Several times each academic year, Boys' Latin hosts speakers to enlighten and inform our school community on a range of subjects, including global warming, trends in higher education and a variety of other topics and ussies. These distinguished guests bring new perspectives and powerful insights to help stimulate discussion and action within our community of learners.
Ron Shapiro - The Parents' Association hosted an enjoyable Distinguished Speaker event on Wednesday, April 31 2010 featuring expert negotiator, attorney, sports agent, educator, and author, Ron Shapiro. Mr. Shapiro captivated the audience with a presentation and discussion of his newly published book, Dare to Prepare. Students in grades 8-12 received copies this book compliments of the Parents' Association to read prior to the presentation. Mr. Shapiro emphasized that "methodical preparation is that old-school, step by step way of getting all your ducks in a row. It's the secret to getting- and staying - in the winner's circle." Mr. Shapiro also introduced the audience to his "Preparation Principles Checklist" which includes the Situation Summary, Objectives, Precedents, Alternatives and Strategy/Next Steps to name a few.
Bill McKibbon - Sponsored bythe Middlebury College Alumni Association, Boys' Latin hosted Bill McKibbon on November 7, 2009. Bill spoke powerfully about his international climate change work and his organization 350.org. An American environmentalist and writer, Bill McKibben is the founder of 350.org, an international climate campaign. This October 10, 350.org is organizing the second annual 350 International Day of Climate Action, with thousands of events planned at iconic places around the world. Bill frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. Beginning in the summer of 2006, he led the organization of the largest demonstrations against global warming in American history. McKibben is active in the Methodist Church, and his writing sometimes has a spiritual bent. Bill grew up in suburban Lexington, Massachusetts. He was president of the Harvard Crimson newspaper in college. Immediately after college he joined the New Yorker magazine as a staff writer, and wrote much of the "Talk of the Town" column from 1982 to early 1987. He quit the magazine when its longtime editor William Shawn was forced out of his job, and soon moved to the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.