Parker Smith is joining the Clapham faculty to teach Latin (alongside other Latin faculty), Algebra 1, and an Upper School elective on Christianity and Fantasy Literature this fall.
Can you share a little about yourself and your family? (Where you’re from, education/formative experiences, how long have you been married/do you have children, where you worship)
Of course! I am originally from Beaufort, South Carolina, a land of pine woods and salt marshes. I was homeschooled by my mom until 7th grade, when I started going to a classical Christian school called Holy Trinity. In my time there, I discovered that I loved learning, that I could accomplish hard things, that my faith was rich and full of deep truth. I had teachers who loved me and, by the time I graduated, I knew that I wanted to be like them. I went to Wheaton College in the Fall of 2020, where I studied English Literature and Classical Languages with the hope of teaching the classics. I also will have completed an MA in Leadership from Wheaton by the end of August. My time at Wheaton has been very important to my formation. I read some fantastic books, learned Latin and Greek, and made lifelong friends. Oh, and I also found the love of my life there! Alison and I got married this past April, and our life this summer has been a blast. We have been travelling, visiting with family, and learning how to do life together. We attend College Church and serve in HYACKS together.
You’re joining the Clapham faculty to teach Latin, a fantasy and Christian literature elective, and Algebra 1. Let’s start with Latin. For families who might be new to classical education, how would you describe the unique benefits of learning Latin for students today?
Learning Latin sounds like an unusual exercise today, but its benefits are useful to all. Those who study Latin grasp other languages more quickly, become more intimately acquainted with English vocabulary and grammar, and achieve more direct access to some of the greatest minds of history. Furthermore, because Latin grammar is very orderly, those who learn it are made aware that the world they inhabit, like the language they read, operates according to laws that are knowable—a persuasion that cannot be taken for granted in our increasingly nihilistic culture.
How do you see the study of Latin connecting with and strengthening a student’s understanding of our Christian faith and the Bible?
Latin students make excellent exegetes. The close reading skills required to translate texts are closely related to those required to read Scripture carefully. Additionally, because Latin is similar to Greek in many ways, Latin students can learn the language of the New Testament fairly easily. In addition to becoming better at reading Scripture, Latin students can also become better at praying. There are many beautiful prayers originally written in Latin. Learning these prayers and using them as models for one’s own prayer life deepens our faith.
Beyond grammar and vocabulary, what are some of the “big ideas” or important skills you hope your students will gain through their Latin studies?
First, I hope that my students get a sense that the world is logical and understandable. Second, I hope that they experience the pleasure of understanding a sentence for the first time as a result of their perseverance and discipline. Third, I hope that they grow in their ability to understand English and other languages.
What are your favorite examples of Christian fantasy literature? What do you love about them?
My favorite example of Christian fantasy is The Lord of the Rings. I love the way that Tolkien takes his reader on a journey through a beautiful yet deeply troubled world, and the moral questions with which the attentive reader grapples are timeless. Further, as a Latinist, I love the process by which Tolkien wrote the story, starting with a language, generating a body of myths from those, and finally forming characters and a narrative that fit perfectly into the world he has created.
I also care for George MacDonald’s Phantastes, an enchanting read full of beautiful nature imagery. I highly recommend reading this book in a dense forest, with a stream trickling nearby if possible.
What’s the main thing you hope students take away from your fantasy elective?
I hope that students fall more in love with reading and with the world that they inhabit.