academics – Reflections

By John Trout

Lakehill Preparatory School

Director of Summer Programs

It’s that time of year again, when the school year is winding down and summer camps are getting ready to launch. I’m such a kid at heart, and poring through the camps catalog always makes me wish that I were a kid again! There are so many camps that young Johnny Trout would have loved!

When I was in lower elementary, I would have been really excited about “Royalty Rules!” and “Eek! Bugs!” I was always building forts and castles where knights (usually my friends or younger cousins) would serve the king (me of course!). I also enjoyed learning about the past and how things were back in the “olden days,” though it didn’t even occur to me that what that really meant was that I enjoy history. “Royalty Rules!” would have been perfect blend of these two interests! And, when I wasn’t building forts, I was digging in the dirt for bugs. The natural world has always fascinated me, and a camp devoted to our multi-legged skittering friends would have been right up my alley!

In late elementary, I discovered two things: I really enjoy cooking, and superheroes are awesome! So, I would have been making tracks to “Simply Snacks” camp and “Mutants, Marvels, and Superheroes.” I love the empowerment of cooking camps; I remember being quite pleased when I made a treat that someone else enjoyed as much as I did, and I still enjoy cooking today. And, though I loved reading comics and enjoying comic book characters, I always wanted to take it to the next level by creating my own characters and stories, and making my own fantastic worlds come to life. These camps would have been perfect for me!

In middle and upper school, I discovered that I love making things. The “Advanced Puppetcraft Workshop” camp would have been perfect for me. The emphasis on sewing technique and well-planned designs means creating and constructing a puppet that is fun, meaningful, and built-to-last. I also discovered my love of the English Language throughout the centuries. “Summer with the Bard” camp would have given me the chance to practice my best Elizabethan Shakespeare accent while doing something else I simply didn’t do enough when I was growing up: performing in front of a crowd! I had horrible stage-fright until I was an adult, but Shakespeare and the company of friends would have helped me shake that much sooner!

These camps and more still have seats available this summer, but time is running out to sign up! If you think your child would love any of these camps as much as I would have, sign up today. If you wait too long, you might find that I took the last seat myself!

About Lakehill Summer Camps

Lakehill Summer Camps are unique in offering quality, teacher-led camps at an affordable price, with FREE before-camp and after-camp care available every day. Half-day, week-long camps are just $240 per week, while full-day, week-long camps are priced at just $315 per week. Mix and match from a variety of camps to create your perfect summer!

Find out more about Lakehill Summer Camps.

Lakehill Summer Camps – Voted Best Summer Camp by the readers of Lakewood, Lake Highlands, and Park Cities Bubblelife!

By Victoria John
Latin Teacher, Lakehill Preparatory School

Friends, Romans, Metroplex, lend me your ears;

I come to praise Latin, not to bury it.

The good that Latin does lives after it…

For Latin is an honorable language.

Teaching Latin allows me to fulfill the goal of the ancient philosopher Plato, “Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” For the past 13 years, by making Latin relevant and fun at Lakehill Preparatory School, I have been rewarded by the gift of perceiving the “peculiar bent of the genius of each” and every student and class.

People ask me, “Why teach Latin? It’s a dead language.” I respond, “Why not? Why label it ‘dead’ just because it’s not spoken? It’s the basis of over 60 percent of English words.” If you pay attention, you will see Latin’s ubiquitous heritage.

Latin is the basis of the modern Romance languages including French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. Over the years I’ve taught students who speak one or more of these languages.

Students feel empowered when their vocabulary suddenly becomes an integral connection to learning a new language. It is this empowerment that ignites their curiosity, nurtures their motivation, and develops leadership skills.

It’s also interesting that those students who don’t excel in other academics shine in Latin. After a week, they are amazed at what they’ve learned. At the end of the first semester, they are translating entire pages of Latin into English. Students discover Latin outside of class and are excited to bring their finds to share with classmates and display on a bulletin board, located centrally in the Middle School hallway.

Students find Latin in restaurants with the advertisement inviting the public to, “seize the burrito” with the words, carpe burrito. They find Latin on street signs, in scientific names for plants and animals, history, geography and legal terminology. A student learned that the Romans called the Mediterranean Sea, mare nostrum, translated as “our sea.” Another figured out Mediterranean derives from two Latin words: media, in the middle, and terra, land.

Latin has made a comeback in the last 20 years, as seen in the growing number of classes taught in American public and private schools. The number of students taking the National Latin Exam has increased to more than 150,000 worldwide. Latin is a required academic course in seventh and eighth grades at Lakehill, with about 40 percent of Lakehill students earning awards on the annual National Latin Exam over the last 10 years.

Every time my students use the words export, import, and report they are using Latin. Every time they sing or play the piano and note the Italian words fortissimo and crescendo, they are seeing the Italian version of Latin. When students study tessellation in math, they are using Latin.

Old is not bad. A classical education is exemplary. In history, we study the past to understand and explain the present. In art, we examine frescoes of Giotto to rediscover the classics and study humanism. In geography and philosophy, we review ancient explorers and philosophers to understand our roots as well as ourselves.

It makes perfect sense that we study Latin for its own virtue and as a basis for other languages. By teaching Latin, I am able to discover “the peculiar bent of the genius of each” student.

And for the record, I’ve been told that some of the people in San Marino, Italy, still speak a form of Latin.

Latin is an honorable language.

Mirabile dictu!