2021 Glenn M. Knudsvig Award for Outstanding Latin Teaching
in Michigan Secondary Schools
The Department is proud to announce the 2021 recipient of the Glenn M. Knudsvig Award for Outstanding Latin Teaching in Michigan Secondary Schools is Mr. Anthony Cornish from Detroit Catholic Central High School in Novi, Michigan.
Mr. Cornish was nominated by Timothy Michowski, a 2021 Latin Language and Literature and Political Science graduate of the University of Michigan. In his nomination he states:
Mr Cornish, or “Corn” as his students know him, was without a doubt the best teacher I had in high school. His energy, respect for his students, innovation, and mastery of Latin always made any class with him a highlight of the day for all his students.
Perhaps what set him out the most was his commitment to technology while other teachers attempted to remove technology from the classroom as much as possible despite our textbooks being iPads. He encouraged technology in the classroom through the use of Google Docs where Latin texts would be on the screen for us to read as a class while we annotated the texts on our iPads and a class scribe would put unknown vocabulary items into a Quizlet to help us study for tests and exams. I have carried and applied these practices not only in my Latin classes, but all my college classes.
Mr. Cornish also conducted classes as if they were college classes with college students, which prepared me for college as much as it taught me Latin. The classes generally modelled my experiences in the University of Michigan Latin program, which made the transition to college even easier as we had to take responsibility for our work instead of having it mandated and structured like the rest of high school.
According to Principal Rev. Fr. Patrick Fulton, CSB, “Mr. Cornish is one of our most prized teachers and this is a wonderful recognition of the significant contribution he makes to life at Catholic Central High School”.
Mr. Cornish says: After graduating from UofM in 2003 (and spending my fair share of time in a centurion costume to recruit) I spent a brief stint in the world of finance only to return to my love affair with teaching in 2008. Since then I’ve spent the rest of my amazing career at Detroit Catholic Central in Novi, Michigan shepherding the Latin program there. Everyday it is my greatest joy to instill the love of Latin and the classics into another generation. I currently live in Ypsilanti with my amazing wife Sophia and my four children (Elijah 13, Audrey 10, Eva 10, and Eleanor 6). I will always be grateful to the classics department at UofM for including me and taking care of me as an undergraduate. You will always have a special place in my heart.
Congratulations Anthony!
