- Ryan Proctor
- Holy Spirit Preparatory School, senior
Ryan Proctor is a published author at the age of 17. No, he did not write a novel. He wrote a textbook.
A textbook on Greek. Ancient Greek.
Ryan began studying ancient Greek in the sixth grade. He feels that the language is something most people don’t know about.
When Ryan was entering his sophomore year at Holy Spirit Preparatory School, he started a Classics Club to teach other students about Greek and Latin. Attempting to teach the language to the other kids, Ryan found he had trouble because of the textbooks he was using.
“I found that they didn’t quite get Greek because all of the books were written for college students,” Ryan explained. “So I thought, well, they can do it if it is just explained to them the right way. So I decided to write my own book directed specifically for younger students.”
Last July, Ryan’s textbook was published. Khairete O Mathetai, which he says means “Hello, students,” is geared towards teaching the basics of Greek so high school students can grasp complicated concepts more easily.
The textbook that Ryan created assumes that students don’t have a linguistic background in Greek. Ryan feels that most textbooks infer that one already knows the difficult rules of the language, and he wanted to create a book that starts from the bottom. The textbook also makes easy comparisons to the English language, making it more relatable and easier for students to understand.
Ryan feels Greek is something all young people can learn. They just need the right resources, he said. At Holy Spirit, seventh and eighth grade classes now use some of Ryan’s textbook.
Ryan is extremely proud of the work ethic that he developed during the project. There were times when he felt like he wasn’t making progress, he said, but later came to realize that the work he put in had been valuable.
Ryan’s Greek teacher, Scott Schreiber, has taught the student for the past three years. “In my eight years of high school and 22 years of college teaching, Ryan is one of the finest readers of ancient Greek I have taught,” says Schreiber. “He has also been a teacher’s dream as a recruiter and enthusiast for classical languages.”
Ryan still finds the study of Greek intriguing. “By learning Greek,” he said, “it is like a prism through which I can see the whole world. It is such a different perspective, and you can see where the origins of our society are from.”
What’s Next:
Ryan is interested in continuing his Greek studies in college. He is hoping to attend an Ivy League school, and is also interested in the University of Notre Dame or Georgetown University. Ryan would like to add a second volume to his textbook. In the future, he would also like to teach high school Greek.