Meet the teacher night video Latin 2
School Phone: 601-856-7121
current classes (2020): Latin I, Latin II, AP Psychology, Academic Competition
Hello! To give you some background, let me tell you a little about my academic history. I have been a teacher at Madison County for 21 years, teaching at Madison Central, Rosa Scott, and Madison Career and Technical Center. I am licensed in Latin, Psychology, and English. I graduated from Millsaps College with a BS in Psychology and a BA in Classical Studies with minors in Chemistry and Education (originally going PreMed and competing those requirements). After graduating I spent 2 semesters studying in England, France, Italy, and Germany. I also interned 2 years at the Mississippi State Mental Hospital (Whitfield) while working on a license to become a clinical psychologist - although I changed career courses and became a teacher instead. I currently live in Madison with my wife, Kristy Ainsworth (who is the Physics/AP Physics teacher at Madison Central), my son who is a student at Madison Central, and 2 cats.
I love teaching Latin (which is the basis for the "romance" languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, etc. as well as heavily influencing both German and English and sharing elements of Greek and Sanskrit. Latin is truly the most useful language a student can learn in high school. There is a club, the JCL, that I am a sponsor of (that students will hear more about later) that we compete among other schools (public and private) throughout the country via conventions and the National Latin Exam. Everything is unsure about how much activity the JCL will have this year, but we will definitely try to do something.
My work and academic experience in psychology play into the way I teach - and hopefully my enthusiasm keeps interest in the material. Students ultimately prepare to take the AP exam, but I also want them to be prepared to enter college well-versed in the field. We cover a wide variety of topics including research, developmental theories, behavioral conditioning, and psychological disorders.
Academic competition is a subject that I teach along with my wife, Kristy Ainsworth . Students can start in 9th grade at Rosa Scott but at MCHS we have a dedicated class to study history, literature, science, math, etc. The class is comprised of lectures, quizzes, and buzzer practice. Our team competes both locally and at the national level (and have won both state and national championships).
Finally, I am also the sponsor for Mock Trial. This is an organization ran by the Mississippi Bar that hosts regional, state, and national competitions based on trial court. Students learn rules of evidence/objections, procedure, public speaking, etc. In the past we have have a dedicated class, but we often participate in this through after-school practices. I am currently unsure of what the plan is for the mock trial competition, but I will keep interested students informed.
I am definitely looking forward to teaching everyone this year. If you have any questions please email me, and everything should be kept up in my various classes on Canvas (with the exception of Academic Competition, which will be primarily through Mrs. Ainsworth's Canvas page).
