The Latin word salve is a word of greeting that is richer than our English ‘hello.’ (The word ‘hello’ was created merely to announce that someone had picked up a ringing telephone. It has no figurative, imaginative significance. Mr. Alexander Graham Bell wanted this new word to be ‘hoy-hoy.’ How amusing that would have been!) On the other hand, the greeting salve conveys a caring sense, as if the one greeting is asking that a salve, a healing ointment, be placed between the people meeting. (You will find that I frequently digress in writing as well as in teaching to reflect on certain things. I do so because the things at which I pause fascinate me, and I have learned that the best teachers are those that convey a sense of that fascination with their subjects to their students.) Frequently, parents whose students are to encounter Latin for the first time—to say nothing of the students!—often are excited, but also understandably concerned. So, Salve! I would like to soothe and smooth out any of your concerns as soon as possible.
	I will be developing a Latin program in the coming years beginning this fall. I began to study Latin formally in high school, and have continued to grow in knowledge of, and appreciation for the language since that time. After I graduated from the University, I have been blessed to teach Latin in private and public schools for five years. Now, I am excited to share with your children and with you the result of those years of study and practice. This letter describes how I teach Latin to beginning students. Please take leisure time to consider the curriculum that I present below.
	The Latin word curriculum means something like our English word ‘course,’ and calls to mind the similar Latin word currere, which means ‘run.’ Having run race courses competitively in cross country and track, including three marathons, I would like to dwell on the relation between this figurative word, curriculum, and the related idea of running a race, for a little bit.
	You could ask me to describe my marathons by listing my times, and I could respond pretty accurately and exactly, to the minute. Yet, those who know sports know what I mean when I say that simply listing the finishing times (or results) tells very little of the story behind each competition. I think that there is something missing in describing a curriculum in this way. I could tell you that we are starting at the very beginning, and then list skills to be mastered at various points in the year, from week one to week thirty-six. That impersonal description of the race your student is to run through Latin this year is inadequate. [For that matter, grades A to F are often inadequate to assess a student’s learning … but, that is digressing even too much for me!] Instead, I would like to let you experience in a small way what that race will really look like.
