Do schools even teach Latin anymore?

[Anonymous]

My high school started having Latin via the KET program a few years ago. About 3 years ago they got a real teacher. It had Spanish, French, German, and Latin. The other two public schools in my parish only had Spanish and French. Unfortunately my school (and the other two) was destroyed in Katrina and the new school was only to have Spanish and French, but the German teacher fought and got German added. Latin doesn't seem to have a place. I was in Latin III at the time of Katrina, and when I returned to high school I took German I. I start Loyola University New Orleans next semester as a Classics major, though.

I always was grateful that we had Latin. As much as people say it doesn't apply or help anymore, I use Latin roots to identify definitions of English words every day.

I don't know what I'll do with my Classics studies, but I may push to start Latin again at the new school and possibly teach it.

 

[Melissa_Hewett]

Hmmmm.
I was interested to see if people in other countries had the same problem. In English schools the two languages that are taught are French or Spainish. No choice.
The excuse I suppose is that Latin is not a commonly used language. If that is the excuse, how pathetic. I mean you will only need the other languages if you visit or move over to these countries.

It's kinda similar to what is happening in Ireland. When I was growing up Gaelic was so common & speaking English was not the norm. Now it is the other way around. Sad stuff really.

At most private schools latin is taught compulsory up to GCSE which is like 15/16yr olds. After that it is an option but not compulsary.

 

[Anonymous]

I took Latin as a subject in South Africa. There are still schools that present Latin, but they are getting quite few. My University Latin Lecturer teaches Latin to teens in her free time. It's also optional at University... :shock:

 

[sprog]

While I can only speak definitely on my own high school, I am relatively certain that most public schools in my area offer four levels of Latin.
My own school offered four as well, but I generally attribute that to its being a small Catholic school.

 

[djmeyers]

Ha, my college doesn't even offer philosophy past intro. Except buisness ethic philosophy classes which makes me want to kill myself just thinking about. As far as Latin goes there are just too many commonly used living languages they don't teach to even consider Latin. I don't mind though, teaching yourself something is infinitely more useful then being taught from a crappy textbook. Ad inferum cum collegio

 

[Donaldus]

It was an optional subject when I was in school, and I didn't take it because the arguments for doing Latin - it's challenging and it gives you historical perspective - sounded at the time more like arguments _against_ doing Latin.

It seems to me that there are two things not about Latin itself, but about traditional Latin teaching methods, that make the subject seem difficult.

Firstly the methods assume discipline from students... there's a natural resistance to to being told to memorise mensa mensa mensam etc _before_ being told how to use the genitive or ablative case, and it takes discipline to work against that resistance. In the old days such discipline was imposed, so it was easy in a way. Nowadays there isn't a reliable supply of discipline - it has to derive from maybe the student being passionate about languages, or having persuasive parents or an inspiring teacher.

The second thing that makes the subject seem difficult is that the teaching methods are gramatically explicit (you can't teach a language without teaching its grammar, but you can teach grammar without being grammatically explicit). It takes a certain abstract mindset in a student to turn a page say to "Ch. 17: The Ablative Absolute", not be intimidated, understand it as a description of a pattern in the usage of the language and not as some handwavey theoretical thing, and appreciate looking at patterns in a language in that way.

 

[Servus Nostri Domini]

Being from a New York State Public School, I do not actually have oportunity to study Latin in school. There are 2 reasons for this:

1. NY does not recognize Latin as a fulfillment of the Foreign Language Requirement, and therefore does not offer a Regents Exam

2. The only teacher willing to teach it is our ever-so-important spanish substitute (whom everybody but me hates) and they don't want to use him as anything else.

However, that teacher has recognized my knack for languages and gave me a First Year Latin textbook from 1958. I am one month into rstudying it, and I have reached Lesson XIII out of LXXV. I realize it will take me a while before I am done with First Year Latin, but I am already considering the question "If I'm following a ciriculum from 1958, how am I going to continue on after I finish the first year course?" But hey, some latin is better than no latin at all!

~Servus Nostri Domini~

 

[Anika]

In Germany Latin is taught in nearly every school! At least in the "Gymnasium". You can take Latin as your second or third language, in some schools here even as the first, before English. Especially in northern Germany it is very common, for the south is so near to France, you see.
If you choose Latin in the 7th grade, you have the chance to study it for 7 years. It is seen as a very important subject and there are many students who select it instead of French. ( 50% Latin 50% French even)

I'm glad it is so popular here, I would regret not having learned Latin. I also think it's difficult, though, but NOT because of the declensions! It is only the poetry I ever found so amazingly difficult, because it is so free and...... short, so full of complex meaning. But, as I'm learning Mandarin Chinese, I see the use of inflecting words. In Mandarin Chinese no single word will ever be inflected in any way; and there is a limited number of syllables (420). Afer studying this language, you wish the good old declensions back

 

[Valerius]

In Malaysia and Singapore (being a very asian country) latin is not taught at all.

Not only that but there isn't latin as an extra class course too....

I cant find private tutors or any language centres that have it. Well till i went to America...

Latin is what I've always dream of learning since i was a kid and now imma happy camper!

Sit vis tecum!

 

[Errans]

Salve! Latin's definitely not dead in Virginia... we go to the Latin State convention... as for Latin itself, Virginia offers up to Latin VI and in some places VII and VIII. I'm in IV... oh well. Vale!