Mr. Turrentine
Hello, I’m Peter Turrentine. I took a liberal arts degree from a Great Books program (Thomas Aquinas College) and spent two years in Rome studying philosophy, literature, and Italian, and then began teaching here at St. Theresa’s. I’m thrilled to be teaching Latin and ancient History – my students are introduced to, and soon begin to feel at home in, a world and a language both like and unlike our own. I have always loved languages and history, so for me to be teaching these subjects is a dream come true.
It’s marvelous to see the wonder with which the students view the world and which they bring into play in their questions and interest. It is also wonderful to be teaching in such a great school: the classical elements of the curriculum support both the school’s Catholic identity and its purpose to give students the best education possible.
It’s a great joy to watch my students work their way through a difficult Latin sentence or express their opinion on Roman virtue or Greek customs: I see them exercising their minds and understandings in new and constructive ways. My students find their studies of Greece and Rome very thought-provoking in the contrasts which they give to our own faith and the Church’s teaching, while at the same time holding up to us in the great men of that time examples of virtue and nobility that shed light on that to which we can and ought to aspire.
Latin provides us with indispensable practice in grammar and in understanding how a language works – something best learned not through one’s first language but through another. Latin is a very analytical language, and so translation encourages and pushes students to begin developing deductive reasoning and critical thinking skills – building blocks for what will be in future years their keen minds and intellectual abilities. They learn to think strategically and to creatively arrange words in order to capture all the meaning in the original.
And, beyond all the academic benefits, they love it! It is an absolute delight to teach students who are so eager to learn new words (“How do you say ‘starfish’ in Latin, Mr. Turrentine?”) and to delve into the fascinating cultures of Greece and Rome. Such enthusiasm is as much a teacher’s reward as keeping it burning brightly is his challenge!