	I have structured several types of lessons to facilitate a living language. The first kind of lesson is devoted to learning Latin songs and prayers orally. Students repeat a few new words over and over until the words are perfectly learned. [Just as an aside, I will assign little to no homework beyond asking the students to keep their parents updated on their learning by repeating, if possible, and demonstrating to you what they have learned. I ask your help on this—just ask your students what they did in Latin that day!] This manner of teaching songs and prayers used, normal students will remember what has been taught for the rest of their lives. (I can easily sing my school fight song in Latin because I learned it through the oral method; I cannot remember it fluently in English!) Latin memorization lessons will be at the beginning of every class period. They will include such Catholic staples as prayers like the prayer Ave Maria, and such human staples as the song Mica, Mica, Parva Stella.
	The second type of lesson teaches Latin forms and words through the use of Latin stories that are acted out in plays by the students. I start by orally teaching body parts, actions (verbs), maps, etc. until students have a sufficient knowledge of basic Latin to participate in these plays. They are short, simple, and frequently silly, all of which facilitates confidence, active participation, and a welcoming learning environment. Teaching by means of stories is an essential part of human experience and knowledge, as Jesus well knew.
	Other lessons involve games, short biographies of Saints, Greco-Roman myths, etc. that use the same words the students learn in the plays. Pictures, crossword puzzles, questions and exams reveal how effectively students learned the previous story-play. Also, puzzles containing English words with Latin roots are given and considered. Sessions of simple questions or commands (conducted orally in Latin) assess the ability of students, individually and collectively, to respond by means of simple answers and actions themselves. Throughout, the focus is on developing wonderful (wonder-full) encounters with the Latin language that are both educative and memorable.
	In a small nutshell I have attempted to show you how I teach Latin. Please communicate any particular questions with me, now, or throughout the year, using my school electronic mail account. Given that the curriculum I propose is radically different than other methods of teaching and learning Latin (the word radical has to do with the word radix, ‘root:’ my ‘radical’ method is one that gets to the bottom of the language, one that attempts to plant, or ‘enroot’ the language), you may be interested in attending a class period that I teach in order to see in practice some of the ideas I have been talking about. As I will be teaching beginning Latin to all students this year, you will find it instructive to attend any one of my classes—not even, necessarily, the one your child attends. I anticipate that most particular concerns or questions will be resolved by doing this: I can talk abstractly for hours about this subject, but in this matter, as with education in general, direct experience is often the best teacher. Direct your inquiries to the principal should you wish to attend my class at a certain time and date.
	I look forward to meeting each of you personally, and to doing so through your children until that time.
You may note that I have concluded with the English word of parting, rather than the Latin (vale). This is because the Latin word is, in some sense, less rich. Its meaning, related to valor and health, may be conveyed by a phrase popularized in a certain television program from a previous generation: ‘live long and prosper.’ On the other hand, the English word is much stronger. A contraction of ‘God be with you,’ ‘good-bye’ conveys better the sentiment with which I would like to conclude this letter.
