Sarah Cowett

A lifelong passion for languages and teaching led Sarah Cowett to teaching Latin at the high school. She grew up in Ohio, and this is her fourth year teaching in Massachusetts. Cowett lives with her husband and cat, Nix. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, knitting, playing board and card games and watching hockey and baseball. As a high school student, she was involved in Latin Club, Science Olympiad, theater and band.

What was something interesting you did this summer?

I went to Baltimore and Philadelphia to visit some friends. I also watched some Red Sox games, and when we had some time to relax, my husband and I drove to Harper’s Ferry in West Virginia and visited the historical sites there. I never considered history to be my favorite subject in school, but I’ve gotten a lot more interested in it as I’ve gotten older.

When did you realize that you wanted to become a teacher?

My parents would tell you that was at age four when I had my stuffed animals lined up and my little map. I would say by 8th or 9th grade, I was like, “I think I want to be a teacher,” in part because I was so set in the pattern of the year starting in September. I like teaching. I like explaining things to people and continuing to learn myself, so it seemed like being in school would be fun.

Why did you choose to become a Latin teacher?

I’ve always thought about this, and part of me thinks that I would’ve ended up becoming a language teacher for whatever language I had studied in middle school and high school. I just really love languages, and I love teaching them to people. I took Latin initially because of one of the Latin teachers in my middle school. I really enjoyed the way that they and the high school teachers kept us involved in Latin Club, as well as the opportunities that were open to me through Latin. I was like, “I want to do that more, keep doing that and help bring other people into it.”

Why do you like Latin?

It has just provided a kind of window for me to examine English as a language and make some really interesting comparisons and contrasts.  As a course of study, Latin is interesting because it is so different from English. It helped me learn about how languages work in general, which I think is really cool. I’ve gotten more interested in history, and I’ve actually studied a lot more Roman history in college and while being a teacher than I ever did as a student.

Is there something in particular you’re excited for this year?

I am really excited to be here because this is a very new environment and is very different from the places I’ve worked at before. It’s fun to start something new and to be in a place this exciting. It seems like there are so many opportunities.

Is there anything else you want people to know about you?

I’m very into linguistics—my next best language is American Sign Language. If anyone wants to come talk about linguistics or practice sign language, I would love a buddy!