Ready to Learn Something?

I'd like to start something new this summer. Now, don't cringe. I'd like you to learn something.

I know, I know, school is out and you're done helping your kids with their homework, and you figure, I learned everything I needed to learn.

But you're wrong.

We should never stop learning. As an educator, I cannot, in good conscience, allow your mind to turn to mush. Growing into a lifelong learner is something we should all strive for.

Every Friday I hope to share something interesting with you from either Science, History, Literature, Math (yes, even math), and more. What I would love is for you to add to the knowledge base I present. If you know something about the topic at hand, chime in! You can even get your kids in on the act. Let them read the post and if they have something to add, let them (with your supervision of course).

Where should we begin?

Ready to Learn Something - about ENTOMOLOGY?

Entomology is the study of word origins. I love words and I am always intrigued about where they come from. In fact, I took Latin for 5 years beginning in high school through college. I minored in the Classics (Latin & biblical Greek). Did you know that approximately 70% of the English language has its roots in Latin. All of the "romance" languages are derived from Latin (Spanish, Italian, French, etc.) and even though Latin is considered a dead language, meaning it is no longer a conversational language, knowing Latin word roots will improve your English vocabulary and your reading.


Did you know that every state has a motto that is in Latin? I'd be curious if you could name your state's motto. You are probably already familiar with a number of Latin phrases (and I'm not talking about pig Latin here). For example, what does Semper Fi mean? How about:

Carpe Diem!
Veni, Vidi, Vici
Et tu Brute?

Can you name more? Let's see how many we can list. Good luck!