation on the medieval correspondence known as G. Unice Sue Rose, an erotic correspondence written from one nun to another in medieval Germany. Attendees will receive an adapted version and two brief activities related to the text. The third part of the workshop will feature a presentation on the games that Romans played. Attendees will learn how to make a tiny game of ROTA, a game that Roman soldiers often played and that teachers can use to teach Roman counting vocabulary in Latin class or to learn about the lives of these ancient gamers.

I'll be using a lot of hands-on supplies for these sessions so I've had to bring an entire suitcase full of crazy stuff like squid ink, cardboard scissors, and tree bark. I can't wait to see what TSA has to say about it all!

In addition to learning and presenting, I'll also be receiving a special award: the 2023 Charles Humphreys Award for Innovative Pedagogy. Here's the description: "The American Classical League has established this award in memory of Charles Humphreys to recognize excellence in teaching Classics and Classical Languages. Nominees should exemplify those qualities which Charles himself brought to teaching and the profession, namely a “sparkling enthusiasm for scholarship, education, and the Humanities,” which lead to innovative teaching practices (in the classroom or delivered through other means), including interdisciplinary instruction and authentic, real-life learning opportunities for all students. Furthermore, the nominee should show evidence of how he/she has influenced our profession by sharing and disseminating innovative practices for other teachers." I'm honored to receive this award in light of the Roman Road Project especially!

I hope to see many friends there for some professional development and ENvelopment!