Dear Ms. Parks, and the Ann Arbor Board of Education:
I can't tell you that learning Latin will improve SAT scores, or increase the chances of getting into college. What I can tell you is that every so often, my daughter, Harper, and her Latin class walk to Washtenaw Dairy for ice-cream, and on the way, they conjugate verbs. I can tell you that when she was at Tappan, she couldn't wait to be in 8th grade because that is the year the Latin class has "Julius Cesar Day." I guess the students dress up in togas and re-enact the brawl between Brutus and Cesar.
And every Friday in her Latin class at Pioneer, Harper watches "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," looking for Latin connections while Buffy fights (and inevitably falls in love with) vampires.
"Buffy" comes from the Latin word "bufalus" which is apparently a person who is enthusiastic about firefighters and firefighting. No doubt Buffy is a fighter, although I'm not sure she's enthusiastic about her role as one. Her name also means "to polish or shine," and the "y" in her name means "to foster or bring about."
I admit, I was rather judgemental of the name "Buffy" due to some harsh stereotypes of how I believed a girl with that name would act. The joke is on me, as is the lesson: knowing a bit about where we come from, and the meaning behind our names allows us a chance to consider what it would mean to live that meaning and in effect push back against the stereotypes of the close-minded.
A few Fridays ago, Harper texted me from Latin telling me she met Spike, who happens to be my favorite character in the series. I think this concerns Harper, given what she knows about him. He is, as the Latin word "spica" suggests, "a sharp point" ("spica” also means "ear of grain,” which also has a sharp point). Spike the vampire is a bad guy, and he also chooses to use himself in a painfully redemptive way. Through Spike, Harper will be introduced to the sharp points of nuance and consequently, grace. I suspect this will disturb her, as all of us bad guys who find ourselves attempting good, do.
I learned recently that the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the story Harper gets her name from, is a racist story. I've feared the tale I've loved since I was in grade school is guilty of this for some time now, but I've been too ashamed and afraid to explore what that means and what I should do about it now that I know. But I feel significant urgency to attend to this revelation, particularly since both my daughters' names come from Harper Lee's book (I wanted to name Hadley, "Radley"). How will I answer when Harper asks me why I named her after a racist story?
I'll tell her that words associated with her name are "bard, poet," and, "to dwell." I'll tell her that I believe it takes a strong person to be willing to dwell, especially in stories and poems that are dark and difficult and mysterious, and I don't know any stronger dweller of stories than her.
I will return to Harper's Latin roots. "Corbis" means "basket," a seemingly benign noun, but certainly not meek. To make a basket takes creativity. It is an art to weave together a pattern strong enough to hold all that's put in it. In this way, a basket is a mighty dweller. And so I will tell Harper that there are an infinite amount of meanings woven into her name. All of them hold truth, but like Buffy and Spike, these don't have to be definitive truths. She gets to choose what it is she'll hold, and in effect, what she will send out.
I hope AAPS continues to offer Latin because it offers students a chance to see how everything is connected - an immeasurable skill that probably won't show up in a standard or standardized test, but is necessary all the same. Latin provides students to contend with what is so they might foster what could be. This alleged dead language introduces us to monstrous truths that pierce us, and ask us to be set free, so that a new creation might form; a new good thing can shine.
Omnia Paratus,
Callie Feyen
"She gets to choose what it is she will hold, and in effect, what she will send out."
Yes.
Spike is also my favorite character in Buffy. I think it’s a combination of my need to fix things and people and the redemptive path he takes for love.