Deborah Shapiro, a tenth grader, enrolled in Latin at the start of eighth grade because she thought she wouldn’t have to take gym if she took Latin. To her surprise, she discovered that she couldn’t avoid gym and that she loves Latin. Sarah Harrison, an eleventh grader this year, wrote in an e-mail that her parents strongly encouraged her to sign up for Latin when she was in ninth grade, but she also found, to her astonishment, that she likes Latin “for its own sake.”

Shapiro and Harrison, now converted Latin fans, formed the Greek club this year because their teacher, Mr. Wilmot, kept telling them how cool Greek was, too. The club, which meets once a week during lunch period with Durham and Wilmot, is learning the alphabet and pronunciation of ancient, not modern, Greek.

“Alex Durham and Will Wilmot are wonderful teachers, enthusiastic, passionate about the study of Latin, and oh so dedicated to this craft of teaching,” Suzanne Fogarty, director of the Berkeley Carroll upper school, wrote in an e-mail.

Aliza Goldberg, another member of the Latin team, said that the main reason she is studying Latin is because of Mr. Wilmot and Ms. Durham. She struggled with Latin initially, but Mr. Wilmot patiently helped her understand the ancient language. “Eventually, I got it,” Goldberg wrote in an e-mail, “and I have never seen anyone so elated,” she continued, referring to Wilmot’s reaction when she finally began to understand.

Before Durham and Wilmot began teaching at Berkeley Carroll, the school’s Latin program was small. This year, 15 out of 60 ninth graders and 22 out of 60 eighth graders are studying Latin. Most of the eighth graders enrolled in Latin are also taking French or Spanish.

Durham and Wilmot decided to renovate the Latin program three years ago. They emphasize that students must learn the structure and vocabulary of the language before they begin to work on translations.

“Students must have a good basis in grammar before they start reading Latin books,” Durham said.

Wilmot explained that they try to make Latin fun by playing games and using a timer when working on grammar, but that, overall, he and Durham embrace a classical approach to teaching it.
“I love Latin for what is,” Wilmot said.

The two young teachers -- Durham is 29 and Wilmot is 25 – share an infatuation with their subject. “I love how the language works,” Durham said, “ and finding the connections between Latin and English.” She said that the kids love derivatives, too, and like to test if English words come from Latin words.

Durham’s fascination with Latin began early. After her first eighth grade Latin class, she told her parents that she would grow up to be a Latin teacher. Durham, a graduate of Haverford College, earned her master’s degree in classical studies from the University of Pennsylvania before she started teaching at Berkeley Carroll.

Wilmot’s high school Latin teacher told his students that they must teach Latin and Greek for at least one year after they graduated to help keep the dead languages alive. Wilmot graduated from Columbia University, then taught at the American School in Switzerland for one year, before returning to the United States to teach Latin at Berkeley Carroll. “I’m happy and hope the program keeps growing,” Wilmot said.

“They’re very smart, very demanding teachers, not cutting corners, and engaging students in a very serious study of language,” said Robert D. Vitalo, head of Berkeley Carroll about Durham and Wilmot. “We have a nice problem now -- so many kids want to take Latin.”