Dr. Eidt and Dr. Owens: Teaching & Learning Latin (at home and in classrooms)

Guest Biographies

Dr. Laura Eidt received her BA in English Literature and Linguistics from the University of Hamburg (Germany) and her MA and PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Texas at Austin. She has been teaching in the Spanish, German, Comparative Literature, and Humanities Programs at the University of Dallas since 2006 and published on German and Spanish poetry, and on Ekphrasis. For many years she taught an applied foreign language pedagogy class that sent students to local area schools to teach their language to elementary children, and she was a mentor at a bilingual school in Dallas for four years. Her courses include classes on Foreign Language Pedagogy, Teaching Classical Children’s Literature, and Great Works in the Modern World. She is the faculty advisor for UD's Classical Curriculum team and is currently writing a Latin curriculum for K-5rd grade.

Dr. Patrick M. Owens was born and raised in New York City where he graduated from Fordham University. In his pursuit of the Classical languages Dr. Owens moved to Montella, Italy to study at Vivarium Novum and then to Rome, where he earned his Ph.D. at the Salesian University. He has taught Latin, Greek, and Classical literature at the middle school, high school, and university levels. When he is not teaching, Dr. Owens continues his research on Latin literature and the history of Latin pedagogy. Additionally, he works as a consultant for schools developing curricula for Latin and Classical education. He and his wife Mallory, who is also an accomplished Latinist, raised two children in a bilingual home.

Show Notes
Dr. Laura Eidt and Dr. Patrick M. Owens join Adrienne to discuss Latin. Both guests bring a wealth of information about classical education and teaching Latin.Their love for Latin is also contagious! This episode will not only give practical advice about incorporating Latin into your life, but the history of how to teach Latin is quite interesting.

Taking us back to antiquity and through the Renaissance, Dr. Eidt and Dr. Owens unfold the history of teaching Latin as a living experience. Classical education ought to be joyful and beautiful. The immersion approach for children is not common in most Latin programs on the market today. But the University of Dallas is launching a K-5 Storybook Latin approach that is great for both homeschoolers and classroom teachers who have little to no experience with Latin!

Some questions in this episode include:
What is classical education?
What can a parent do to help their child become interested in Latin (or Greek)
What is the history of Latin education?
What is the tradition of the trivium and how is it different from the neoclassical trivium?
What is the role of Latin in the trivium, and what age ought a child begin learning Latin?

Books Mentioned:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Institutes of Oratory by Quintilian
Orbis Pictus by John Comenius
Didactica Magna (The Great Didactic), by John Amos Comenius
The Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Latin Resources for Adult Learning:
Hans H. Ørberg’s Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana
Schola Latina
Vivarium Novum
Paideia Institute
Veterum Sapientia Institute (for Catholic Learning)

For more information on the University of Dallas’s K-5 Latin:
https://k12classical.udallas.edu/k-12-curriculum/k-5-latin-curriculum/

For consulting information from Dr. Patrick M. Owens:
Dr. Patrick M. Owens offers Classical education and Latin language consulting to K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. Dr. Owens works with educators who want to develop vibrant and successful academic programming through remote consulting or on-site professional development. He has worked with groups of every size from large State Universities to small homeschool coops.
You can reach him at: PatrickM.Owens@gmail.com

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Credits:
Sound Engineer: Andrew Helsel
Logo Art: Anastasiya CF
Music: Used with permission. cellists: Sara Sant' Ambrogio and Lexine Feng; pianist: Alyona Waldo

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