So Jim drives me into work in a downpour and I go into classrooms with students saying “Dr. Chew, where were you?” (revealing that, despite frequent reminders, they did not check online for my message that class was canceled on Monday). Due to the lingering effects of laryngitis, instruction in the perfect passive system of Latin verbs and in the interrogative pronoun of ancient Greek is short; two students ask to watch a DVD of “Decisive Battles,” the revolt of Spartacus recreated with videogame effects, courtesy of the History Channel. I go to hear the tail end of two guest …read more