CLASSICAL CORNER BY HEADMASTER PARKER
Why Latin?
I am often asked why we teach Latin to 5th and 6th graders. The questioners usually comment that Latin is a dead language and thus might not be useful. This is a favorite question of mine because I then get to share what I have learned in my journey as a classical educator. I discovered, in research and then by our own experience, that Latin is a language of depth and style, full of words rich in meaning and definitely worth learning. Most people recognize some of the “practical” uses for studying Latin. It is the foundation of the Romance languages such as Italian, French, Spanish and even Romanian.
The study of one language yields insights into others. Learning Latin offers students a complete education in the Western tradition and an advantage when studying these other modern languages. Latin roots make up 60% of the words in the English vocabulary. Students can use their knowledge of Latin roots on tests, college applications or even when reading a piece of great literature. Latin also helps students in the sciences. There are 200 scientific terms derived from Latin.
The academic reasons provide many strong claims praising the value of learning Latin, but my first and favorite reason that we teach this “dead” language at GreatHearts is that Latin builds thinkers. And to cultivate deep thinkers is the goal of a classical education. When translating, the very structure of the Latin sentence trains the reader to use their brain to decipher details in a different and challenging way. Latin cultivates the mind, prompting the student to question and consider, and in doing so, develops the next generation of students as thinkers.
Therefore, not only will the learning of modern “useful” languages be
strengthened and enriched by having a Latin foundation, but the mind of the student will be strengthened and enriched as well. We teach all language liberally, to cultivate the mind.
