<p>Latin Club and Latin language classes are being eliminated from my high school's curriculum.
This is currently the subject of huge outrage among students, parents and alumni / alumnae.
I have been in Latin Club for 4 years, I have been devoted to the program for all of high school. I was elected president last year. The club has been highly competitive in calssical competitions, taking first in the state convention for the past four years. It is also a service organization, collecting money for Muscular Dystrophy, wrapping presents for the poor at Christmas, and leading rallies at football games. The club means a lot to me and so does the teacher, who is going to be jobless next year. </p>
<p>A lot of letter-writing and petitioning is going on. I would appreciate any words anyone on here can say about the value of Latin and classics in high school, as part of the integrity of the program, the educational experience, and in the college admissions process.
I will take anything provocative, sincere, or helpful in anyway.</p>
<p>As the former consul (~president, and there was only one) of my own school’s Junior Classical League club, I must say that Latin courses must be expanded. I loved Latin, and took it up until Latin V, before my Latin teacher (among my favorite teachers/professors ever) left. There’s a new one now, but I’m not involved.</p>
<p>Latin was very fun, but it was also much more than just a language class. I attribute my love of history (what will be my major) in part to that class, and I still have immense interest in the history of the Roman Republic. Knowledge of the history and customs of Rome helps to illuminate our own world. All of western civilization is descended from Greece and Rome (among other, regional influences), and this country was founded to be the new Rome. With the founding, we see that all were welcomed, and all came in, to build a civilization like the world had never seen before. But it had been done before; it had been done by Rome. Rome’s supremacy for nearly 500 years (merely half of its ancient history) is unsurpassed anywhere else in history. Superpowers, as a rule, last 100-150 years; Rome is the exception. That is why we were to be the new Rome. Look at Washington, DC. Roman architectures, the fasces over the doorways of Congress, the dream of a Republic (imperfect in Rome, perhaps to be perfected here). We are Rome’s posterity, and we will be doomed to its mistakes and excluded from its triumphs if we fail to learn from them.</p>
<p>Much is still to be said for the Latin language. The practical applications are many, in fields of law, medicine, and science. But it doesn’t stop there; not remotely. Upon receiving a solid foundation in Latin, the learning of the five Romance Languages that sprang from it (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian) becomes faster and easier, allowing for greater language mastery. Learning Latin also provides insight into our own language, wherein 60% of the vocabulary is derived from Latin. The average score of high school students on the SAT is a 501 in critical reading; the average for Latin students is 666 (Nero Caesar!). Learning Latin in its own right also helps you understand the culture from which Western Civilization sprang.</p>
<p>We are all the children of Rome. Be strong!</p>
<p>Meh. Classes have to get cut sometimes. There will always be people who aren’t satisfied. Writing a petition will not solve staff/budget issues. If they restored Latin, they would just have to cut some other class, and would lead to another petition would ensue. Extra languages are usually the first to go; There are many alternatives and they aren’t really career oriented, and the classes aren’t intertwined with other courses.</p>
<p>Now, removing the club? That makes no sense. Why would a school eliminate the Latin Club? That is the quesiton you should be asking. I don’t really see the logic behind that. My school has plenty of clubs that don’t have a subsequent class, including language clubs. This is what really needs to be fixed. Clubs aren’t even part of highschool “curriculum” - as president, you badly need to go make a case to the administrators for not eliminating the club, as there is simply no justification for doing so.</p>