AD ASTRA: Classics in Space

Years ago, when I was teaching at my previous school, the 8th-grade science teacher learned about a program called NearLink, associated with NASA somehow. To be honest, I don't even remember what it was about, but she asked the other 8th-grade teachers to develop cross-curricular activities that could be incorporated into the space science lessons. Once done, the kids got to visit the Louisiana Art and Science Museum for a hands-on mission. I thought it sounded super cool, and even though I was a Latin teacher, I committed to finding a way to incorporate Latin into space. It ended up being an amazing rabbit hole experience for my teaching because I didn't realize I'd find so much stuff!

It started with my discovery of the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature by the International Astronomical Union. This organization, founded in 1919, oversees the naming of planetary features and new planetary bodies. Its gazetteer is a wonder of words - it shows all the named features of every planet, moon, asteroid, etc., and explains where that name came from! It was here that I discovered that all the planetary features of the moon are named in LATIN!! And that the moons of Jupiter are all named after the female victims of Zeus. And sooooo many more connections to Greek mythology and the Latin language.

The Gazetteer led me to look into the mythology-themed naming of NASA missions. During that research (and trust that it was hard - the internet was just getting going in schools when I was doing this work), I found another fabulous resource: an entire book called Origin of NASA Names where I learned why early NASA engineers oddly chose the name "Apollo" for missions to the moon.

NASA artists included mythological images on some of their patches as well. The NASA Mission Patch Book has pristine images of all the patches and an explanation from astronauts of why they designed them the way they did. There's even some careless Latin on one! (Apollo XIII with "ex luna, scientia")

But hands down, the coolest classical connection I found to space was the art of Robert McCall. I had visited the Louisiana Art and Science Museum one day around the time of our school project and saw the most amazing, otherworldly paintings in an exhibit that featured his art. In many of his paintings, I saw classical columns, temples, obelisks, pyramids, and even famous ancient Greek scientists. I learned that the artist had painted the murals in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and had done patch artwork for NASA. Since I couldn't find his art online, I called the museum to see if they had more information about the artist. When I told the museum director about my classics in space project, she asked if I might want to talk to the artist himself. What?! I thought. "That would be amazing!" I remember squeaking out to her over the phone. She called the next day to tell me that he had agreed to speak with me, and then she gave me his phone number. I called him with such trepidation, but it was thrilling to speak with him. He answered my questions thoughtfully and even offered to send me some slides of paintings. And he did!! I still have those slides to this day.

I presented the lessons I created for the NearLink unit at the 2000 annual meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South in Knoxville, TN, "Ad Astra: Using Latin in a Cross-Curricular Unit on Planetary Nomenclature." There, I was approached by an online company that wanted to publish the project on its Website. It eventually won an award for creativity. Then the local newspaper, the Baton Rouge Advocate, called to interview me about the award and project. It yielded a large full-page interview with pictures of the students' work - they designed mission patches and wrote Latin mottos for the mission. 

The new Artemis missions have caused me to reminisce about that project so many years ago. Maybe it's time for a revisit! In case your students are obsessed with Artemis and the new moon missions, I've put together this list of resources. Please use it and enjoy the magic of classics in space.

Happy Saturnalia: Curse like a Roman But Be Kind to Strangers on the Internet!

Amid the Covid pandemic shutdowns of 2020, a Twitter (X) friend of mine posted an article on her blog about an ancient Roman bread recipe she had recreated. A brilliant experimental archaeologist, Dr. Farrell Monaco recreates ancient Roman food recipes from Cato the Elder and Apicius, and to the benefit of everyone, writes extensively about her work and shares it freely.

In the article, she misused a Latin phrase or two. She's not a linguist, and I could tell what she meant. When a mutual friend posted her article in a Facebook group for classical reenactors, a Latin teacher commented on the article, "I couldn't get past the horrible Latin." That was it. That was the comment. Never mind the amazing work that had gone into the experiment, the beautiful photos in the article, or on-point references to ancient texts. The comment incensed me. A generous and knowledgeable professional was being chewed up and spit out by a person who should have been thankful for her sharing. Instead, haters were nitpicking for no good reason.

Feeling bad for her, I decided to reach out to my friend and offer help with her Latin. She was so grateful. The task she asked me to complete was fascinating - a Latin curse! I enjoyed researching it and helping my fellow classics enthusiast. I thought nothing else of it. I got to help someone whose work I admired.

But a month later, I was surprised to find a mysterious delivery at my front door. The curse I translated was turned into a rolling pin for gingerbread!! With it, I could now make my own curse tablet gingerbread - how cool is that!!!

Can we all just be a bit kinder in our interactions with strangers? The internet brings out the worst in us all sometimes, but it doesn't have to be that way. OK, I'm done with my kindness rant. I find it ironic that I'm advocating for kindness to strangers in the context of writing a curse tablet script. But hey, the internet is a strange place.

And by the way, you can buy this amazing thing here. And you should read her blog too! She explains curse tablets (or DEFIXIONES) really well right here.

A "Renewed" Issue: Why doesn't the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certify teachers of Latin (and other languages)?

On an early December Saturday morning, bleary-eyed, after waiting for 8 months, I woke up to check my scores. When I was able to finally log in to my slow and outdated Chromebook, fireworks announced the good news:

My national teaching certification was renewed for another 5 years. I was excited but also sad. Here's the story.

Managed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, this certification is considered the gold standard in the educational world. Teachers go through a rigorous assessment process that involves filming themselves teaching, writing complicated, reflective essays about their practice, and gathering evidence of their growth and leadership in their respective educational communities. It's hard work and EXPENSIVE. My renewal certification cost $565, but initial certification is more expensive - my initial certification cost $1500. (The current price tag is $1900.) I would like to thank APEL, a professional organization for teachers in Louisiana, that granted me a scholarship to offset this expense. In addition to expense, it's also a lengthy process. Teachers submit their "portfolios" online to NBPTS in April or May, and they don't receive results until November (for first-timers) or December (for renewals, like me). 

You might be wondering why teachers do it. While I would like to say that it's prestige and respect, and that is PART of it, there's a more important reason. (Make no mistake - I am very proud to be a "National Board Certified Teacher" or NBCT. That little tag behind my name on social media or email means I've worked hard to prove that I understand how to be a good teacher.) But for many teachers, it's also about extra pay. Many school districts offer large salary stipends for National Board certification holders, mine included. In Louisiana where teachers are some of the lowest-paid professionals in the country, that extra money every year is a life-saver. And I'm sure it's no different in many other states.

I had forgotten about the date when I woke up on Saturday morning, despite my calendar reminder. It was a post I saw in a social media group that drew my attention and reminded me to check my scores. And despite today's good news, I could not help but think about my original certification process and the disappointment it caused me. 

In 2003, I began working on my initial National Board certification in which I showcased my Latin classes as part of the World Languages - Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood certification category. I worked diligently throughout the year to complete all four components and get them turned in on time. Back in the day, every candidate received "the box" in the mail that contained all the necessary documents and materials for the certification process. Teachers would then use that same box to submit their materials which included (believe it or not) VHS tape recordings. I remember the feeling of accomplishment in April to finally be done and mail that box back. Then, the waiting began. 

And then, it abruptly stopped when I received a letter in the mail from the NBPTS about how I was one of 27 teachers whose portfolios would not be graded due to a low enrollment number in that subject area. If memory serves, I believe I got the letter in the summer. The letter stated that because of the low number of candidates, the NBPTS could not accurately score our portfolios. They told us that we could withdraw and get a refund of our money OR we could recruit other Latin teachers to sign up and go through the process in the following year. If the NB had enough candidates to accurately score our portfolios, all candidates would receive their scores in the fall of 2004. I was upset, as you can imagine. The biggest worry I had was that I might never get my scores. I had worked SO hard. I was angry.

Eventually, our small cohort of Latin teachers solved the problem by promoting the certification to others like us. We wanted our scores! In addition, we were allowed to renew our certifications even though there was no longer a Latin certification category because the renewal process is more broadly assessed. I was so lucky to have that opportunity.

Shortly after we finally received our first scores in November of 2004 (after almost two years of waiting), NBPTS told us that they would no longer offer the certification for Latin teachers. Through the years, as word of national board certification grew, many Latin teachers asked why they could not get certified. The American Classical League (the premier professional organization for K-12 classics teachers in the US) has advocated to the NBPTS many times over the years about this issue to no avail. Latin teachers number in the 2000s in the US. Why does NBPTS offer no certification for us? And we aren't alone. There are other language teachers for whom the NBPTS offers no opportunity for certification. In 2015, teachers of Japanese (a slightly more commonly taught language than Latin in the US) petitioned the NBPTS with the same complaint I'm making here.

So, until my fellow language teachers around the US can have the same opportunities as I do, every November, I'm going to have the same twinge of sadness when I see the announcements congratulating new NBCTs or renewing teachers. It's simply not fair that not all teachers have this opportunity, and I hope the NBPTS can be more inclusive of these teachers someday soon.

NOTA BENE: If you are a Latin teacher seeking information on how to advocate for change, you can submit a question on the NBPTS's website here, and here is the page listing all of NBPTS's board members - I suggest you mention my blog post as I have reached out already to two of them whom I know personally. But you should reach out to them too and make your case. (Although their email addresses are not listed on the Website, you can Google them and easily find this information.) Many of them are current classroom teachers who can hopefully understand our plight.