John P. Piazza, M.A.

www.johnpiazza.net

Employment Objective:

To obtain a full time or part time position as Latin and / or religion and ethics teacher at the high school level, where I can utilize my enthusiasm and experience to instill in students a love and appreciation for the Latin language and the tradition of thought which it encompasses. I would also like to develop and teach curricula in philosophy, ethics, and comparative religion, based on extensive experience with these subjects.

Academic Degrees and Awards earned to date:

2006: Single Subject Credential in Latin. Dominican University of California, San Rafael, California.

2004: M.A. in Classics, San Francisco State University.

2002: Society for Classical and Comparative Studies Travel Scholarship.

1999: B.A. in Philosophy and Religion, San Francisco State University, Summa Cum Laude.

1999: Achievement Award for Academic Excellence, San Francisco State University.

Languages:

Latin : Reading, composition, and oral proficiency. 8 years reading at the undergraduate and graduate level, 4 years of teaching, tutoring, and spoken Latin work.

Ancient Greek: 10 years reading at the undergraduate and graduate level. One semester teaching.

Italian: Reading and communication skills, mostly from travels.

French: Basic reading.

Teaching and Education Experience:

August 2006-present. Teacher of Theology and Latin. St. Vincent de Paul High School, Petaluma, CA.

2002-2006: Employed independently as a Latin teacher and tutor, high school and college level.

Fall semester 2005: Latin teacher at the College Preparatory School, Oakland, CA. Substitute position while current teacher was on sabbatical. Experience teaching all four years of Latin, including Advanced Placement.

Spring semester 2005: Credential observation at Redwood High School, Larkspur, CA.

January 2005: Volunteer substitute teacher of Latin and English Language Development at Richmond High School, Richmond, CA.

2003-2005: Teacher of beginning, intermediate, and conversational Latin, St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, Oakland, CA.

1999-2004: Teaching assistant to Dr. Jacob Needleman in the department of Philosophy at San Francisco State University, in both graduate and undergraduate classes in Philosophy and Comparative Religion. Gained experience lecturing, grading, compiling course readers and syllabi. Extensive experience at the introductory college level, and currently developing a curriculum for a high school level introductory class in philosophy and religion.

2002: Teaching Assistant to Dr. David Leitao in Greek 202, first year Ancient Greek, at San Francisco State University, department of Classics.

1998-1999: Reader and teaching assistant for Dr. John J. Glanville in the department of Philosophy at San Francisco State University.

1997-1998: Tutor in reading, writing and study skills at the Learning Assistance Center at San Francisco State University. Worked with students of diverse backgrounds and levels of education.

Professional Activities and Publications:

2007: (January 2008 publication) The Essential Marcus Aurelius. Translated and Introduced by Jacob Needleman and John P. Piazza. Penguin-Tarcher.

Teacher in Rusticatio Virginiana, a week-long Latin-immersion experience, organized by SALVI (North American Institute for Living Latin Studies)

2006: “Latin Prose Composition as a Fun, Creative, and Differentiated Activity” Annual Institute of the American Classical League, Philadelphia, June 2006. Download workshop packet and description here

Co-moderator of the online group and e-mail list Latin-BestPractices.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/latin-bestpractices

2005: Co-coordinator of Rusticatio Californiana, a week-long intensive spoken-Latin workshop, organized by SALVI (North American Institute for Living Latin Studies).

2004: Participant in the Conventiculum Latinum, held at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. This is a 10-day intensive spoken Latin workshop in which participants speak only Latin in order to improve their overall proficiency with the language, as well as learn alternative teaching methods. Organized by Terence O. Tunberg. Participants include Luigi Miraglia, David Morgan, and Stephen Berard, all pioneers in spoken Latin and neo-Latin studies.

“Veni Carthaginem: the Influence of a Vergilian theme upon Augustine’s Confessions.” Pithos 3 (Published by the Classics Department at San Francisco State University), 2004. Download as pdf here

“Latin and the 21^st Century Public School: Contemporary Challenges and Potential Solutions” Education and Culture seminar, Dominican University, fall 2004.

Friendship, Altruism, and the Structure of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. M.A. Thesis, department of Classics, San Francisco State University, 2004. Read the introduction here

2002: Participant in Aestiva Romae Latinitas, a two month Latin workshop in Rome, Italy, taught by Father Reginald Foster, Latinist at the Vatican.

“Altruism and Egoism in Aristotle’s Theory of Friendship.” Presented to the 2002 meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle-West and South. Austin, TX.

Administrative Experience:

Presently board member and webmaster for the Northern section of the California Classical Association (www.ccanorth.org).

2003-2004: President of the Classics Students Association, San Francisco State University. Gained experience managing budgets, organizing and promoting fundraiser events and a lecture series, as well as the publication of a newsletter and academic journal. Worked with University administration and student government.

Other Academic Skills:

Extensive Background in the following areas: History of Philosophy, Critical Thinking, Comparative Religion, English Grammar, Ancient Greek, Ancient Literature and Mythology, Ancient History of Greece and Rome, Music Theory, Trumpet, Guitar, Black and White Photography, Competitive and Recreational Cycling.

Technology:

I possess a working knowledge of a number of common applications, including MS Office and Photoshop, as well as more specialized language programs, including audio recording software. I consider the Web, when used correctly, to be an extremely effective teaching and research tool, as well as a valuable source of classroom materials. In order to make these resources easily available to my students and colleagues, I have developed a personal website: www.johnpiazza.net.

Associations:

American Classical League

California Classical Association, Northern Section

SALVI (North American Institute for Living Latin Studies)