Brian Tibbets '96 and Dean Cliff '10 Seize the Day in Latin Class

Every day Monmouth-Roseville High School students are introduced to a world with the characters of Virgil, Cicero and Julius Caesar. It is not a video game, but Brian Tibbets ’96 and Dean Cliff ’10 are arming these students with diligence and a good memory.

From habeas corpus to carpe diem students hope their studies will help them in their performance on standardized tests, while others look for an edge in future medical and legal careers. Yet there are some who just like the history, mythology and culture that is fundamental to studying Latin.

In just his second year at Knox, Cliff is influencing a new generation of high school students in Tibbets’ classroom. Tibbets is Monmouth-Roseville High School’s Latin teacher. It is not the first time this Knox student and Knox alum have shared a classroom. Cliff was a student when Tibbets completed his student teaching requirement at Galesburg High School.

“He’s going to be a good teacher,” Tibbets says of Cliff.

Cliff observed Tibbets’ Latin classes during spring 2008. “I have put him in front of the class, and he was not afraid to make those immediate microscopic decisions. That is what teaching is all about,” Tibbets says.

“It’s challenging, but teaching high school Latin is what I really want to do,” Cliff says. “I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Cliff just completed his first year of class observation. “It was a bit of a time-warp, definitely different,” he says. “I have to change my mind set. I know that I have to model the behavior that is expected of these kids.”

Although he says that he had little experience working with kids before coming to Knox, Cliff says his aspirations to be a teacher were confirmed while working as a teacher's assistant at Knox's summer College for Kids program. He says the summer camp experience provided the opportunity to get his feet wet in the profession he wants to pursue.

This is also a full circle moment for Tibbets. Although he graduated from Knox with a degree in classics, his immediate career following graduation from Knox took him to theatrical stages in Colorado, Missouri and, St. Louis. “When I was at Knox, I enjoyed my time as a classics major and enjoyed time in the theatre department. I left Knox wanting a job in the theatre department and I found out I was really good explaining things and working with kids,” says Tibbets.

He returned to school and, after completing his education requirements, landed a leading role as the Latin teacher at Monmouth-Roseville High School. He seems well cast for the role and says he is right at home in the classroom.

“Teaching is a stage. You have to be comfortable in front of people and not afraid to use you body to demonstrate things. Teaching comes from hearing; it comes from seeing and talking. The more I’m moving the more they are engaged,” he says.

Cliff spent about two weeks sitting quietly in the back of the classroom and says that other than the flashback of having Tibbets as a student teacher in high school, the experience was enlightening. “I’m still in the early stages of my education track, and coming here I found that there is a big difference between saying you want to teach Latin and doing it. I have learned a lot, and I am really glad for the opportunity,” says Cliff.

Today, Tibbets says he is confident in Cliff’s classroom presence and ability. “I don’t have all the answers. But I do enjoy showing them one way of managing a classroom and what I think makes a successful classroom,” he says.

The transfer of knowledge works both ways, and Tibbets enjoys the collaborative effort. “I like seeing the spin they [student teachers] put on material I have been teaching for years. Teaching is very much like learning all over again, because they will bring me ideas as well,” says Tibbets. “It is very rewarding in helping them perfect their presence in the classroom.”

Brian Tibbets '96 counsels Dean Cliff '10. Cliff observed Tibbets' Latin class at Monmouth-Roseville High School during spring 2008. Several years ago, Tibbets was student teaching at Galesburg High School where Cliff was one of his students.