Most Recent
The Cinematic Eidolon: Time, Myth, and Misstep in Nolan’s Odyssey
Several students from boarding schools have been asking what a classicist makes of Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming adaptation of Homer. On the film’s genuine ambitions, its troubling choices of language and translation, the question of what is lost when the mythic register gives way to the contemporary, and whether the most anticipated epic of 2026 honors its source or merely borrows its scenery.
May
25
2026
On the Academy
Why Emerson Latin Bears Its Name
Published on the 203rd anniversary of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s birth — a statement of the intellectual allegiance the academy’s name declares. On formation over credentialing, on what Latin actually demands and actually gives, and on the older tradition of education that Emerson articulated with unusual clarity and that this academy takes seriously.
May
15
2026
The AP Latin Question
The Sovereign Classroom and the Illusion of Autonomy
Elite boarding schools have spent two decades abandoning AP Latin under the banner of pedagogical freedom. The real motivations are institutional, not philosophical — and in Latin, unlike most subjects, the consequences are measurable.
Apr
22
2026
Guidance for Parents
The Student Latin Has Always Been Looking For
An honest account of the qualities of mind that classical formation demands — and what it gives in return. Not every student is ready for Latin from the start. But the right student, formed well, receives something that no other subject in the modern curriculum quite provides.
Apr
8
2026
Why Latin Matters
The Formation of a Competitive Mind
Latin does not prepare students for the SAT and ACT. It produces the kind of student who performs well on them — as a natural consequence of what he has become. On cognitive architecture, genuine vocabulary knowledge, and the difference between a mind trained and a mind drilled.