What Happens When You Write to Us

When Uber first appeared, it did not make taxis arrive any faster. It did something cleverer. It showed you the car on a map, coming toward you. The wait was the same; the worry was gone. People, it turns out, mind not knowing far more than they mind waiting.

Choosing a teacher works the same way. The hardest step is often not the decision. It is the first message, because you cannot see what it leads to. Will there be a sales pitch? Will my child be tested, and fail? How long will it take? Do I need to speak English?

So here is the map.

First: choose who you would like to speak with

There are two calendars on our booking page. One belongs to Ioannes Magister, who teaches every class. Conversations with him take place on Zoom, in English, and a parent, a student, or both may join. The other belongs to our Korean administrator, whom most parents prefer to call by phone, in Korean. You may book either one, or both. Each conversation lasts fifteen minutes, and each is free.

Second: the conversation

If your child is new to Latin, we will ask a few simple questions. What grade is she in, and at which school? What does she like to read? What are you hoping for: AP Latin, contests, or simply a stronger reader and writer? You may ask us anything in return, and we hope you will.

Third, if your child already knows some Latin: the placement reading

This is the part parents tend to worry about, so it is worth describing exactly. Your child reads aloud a short passage, five to ten lines depending on level. Then he translates it, as literally as he can. Ioannes Magister helps with vocabulary along the way, because students who learned from different textbooks know different words, and nobody should be marked down for using another book. Finally, there are a few questions on what the passage means and on the grammar inside it.

Nothing is passed or failed. It is closer to a map than a test: it shows us where your child is, so that we can tell you where he should begin. If you let us know beforehand which textbook he uses and which chapter he has reached, the map is even more accurate.

Fourth: our recommendation

Within one or two days, you will hear from us. You will receive one recommendation, not a list of every course we offer. A good restaurant does something similar when it suggests a set menu: the chef has already decided what goes well together. If you decide to go ahead, your child receives two links: his Google Classroom, where the syllabus and all materials live, and his Zoom classroom. You receive a secure tuition link on your phone, through Stripe.

What may surprise you

Sometimes our recommendation is to wait, or not to enroll at all. A course may not yet fit your child’s level or schedule, or a better one may open next term. When that is the case, we say so. We would rather lose a term than gain an unhappy student.

Aristotle had a word for what we are looking for: eudaimonia, which means something like flourishing, a life going well. We want a student who flourishes here, and the honest way to find out is to talk first.

What does not happen

No pressure. No deadlines invented to hurry you. No stream of follow-up messages if you decide it is not the right time.

Fifteen minutes is not long. The only thing we test in that time is whether we can help.