Schedule
The maximum size for a single class is 15 students. The scheduled times for the one course being offered in the fall semester (Latin I) are posted below. Both a morning and an evening class are offered. When the first section of Latin I is filled, new students will be placed in Section 2. If the meeting time for a section other than the one in which you’ve been placed is more convenient for your personal schedule, let me know and I may be able to move you. Still, earlier sign-ups will have priority of choice. And while I will do what I can to make class times as convenient as possible for everyone, the scheduling options for individual students will in the end all depend on enrollment. I have no way of knowing ahead of time how many people will sign up, and so while there may be several choices for class times, there might just as easily be only two.
Section 1 Morning:
Section 2 Morning (only to be held if Section 1 Morning fills):
Section 1 Evening:
Section 2 Evening (only to be held if Section 1 Evening fills):
Students enter the online classroom by clicking on the button marked “Enter Classroom” at the top of the Carmenta Online Latin Classroom web page.
The spring semester begins on Jan. 5, 2009 and goes to Apr. 24, 2009. Click here to see a detailed schedule of class meetings: Latin I Spring 2009 Course Calendar. Also, I would very much appreciate feedback from individual students regarding what class times and days would work better for them in the future. This information will affect my decisions concerning the scheduling of class times in the spring 2009 semester and semesters following. Contact page. Be aware that the class times shown are subject to the twice-yearly U.S.-daylight-standard-time/daylight-saving-time hour time change. If you live in an area that does not observe this particular time change, be aware that for you the time of the class may change mid-semester. The time change in this coming semester will be happening on November 2, 2008. On this day, clocks in observing areas will be set back one hour. If you live in a region that observes this time change, for you class will always be held at the times listed above.
The complete course is broken into four semesters: Latin I, Latin II, Latin III, and Latin IV. I am planning to offer Latin II in spring 2009, Latin III in summer 2009, and Latin IV in fall 2009. In spring 2009, along with Latin II, I also plan to offer Latin I again. In summer 2009, Latin I, Latin II, and Latin III will all be offered. And assuming sufficient demand, in one year I will be offering all four classes simultaneously. This will allow students to begin the course whenever it is convenient for them. It will also give them the option of repeating a semester if necessary or (even though I can’t say that I recommend this) taking a semester off and continuing the following semester. My one absolute requirement (and this I am sure need not even be mentioned but I’ll mention it anyway) is that every student take the semesters in order.
The course, all four semesters, will be taught using a single text, the excellent and eminently well-organized A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin by John F. Collins. This text, sold at a very reasonable price compared to most schoolbooks, can be purchased on the following sites: Click for sites. I believe this text is suitable for any Latin student, no matter what the student’s particular goals in taking the language. Learn more here. The four semesters of the course are equivalent to the first 2 years (4 Semesters) of Latin taken in most university settings. Each semester class is equivalent in class time to a 3-credit course at a college or university.
Latin I
Units 1 - 10 Includes: Latin II Units 11-20 Includes: Latin III Units 21-30 Includes: Latin IV Units 31-35 Includes:
If in a year’s time demand is sufficient, I plan to offer further courses, beyond the first four semesters, so that students who are interested have an opportunity to advance beyond beginning Latin. These courses will focus primarily on translating (both orally and in writing) texts of classical authors.
I will only allow students to start in a more advanced semester, rather than starting from Latin I, if they are able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the material they are seeking to skip over. But most students who have taken Latin previously, if it was at any time but the very recent past, will probably do best to begin in Latin I. It will be a nice refresher and will serve to make firm again in students’ minds classroom material that may over time have become vague and nebulous.
The calendar provides a general outline of the semester, acting as a guideline for instructor and students. I have done my best to anticipate the time that will be required for each unit. Still, students should be aware that I may veer somewhat from the pace outlined here. All material scheduled for this semester will be covered, but I cannot promise that any particular unit will be covered on the exact day that it is scheduled. For this reason, I do not list the semester’s homework assignments on the calendar. I prefer to have a greater flexibility in this area, and so I will not announce each day’s assignment to students until the end of that day’s class period. Click here to see the Latin I Spring 2009 Course Calendar.
The percentage grade will be calculated by totalling the points earned by the student during the semester and dividing that number by 1000.
I will be assigning daily homework assignments that are due by the next class meeting. These homework assignments must be received by me, in my email box, no later than five minutes after the beginning of the class on which the assignment is due. Students will not be given credit for late assignments. The most points a turned-in homework assignment can receive is 10 points. I will deduct points for incompleteness and mistakes. I will give students each new homework assignment at the end of the class period.
Unit quizzes will be taken by students at the beginning of the class period following each class in which a unit in the text is completed. They are worth 20 possible points. I will deduct points for incompleteness and mistakes. I will alert students during class when a unit quiz is to be given on the following class day. There is no set schedule for unit quizzes. A mid-semester review test will be taken by students at the half-way point in the semester. The exact date is listed on the semester calendar. This test is worth 160 possible points. I will deduct points for incompleteness and mistakes. A final test will be taken by students on the last day of the semester. Students will have the entire class period to take the test. It is worth 200 possible points. As usual, I will deduct points for incompleteness and mistakes. The quizzes and tests must arrive in my email box no later than five minutes after the end of the period allocated for students’ taking of the quiz or test. The student is not to work past the specified finish time for the test. Of course, in the web conferencing setting I have no way of verifying that a student has not continued to work for several minutes past the finish time, but I ask that all students be honest about this and stop working when requested. This will protect the integrity of the course and each student’s individual Latin education. There will be no extra credit offered, so take each homework assignment, quiz, and test seriously. Homework that is turned in less than a week late will receive no more than 5 points out of 10. Homework turned in more than a week late will receive no points.
I request that students maintain academic honesty. Using references (books, internet resources, Latin grammars, Latin dictionaries, etc.) while you are taking a quiz or test that I have not specified as allowable for use will only hinder your progress in the class. Please adhere to all rules concerning test-taking and the independent completion of homework assignments. Your compliance will make a huge difference in what you finally get out of the course.
If a student misses or is late in turning in a homework assignment, quiz, or test, and the student has a good reason for this, I ask that the student contact me as soon as possible so that I will know not to mark the student down for it and, if applicable, we can arrange for a make-up. I will certainly understand if you have a valid excuse. My final goal is always to make sure that students learn the course material, and I will do whatever I can to make that happen, to assist the student in learning despite any problems or unexpected events that may arise in the student’s life. On the other hand, though, be aware that homework, quizzes, or tests missed or turned-in late without a valid excuse will earn the student a grade of zero for the assignment. If you have any questions about what constitutes a valid excuse or any other questions at all about the course, please don’t hesitate to contact me: Contact page.
I reserve the right to change the course polices or course schedule outlined here if it seems appropriate. Be assured, though, that I will only do so if it seems to be in the best interests of the students and I will always notify students of what changes are being made.
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