"Salve! Nomen mihi est Dean. I have a BA (summa cum laude) in Classics, an MA in Classical and Near Eastern Studies, and a PhD in Biblical Studies (with publications, including two entries in the Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity). I love languages and Latin and I have taught high school Latin for over ten years.

* I teach grammar progressively, making sure the elements are practiced and mastered at each step of the way via Latin to English and English to Latin translation. Grammar that is too abstract burdens the memory; de-emphasizing grammar impedes students' ability to assimilate complex structures.

* I'm AP-certified and have attended two AP Institutes for teachers.

* I'm familiar with the popular textbooks (Ecce Romani, Cambridge Latin Course, Oxford Latin Course, Latin for the New Millennium, Suburani, etc.).

* Beginning students can follow my custom-built curriculum, built from the ground up using trial and error in the classroom, and combining traditional pedagogy, historical linguistics, and language acquisition theory.

* I offer National Latin Exam preparation. Typically, just under half of my high school students gain a gold medal (compared to 12% nationally).

* My public (state) school students have taken 1st or 2nd places at the annual state convention in Grammar and Reading Comprehension every year since 2019, while competing against the top public and private schools, including 1st, 3rd (joint with two private schools), and 4th place in Latin 2 Grammar in 2024.

I received my teaching certificate through the MAT program at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Prior to teaching high school, I taught a semester of Latin as a graduate assistant at the University of Notre Dame. I hold a Tennessee and United Kingdom teaching license." less...