AP Latin Literature Cancelled -- Please Add Your Name

[Andrew Reinhard]

Salve,

As many of you know, AP Latin Literature is being cancelled, although AP Vergil will remain in place for the immediate future. Please read the letter from the AP in the news section on the right and the letter from Ronnie Ancona in the Blog, and if you feel strongly about keeping the AP Latin Literature program alive and active in the United States, please add a comment to this post with your name and school affiliation attached. I will collect these in preparation for what is sure to be a counter-offensive by some of the leading lights in US Classics education. Thanks for adding your names to the list.

Andrew Reinhard
Director of eLearning
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

[Stacey McGowen]

This is a very bad descision. It's like limiting the AP English literature exam to only Shakespeare, and nobody would seriously consider Shakespeare as the only worthwhile English author. Vergil is great, but so are Catulls, Horace, Ovid, and Cicero. Please keep the Latin Lit exam.

Stacey McGowen
Oxford, England

[J.R. Naylor]

I've only been teaching for five years and finally have built up my program for AP Latin. This was my first year teaching AP LL and my administration is not pleased that it just bought a classroom set for a one-time class.

James R. Naylor, NCJCL co-chair
John T. Hoggard High School, New Hanover County Schools
Wilmington NC

[Michael McGrann]

Our program thrives on offering both both the AP Latin Literature and the AP Vergil courses. Our students enjoy the challenge of the AP and are glad to have the opportunity to take it twice. I am disappointed that the College Board has announced this change. It has developed two excellent programs in the AP Latin curricula; I cannot imagine how focusing the efforts on one of these will improve the program. It does not seem as though the College Board has the growth and development of Latin programs, both secondary and tertiary, in mind.

Michael McGrann
Poly Prep CDS
Brooklyn, NY

[Robert Z. Cortes]

I may not be from the United States, but I feel that the vibrant life of Latin in the U.S. is one of the very few hopes left for Latin in the rest of the world to survive. I in the Philippines who am one of the extremely few who try to keep Latin alive look to the U.S. to keep Latin alive where I am. Removing AP Latin Literature is like removing another form of life support of Latin for us who need a truly vibrant "Latinity" over there. The costs being talked about I feel are not be proportionate to the good that is being deprived the rest of the world by removing the AP Latin Literature.

Robert Z. Cortes
PAREF Southridge School
Philippines

[John R. White]

I don't understand the reasoning for AP Latin Literature to be dropped, but I have the idea that the board wants to simpify its offerings. If they decide they want to do this, then that is their prerogative. If they feel they have to eliminate something, however, eliminating Vergil (as much as I love it) would be preferable as the Latin literature AP course provides so much more exposure to Latin forms than does a course that focuses on only one author.

Eliminate nothing if it is possible but, if you have to eliminate, do not eliminate the courses that provide motivation and joy to the students.

[David Way]

I also protest this decision to drop the Latin Literature AP. Several have already suggested solutions I agree with (although all are regrettable to varying degrees, e.g. dropping Vergil instead, dropping one or two of the variations of the Lat. Lit. AP, etc.) I would prefer that there be no change at all to the current offerings; however, if there absolutely must be a change, start by eliminating one or two of the Lat. Lit. permutations (do we really need Catullus/Ovid, Catullus/Horace, AND Catullus/Cicero?).

In any case, as already stated, I sincerely hope that things will just remain the same.

[jim]

It is unfortunate that the College Board has decided to take away an opportunity for high school students to take a class nationally recognized for its rigor. Is the financial stability of the College Board seriously threatened by offering the AP Literature exam? I think not.

James Whelton
Latin Teacher
Norwell High School, Norwell, MA

[Michael Dalton]

Michael Dalton

[Foley]

The AP Latin Literature cancellation needs to be rescinded!

I've never seen character gained by ignoring history. Latin in High School opened up so many windows of opportunity for me and others. Latin was an important seed of sustenance and discipline that affected my English, my American Literature, my interest in other languages, my heritage, my sports, my cuisine, my music, my friends. This didn't originate from Vergil alone. It was by a quiet seed planted by a very patient Latin teacher in High School that showed that Latin, and the roots of this language, continued tradition, history, culture, and hope in the future.

Please share this petition with your friends, teachers, and community!
Sarah Foley

[Lauren]

I am really sad to hear that the AP Latin Literature exam is to be discontinued. My experience with Catullus and Ovid was incredibly influential on my choice to continue studying Latin in college. I think if Vergil had been my only extended exposure to Latin poetry, I would not have become so fascinated by the language. Additionally, both the Literature and Vergil exams helped me get credit in college so I could move on to more advanced authors like Lucretius, Juvenal, and even medieval works. Now that I am on my way to becoming a Latin teacher, possibly in a high school, I had been looking forward to opening the eyes of budding Classicists to the wonders of epic as well as elegaic poetry. How dissapointing it is that it will no longer be an option in competitive Latin programs. This is truly a step backward for the advancement of Latin education.

Lauren Dill
Greek & Roman Studies Major
Rhodes College class of 2008
St. Andrew's Episcopal School, Austin, TX, class of 2004

[Katie Robinson]

Dear College Board,
I wish to add my very strong support for the continuation of the Latin Literature AP Exam. The additional literature exam allows students to go beyond a single author (Vergil) and genre to deepen their experience and competence in Latin. With multiple AP exams, schools can offer additional classes and keep students in the foreign language program for more years. In addition, a strong AP program benefits not only the high school language programing but also enhances the college curricular continuum, something in which certainly your Board has a vested interest. In fact, many budget-strapped school districts often consider the existence of AP offerings to be a strong factor in their decisions to retain certain classes in the school curriculum (thus avoiding cancellations due to district budget cuts). I am interested to know the annual cost factor in continuing the current AP Latin Literature Exam, as I feel that Classical Associations or private donors might be able to contribute sufficient funds if cost is the primary reason for the announced elimination ( I understand there are discussions with Italian government agencies to accomplish the monetary support for a continuation of the Italian AP Exam).
Sincerely,
Katie Robinson
National Committee for Latin and Greek
Chair, Committee for the Middle Schools

[Heidi Poole]

I am utterly disappointed that this decision has been made. How do we hope to enthrall our students by just offering them one author? Latin is so much more than just Vergil. This will really reduce our enrollment and endanger our future possibilities. Why a decision like this was made is beyond me. Teachers will now have a lot less incentive to do AP and students will be robbed of wonderful experiences.