After a College Board change to its Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum led to student frustration and what Westridge Latin Teacher Dr. Hilary Malspeis called a “death march of memorization,” a new Westridge Advanced Course is bringing back a love of Latin and inspiring more in-depth learning in the subject.

Dr. Malspeis designed the curriculum for Latin IV Vergil: From Olympus to the Underworld to be student-centered—focused on topics and themes selected to capture student interest while maintaining the rigor of an advanced course. For example, students are studying women’s voice and role (gods, goddesses, pawns, and warriors) in the ancient world as they make their way through the books of the Aeneid.

"In this class, we’re able to digest the nuance in the text rather than just memorizing the entire thing."

“AP Latin required significant time focused on translation—sometimes 40 lines of translation a night—and it was really a slog for our students who already work extensively on the skill in Latin III and IV,” said Dr. Malspeis. “After several years of seeing our students' love of Latin fizzle, now that we have the time and freedom to focus on topics I know interest them, it's back!"

Students still use the Aeneid as a vehicle to strengthen translation skills (learning, for example, how to translate for a college textbook vs. something for the public) and increase their vocabulary. But now they can spend more time identifying literary devices (such as anaphora, alliteration, and chiasmus) and analyzing lines and passages that spark interest, allowing for deeper learning. In addition, students analyze art including paintings, music, and theatre related to the readings—a new addition to the curriculum.

“In this class, we’re able to digest the nuance in the text rather than just memorizing the entire thing,” said Bellamy S. ’24. “Personally, I really like looking at art depictions where we can tell [for example] that this character is this person because of this symbolism. In an AP, I don’t think we’d have time for the little things.”

Dr. Malspeis noted that the new course is opening advanced study of Latin to a more diverse set of learning styles. “I’ve noticed that students who weren’t as strong at straightforward translations are also now thriving; those who rarely spoke up in class are responding to the higher-level learning and volunteering to read and answer questions.”

“Overall, I see is that students are learning that a Latin text isn’t just about the memorizing, the vocabulary, and reviewing the grammar,” she explained. “They see the texts as a pieces of art and are now able to make connections between them and the world and other disciplines … this is what I think learning should be.”

And, in addition to deeper learning and increased student engagement, the Latin IV Vergil course offers more time for learning as students continue their study through the end of the school year, rather than stopping to prepare for an exam in April.

Westridge's Advanced Courses are designed to make rigor come alive in ways that promote deeper learning and the critical thinking skills and habits of mind that colleges and employers are looking for today and for the future. Interested in learning more? Click here.