Lessons in Latin by Ashley

Lessons in Latin by Ashley - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

“If you don’t get a one hundred on this next exam, I’m failing you this marking period” explained my Latin III teacher, Mr. Ambrosino, for what seemed to be the hundredth time that week alone.There were about ten days left until the National Latin Exam and as a class we either knew the material at this point or we didn’t. Ambro was giving this last test before the exam in order to measure how well we would do on the NLE. Latin I was prosaic the previous year. With that in mind the Latin Scholars believed Latin III would be similar. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Ambro—as he was informally known by his admiring students—believed that in order to prepare us properly for the National Latin Exam, tests he administered in class had to be taken with one hundred percent accuracy. Grades of 80s or even 90s would not be suffice for him. Only hundreds would prove to him how ready his students were for the exam, which is known for its rigor. These threats may have seemed excessive, but the reality was that they pushed me to study even harder for Ambro’s in-class exams. I was an exceptional Latin student, but apparently not good enough. In order to prove my capability I had to achieve these hundreds in class and do well on the National Latin Exam. Mr. Ambrosino taught me that no matter how talented you think you are, there is always room for success and that may be achieved through struggle and devotion.
On the first day of my junior year I entered my third period class, Latin III. To my surprise there was no teacher in the room, I checked my program and asked other students if we were in the correct room. We were, so we decided to just take any seat we pleased. The late bell rang and still no teacher. About five minutes after the late bell had rung, the door opened and there he was, Mr. Ambrosino. “Good morning. My name is Mr. Ambrosino. As you may or may not know I’m the AP of the Foreign Language Department as well as your teacher… and wow we’re overcrowded,” he said as he realized about five students were missing desks. That was issue number one, about fifty students and one teacher. He said he would address that concern as soon as possible and he proceeded to speak about the curriculum. He followed up by saying something that sent the whole class, including myself, into a frenzy. “Just know, I don't provide actual notes for class. You are responsible for jotting down your own notes that will help you this year.” This was issue number two. No notes? How did this man expect to teach Latin, a dead language, to a class of fifty? Finally the complication—that seemed to determine how successful the class would be—became present when he asked “Who was in Ms. Ibrahim’s class last year?” my classmates from last year and I raised our hands. That being said Mr. Ambrosino said “Then I take it that the other half of the class had Ms. Montana. Which means half of the class completed last year’s curriculum fully while those of you from Montana’s class did not. We have a lot of work to do.” Half of the class knew the curriculum more than the other half. There was no way we were going to finish last year’s curriculum and this year’s all before March and prepare for the exam. In a crowded classroom I had to make sure that I could have all of my questions answered if I ever had any, and stand out among the other Scholars. Secondly, I needed a plan of action to successfully create my own notes that would help me learn the material. Finally, the toughest obstacle was making sure that the whole class would learn the curriculum together that was necessary to do well on the National Latin Exam. These tasks that may have seemed impossible were overcome with dedication and devotion.
It didn't take long to adapt to Ambro’s teaching environment. The overcrowding turned out to not be such an immense issue, it only meant that as a whole, the class had to work together to keep the focus in class. Due to the “no notes provided” ideology, I gained the valuable skill of taking notes that truly aided me when studying. Then the most overbearing conflict, getting everyone on the same page was solved with the use of the frequent exams in class. We would cover a chapter and then be tested on how well we understood it at the end of the week. Then once all of the material was quickly covered, Ambro would quiz us regularly to build up our stamina and improve our skills in Latin. As the NLE loomed closer, it was ridiculous if anyone was failing the quizzes—since they covered material we once found difficult but we had seen many times by that point. Through devoted practice and dedication, Mr. Ambrosino taught me that no matter how difficult an issue may be presented to you, there are ways to successfully overcome them.
Overcoming such hardships paid off in the end. I received a medal for the exam and a better vision for how I would tackle any problems I would have to face in the future.