I was having a conversation with a student on the bus ride back from a field trip. The student asked me why I wanted to be a Latin teacher. I have been asked this question a million times, but for some reason I had a new answer. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I very clearly realized why I wanted to be a teacher in the first place and how that path took my to CI. Here was my answer…
I wanted to take something, that had been hoarded by the few, and give it to the many. That something for me was Latin.
My attraction to Comprehensible Input was not born out of a dispassionate analysis of Second Language Acquisition research, but out of my desire to make Latin for everyone. That desire preceded my interest in learning about SLA.
CI has allowed me to bust down the walls offer Latin to ALL with zero strings attached. I can now offer Latin to anyone who is interested and confidently guarantee that they will experience some kind of success. No one flunks out, no one is discouraged from entry, no one has to prove their worthiness to me.
This is the real reason why I teach with CI and why I am determined to help others who are motivated by the same set of values.
Why do you teach the way that you teach? Is your approach accomplishing your goals? Is what you are doing in the classroom compatible with your reason for becoming a teacher?
Magister Bracey's Comprehensible Latin 