New twist for an old language

 

Though the Latin program at Santa Ynez Valley Union High school, taught by Chris Mullin, has long been a part of the foreign language curriculum, this year’s upper-class courses, now geared toward the International Baccalaureate test in May, have taken a novel turn.

In April 2007, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School became an IB World School. With such certification, the school is now allowed to offer International Baccalaureate courses. Similar to the Advanced Placement program that the school already offered, the IB courses are geared toward a test at the end of the year that measures each student’s proficiency as compared to other students participating in the program.

 

However, the IB program works in numerous countries, whereas the AP program operates only in the United States, and the IB tests all count toward the IB diploma, which certifies a general mastery of academics.

Since the school started offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme last April, the upper classes of Latin – Latin 3 and 4, for juniors and seniors respectively – have been focused on the May IB exam. Though previous years of upper-level Latin have focused on the AP Latin Test, which evaluates a student’s knowledge of “The Ænead,” by the First Century B.C.E. Roman poet P. Vergilius Maro, the IB Standard Level exam tests multiple areas of knowledge.

 

An IB Latin student is expected to be familiar with the ancient Roman poets Gaius Valerius Catullus, Publius Ovidius Naso, and Quintus Horatius Flaccus as well, and to be able to spontaneously translate Latin text at a reasonably proficient level with only a dictionary for reference.

Additionally, the IB Standard Level Latin test requires the student to write an essay in English analyzing the poetic merit and literary significance of a short Latin poem. To this end this year, Mullin has the Latin class studying new, Latin-specific literary terminology and poetic devices never before discussed at SYVU High.

Though most seniors are opting not to take the test this year, as they are not eligible for the full diploma that requires two years of study, the junior class is set to benefit greatly from the new course of study.