AP Latin Literature Cancelled -- Please Add Your Name - eLatin eGreek eLearn2024-03-28T20:55:32Zhttp://eclassics.ning.com/forum/topics/727885:Topic:19077?commentId=727885%3AComment%3A19090&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI stand in complete agreement…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-12-22:727885:Comment:409012009-12-22T15:41:46.243ZEmil Banteahttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/Emilbantea
I stand in complete agreement with the pressing need to protect AP Virgil course!
I stand in complete agreement with the pressing need to protect AP Virgil course! Please add my name to your li…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-08-18:727885:Comment:392912009-08-18T02:09:36.500ZMaria Callashttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/MariaCallas
Please add my name to your list:<br />
<br />
Eleni Manolaraki<br />
Assistant Professor of Classics<br />
University of South Florida, Tampa
Please add my name to your list:<br />
<br />
Eleni Manolaraki<br />
Assistant Professor of Classics<br />
University of South Florida, Tampa This is terrible! The only AP…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-08-17:727885:Comment:392862009-08-17T22:20:11.810ZSarah Shttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/SarahS
This is terrible! The only AP Latin course offered through my distance learning program is Latin Literature, which I am taking this year. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there will be an exam for me to take in May...<br />
I think they should discontinue the Vergil exam if they have to do one - it seems like AP Latin Literature is more inclusive than Vergil.
This is terrible! The only AP Latin course offered through my distance learning program is Latin Literature, which I am taking this year. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there will be an exam for me to take in May...<br />
I think they should discontinue the Vergil exam if they have to do one - it seems like AP Latin Literature is more inclusive than Vergil. Are we safe for now? Did they…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-08-08:727885:Comment:378672009-08-08T19:07:14.282ZMelonyhttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/Melony
Are we safe for now? Did they decide not to cancel it?
Are we safe for now? Did they decide not to cancel it? Our students deserve as many…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-06-30:727885:Comment:356272009-06-30T14:32:18.897ZAshley Irmingerhttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/AshleyIrminger
Our students deserve as many opportunities to display thier success. It is a great skill to read Latin literature, which countless Universities would appreciate to see in their applicant pools. Why limit the rewards and possibilities for our students?<br />
<br />
Ashley Irminger<br />
Rocky Mount Preparatory School<br />
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Our students deserve as many opportunities to display thier success. It is a great skill to read Latin literature, which countless Universities would appreciate to see in their applicant pools. Why limit the rewards and possibilities for our students?<br />
<br />
Ashley Irminger<br />
Rocky Mount Preparatory School<br />
Rocky Mount, North Carolina I think a policy decision as…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-06-30:727885:Comment:356252009-06-30T14:30:00.535ZZLR Stavishttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/ZahraStavis
I think a policy decision as large as sacrificing the future our cultural (republican) heritage in favor of Chinese should not be left in the hands of a private institution motivated by profit, such as the College Board.
I think a policy decision as large as sacrificing the future our cultural (republican) heritage in favor of Chinese should not be left in the hands of a private institution motivated by profit, such as the College Board. I have only just found out ab…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-04-30:727885:Comment:336082009-04-30T14:20:50.912ZTimothy Lauhttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/TimothyLau
I have only just found out about this terrible news, and, despite the announcement was made for this "protest" 1 full year ago, I would still like to register my name in support.<br />
<br />
I remember well organizing a self-study group for the exam in my senior year of high school. I rounded up 3 others, and off I was to be a Latin instructor armed with nothing more than a love of the language, a Loeb Classics text, and a burning desire to "avenge" my 4 on the Latin Vergil AP! The class was entirely…
I have only just found out about this terrible news, and, despite the announcement was made for this "protest" 1 full year ago, I would still like to register my name in support.<br />
<br />
I remember well organizing a self-study group for the exam in my senior year of high school. I rounded up 3 others, and off I was to be a Latin instructor armed with nothing more than a love of the language, a Loeb Classics text, and a burning desire to "avenge" my 4 on the Latin Vergil AP! The class was entirely improvised, and we were hot-headed fools to think we could actually succeed.<br />
<br />
My profession now might have little to do with the Classics. But from forcing myself to meticulously translate all those lines in a logical, intelligible fashion, I had been able to raise my English writing ability far from its humble and simple immigrant origins. From immersing myself into the history of the Greeks and the Romans, I would derive a deep love of the past, which would take me to northern Israel for an archaeological dig even while Hezbollah was raining rockets in the region. From the immortal sentiments of "ave atque vale" and "sunt lacrimae rerum", I would come to deeply appreciate that we humans are bound by the same wants and the same emotions, a lesson which I find particularly relevant in this age of endless division and disease and strife. Leading the self-studying group for the Latin Literature AP was also a test of intellectual prowess and character, and I would rank the 5 I got on it one of my greatest achievements. My life has been immeasureably enriched from these studies, and now generations of high school students would be deprived that which I myself enjoyed and benefited from. I wish, though I doubt it, that the exam once canceled could ever be brought back.<br />
<br />
But on a more global perspective, I would dare say that the AP program is one of the few bright lights of the American high school education system. Taking these tests do prepare students for the vigors of undergraduate studies by giving them a taste of what it is to be graded at a national, adult standard. Indeed, from my experience at Cornell I would say without hestiation that those who took more APs almost invariably do better. When American students are increasingly found wanting in comparison to their foreign peers in depth of knowledge and breath of exposure, from the sciences to the arts and even to the English language itself, what good is it for the AP program to contract itself by jettisoning exams and cutting up topics from the high school curriculum?<br />
<br />
Timothy Lau<br />
J.D., Stanford University, 2009-<br />
Sc.D., MIT, Materials Science and Engineering, 2005-2009<br />
B.S., Cornell University, Materials Science and Engineering, 2002-2005<br />
Latin "V" Literature AP, 2002<br />
Latin IV Vergil AP, 2001 I was lucky enough to take th…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-04-12:727885:Comment:331872009-04-12T02:41:04.635ZGabrielle Haighhttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/GabrielleHaigh
I was lucky enough to take the AP Latin Literature course just a few years ago. When my Latin and Greek teacher told me they were cancelling the test after this year, I was disgusted; although we had to prepare for the AP exam, that class was great fun and contributed hugely to my decision to major in Classics. I learned to analyse not only the symbols present in literature but also the language itself, a skill that helped me in other literature classes, and I even gained a new perspective on…
I was lucky enough to take the AP Latin Literature course just a few years ago. When my Latin and Greek teacher told me they were cancelling the test after this year, I was disgusted; although we had to prepare for the AP exam, that class was great fun and contributed hugely to my decision to major in Classics. I learned to analyse not only the symbols present in literature but also the language itself, a skill that helped me in other literature classes, and I even gained a new perspective on creating art (invaluable, as I also write music). Furthermore, Latin moved me to study Attic and Homeric Greek, tasks that have taught me the value of persistence and multiple grammar books. Without the AP Latin Lit course, I don't know if I would have discovered my academic passion.<br />
<br />
I realise I'm simply adding to what everyone else has said, but I'd also like to point out that it is already difficult enough studying Classics in a small school (the average grade level has about sixty people). Latin is reasonably popular, but I've seen it declining in favour of Chinese. There are two of us studying second-year Greek semi-independently. In every English class so far, my knowledge of Latin and Greek literature has helped me immensely, and I believe those who do not study Classics must miss a great number of references and symbols when they read some of the literature we read.<br />
<br />
My friends and I harbour some resentment towards the College Board, since they seem to be making a lot of money, sometimes at the expense of the students (for example, was it really necessary to make us take multiple SATII tests as well as APs?). In general, though, I love being able to take AP courses, and I would not have expected such an organisation to make such a short-sighted decision.<br />
<br />
Next year I'm going to college to major in Classics, and my ultimate goal is to teach Greek at the university level, so I am trying very hard not to be cynical about the position of Classics in American culture. However, I have frequently encountered people who believe the Greek and Latin are for anachronistic, culturally illiterate snobs. The only way to prevent this unfair, ignorant attitude from prevailing is to expose as many people as possible to the subject. Omitting an AP course is not going to help. I think that teaching the cla…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-03-07:727885:Comment:322472009-03-07T16:10:03.494ZBridget Fitzpatrickhttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/BridgetFitzpatrick
I think that teaching the classics is critical in maintaining our culture. In many ways, we have wandered so far from our roots that we risk not recognizing ourselves. Often, alas, to the detriment. I studied AP Latin in the mid-80s and would be the poorer if I had not.<br />
<br />
South Portland High School, South Portland, ME, 1983<br />
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, BS Chemical Engineering, 1987<br />
University of Phoenix, MBA Technology Management, 2000
I think that teaching the classics is critical in maintaining our culture. In many ways, we have wandered so far from our roots that we risk not recognizing ourselves. Often, alas, to the detriment. I studied AP Latin in the mid-80s and would be the poorer if I had not.<br />
<br />
South Portland High School, South Portland, ME, 1983<br />
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, BS Chemical Engineering, 1987<br />
University of Phoenix, MBA Technology Management, 2000 While AP exams can certainly…tag:eclassics.ning.com,2009-02-22:727885:Comment:319282009-02-22T07:51:51.010ZEvan Bullockhttp://eclassics.ning.com/profile/EvanBullock
While AP exams can certainly be beneficial to students (for example, I believe the extra time I spent rereading the relevant passages to prepare for the Latin AP exams was well spent), offering APs but not offering enough of them can lead to classes that waste time focusing only on the exam at the expense of learning new material. Here are some examples from my high school experience with AP classes:<br />
<br />
- In Latin, the Cicero and Catullus AP exam was offered in the 3rd year and the Vergil was…
While AP exams can certainly be beneficial to students (for example, I believe the extra time I spent rereading the relevant passages to prepare for the Latin AP exams was well spent), offering APs but not offering enough of them can lead to classes that waste time focusing only on the exam at the expense of learning new material. Here are some examples from my high school experience with AP classes:<br />
<br />
- In Latin, the Cicero and Catullus AP exam was offered in the 3rd year and the Vergil was offered in the 4th. Latin was the most challenging and exciting class I was taking in both of those years (and was probably my favorite class the other two years too).<br />
<br />
- I didn't take French, but the situation with French at my high school was similar: AP Language exam in 3rd yeah, AP Literature exam in 4th year, all in all a challenging and serious program.<br />
<br />
- My high school's Spanish program was perhaps very slightly weaker than the French program, and only the AP Language exam was offered (in 4th year). By the end of 3rd year Spanish, we were most likely nearly prepared to take the AP and we were certainly prepared to start really reading a lot in Spanish, but instead much of the 4th year was spent simply reviewing grammar and vocabulary and practicing for the AP exam. I did fine on the AP exam, but it felt like a mostly wasted year of Spanish, which made me wish my school offered both exams as with French (and I wonder now what will happen at my high school when the AP French Literature exam is discontinued).<br />
<br />
- AP Chemistry had a similar problem: the honors chemistry class in 2nd year covered the vast majority of the AP syllabus, and the AP class in 3rd or 4th year ended up spending a lot of the time simply reviewing material from the previous class in preparation for the AP exam. (Here, there simply isn't a harder AP exam offered in the subject to encourage a more difficult second class.)<br />
<br />
- I strongly suspect that the discontinuation of the AP Computer Science AB exam (as opposed to the A exam which covers less material) will result in a less serious and slower paced class at my high school.<br />
<br />
In short, while I can't really comment on how much these not-so-popular AP exams have been costing and who ought to pay it, I really do worry that discontinuing them might have a significant negative effect at the (relatively) few schools that were offering them (and perhaps the schools working to improve their programs in hopes of being able to offer them in the future).<br />
<br />
<br />
(On an unrelated note: as a high school Latin student, I enjoyed the <i>Pro Caelio</i> the most of all the Cicero we read; if the whole exam weren't getting discontinued I'd be sorry to see that the syllabus has changed...)<br />
<br />
Evan Bullock<br />
Graduate student in Mathematics, Harvard University 2004-2009<br />
Undergraduate in Mathematics and Classics, Rice University 2000-2004<br />
Latin student at Newton North High School, 1996-2000