Not Your Typical Latin Teacher

Claire Kenny, Features and Entertainment Editor

This year, Ms. Kerry Horleman joins us as the new Latin teacher at HMHS. Often times, when one pictures a Latin teacher, they have visions of a straight-laced, bookish, and slightly reserved scholar who perches wire-rimmed glasses on the tip of her nose. However, Ms. Horleman defies this Latin teacher stereotype, as instead of wearing wire-rimmed glasses, she sports an artistic tattoo behind her ear and fashionable, bright-colored clothes; also, she is athletic, coaching for the HMHS field hockey team. For these reasons, Ms. Horleman is not a typical Latin teacher. Having lived in Rome for two years, she has keen insight into Roman culture, which she plans to share with her Latin students. Aside from her unique experience living abroad, there is something else that differentiates her from other World Language teachers: she teaches a “dead language”. This is exciting, however, for Ms. Horleman, because classical languages like Latin often have rich history and culture behind them, which she finds fun to teach. She is intrigued by the Latin language because it connects with many other cultures and languages; she explains, “You can see Roman and Greek influences in almost all of the other core subjects, and I think interdisciplinary connections are what make Latin so valuable and interesting.” When it comes to being a world language teacher, the part she loves the most is having the opportunity to share other cultures and travel opportunities with students”. A worldly individual, Ms. Horleman has a wealth of knowledge to share with her students this year. With her passion for the Latin language, she was inspired to begin an AP Latin course at the high school, which she is currently working on beginning. All of Ms. Horleman’s unique contributions have given a new flavor to the world language department, and we are excited to have her!