Our Intermediate moderators always bring great questions to the table, and our experienced moderators have been so helpful to offer their advice. Questions and Answers that came up:
Q. How do I get shy students to participate in Traditio Nostra discussions?
Q: How can I help severely dyslexic and autistic Intermediate students to participate in the Intermediate classes?
A: Moderators recommended pairing disabled students with other students in the classroom when doing work that required writing or reading during the class period. This would allow those disabled students to participate without being called upon to do something they are unable to do and would give the other students a chance to be charitable. Moderators might also encourage students to be more patient when a disabled student is adding to a conversation, especially when that student might need longer to get a complete sentence out.
Q: Why does Latin seem so hard for the beginning 7th Grader?
A: Long-time moderators can testify that the Legamus Latinam program is truly a solid program and that students come out knowing Latin much better than with other programs. What makes it so challenging at first are two things: (1) the program assumes students have had a good introduction to Latin already and (2) it is a reading immersion approach. This means that students are caste into the Latin language without it being simplified. This allows students to wrestle with the language similarly as though they were dropped in France if they wanted to learn French. The perk, or upside, is that as students learn more vocabulary and more grammar, the language actually seems easier. This is the opposite experience for students doing many of the other popular programs, where the readings are greatly simplified at the beginning and then become more complex as the student moves up.
A: Consider creating a transition year at your co-op for very young 7th graders who are not ready for the work load. Have them do the Traditio Nostra course, but do a year of Logic where they focus on memorizing terms and a year of Latin where they focus on the vocabulary and exercises. The next year, move them into a full load with Logic 1 and Latin 1. Alternatively, have this transition class take Latin and Logic as is, but at a slower pace; for example, 3 weeks per unit.