The Pulse - December 2023

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THE PULSE | DECEMBER 2023 ISSUE

LAURELS FOR THE NEW LATIN TEACHER: MR. JOHNSON By Olivia Barsky

This school year, Harvey welcomed many new faculty members to our community, including our new Latin teacher Mr. Ryan Johnson. Teaching a language is challenging, especially when the language is not actually spoken. However, through a blend of lessons on grammar, history, culture, and syntax, Mr. Johnson artfully invites his students to the world of the Ancient Mediterranean. To learn more about Mr. Johnson, The Pulse decided to sit down with him and ask him some questions.

When asked about his journey pursuing his graduate degrees, Mr. Johnson shared that it was difficult at times but, if he could, he would not change his experience whatsoever. He is very grateful for all of the sights around the globe that his studies took him to; however, he also acknowledged that when earning your master’s and doctorate, you have to hold off on many milestones that your friends may be accomplishing because you are simply not in the position to do yet. And while the research and work may be difficult, and job prospects in history and classics may be precarious, he confidently stated that if the individual is a willing learner and truly ready to do it, he could not recommend the process more.

“Mr. Johnson artfully invites his students to the world of the Ancient Mediterranean.” — OLIVIA BARSKY, GR. 10

Born in California, Mr. Johnson briefly lived in Seattle before moving to Boise, Idaho, where he spent most of his childhood. However, these few moves are not the extent of Mr. Johnson’s worldly experiences. He lived in Boston while earning his master’s degree in Greek and Roman studies at Brandeis University. After that program, Mr. Johnson traveled north to the University of British Columbia, where he worked on his doctorate in Ancient History. Additionally, his studies have led him all over the world to places such as Italy, Greece, and Israel for archaeological excavations.

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Mr. Johnson was once a Latin student himself. In 2008, during his undergraduate studies, Mr. Johnson realized that he wanted to pursue a career in ancient history. He needed to acquire an ancient language, and Latin happened to be available. Luckily, not only did Mr. Johnson enjoy learning Latin, but, in his own words, he “fell in love with it.” Although he teaches Latin, he revealed that Ancient Greek and Akkadian are actually two of his favorite languages that he has learned. He enjoys exploring all of the different Ancient Greek dialects and reading in Akkadian, which is one of the oldest known languages.

In addition to these three languages, Mr. Johnson has also studied biblical Hebrew on his own, Ugaritic and Sumerian at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and a little bit of Egyptian. Because he is someone who is proficient in many different writing systems and languages, The Pulse asked him to share some language learning tips. Mr. Johnson mentioned that memorization is crucial when learning a language. And, in languages such as Latin and Greek, it is helpful to find English cognates, or derivatives.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Interview with Mr. Johnson Page 1 & 11, Olivia Barsky

OP/ED Page 2, Connor Harrington

Interview with Ms. Sayegh Page 3, Tessa Walsh

Interview with Mr. Paguada Page 4, David Trueba

Studious Spots on Campus Page 5, Logan Kreisberg

Senior Year Soccer Page 6, Dylan Gueli

A World Away, Just Next Door Page 7-8, Olivia Barsky

Sugar Shock Page 9, Annissa Khanna

Rick Rubin Page 10-11, Connor Harrington

A Century of Holiday Entertainment Page 12, Annissa Khanna

The Eras Tour Film Page 13, Logan Kreisberg

Gems Full of Memories Page 14, Cindy Wang

Mr. Johnson after teaching Latin IV Photographed by Olivia Barsky

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RIGOR WITH HEART

Passion for Learning. Respect. Integrity. Determination. Excellence.

THE HARVEY SCHOOL | 260 JAY STREET, KATONAH NY


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