Fishbein: Teachers are critical to success
MAY 30, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY DANIEL FISHBEIN
At a recent Board of Education meeting, the trustees and I had the distinct honor of applauding several of our high school students who achieved perfect scores on the National Latin Examination. We also congratulated members of our own RHS Latin Team, which just took home the distinguished title of New Jersey State Certamen (Latin Quiz Bowl) champions and are now preparing for nationals this summer.
Listening to the eloquent and enthusiastic RHS Latin team captain describe the thrill of competing in the arena with other top high school students drawn to the esoteric realm of Latin language and vocabulary, ancient Roman history and culture, I couldn’t help but reflect on the irony that despite our tech-savvy world, the classics are quietly thriving still, and in a refreshingly old-school kind of way, with opponents carpooling to compete face-to-face using old-school hand buzzers and timers. I am proud of our Ridgewood students, Latin teachers and parents for upholding this discipline and I am thankful to the community for their support of programs such as this.
It so happened that the board’s Latin team presentation came on the heels of a stressful few days in the district after an alert parent raised our attention to an anonymous threat posted on the new Internet social media app, Yik Yak, against one of our buildings. Swiftly resolved, this serious incident now serves as a classic example of how technology, despite its many benefits, can be more damaging and detrimental than constructive if not used wisely and respectfully.
We are also reminded of our serious responsibility as parents and educators to promote strong values in our children and to model good behavior ourselves. Computers and technology are great tools and help us in many ways and places, including the classroom. But only a human being can teach our children the difference between right and wrong and encourage them to be the best they can be.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/teachers-are-critical-to-success-1.1026371#sthash.QJykEP9j.dpuf
He is absolutely right.
Just not a lot of administrators.
The Latin program in Ridgewood is strong and all of its students seem to do well. What I’d like to see is a comparison of RHS Latin students winning Nation Latin Exam awards against the national totals . . . my guess is RHS probably contributes a pretty significant # of students to the total national winners. If you go to the National Latin Exam website, you can see a breakout of # of students taking the test, # of perfect papers, # summa, etc. It would be interesting to know how many Ridgewood kids are in those #.
Nice going kids. And this weeks featured arts are amazing!!