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<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/nyregion/07latin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/nyregion/07latin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin</a></p>
<p>In my area Latin seems to be taught in only private schools, it would be interesting to see it expand.</p>
<p>Our public rural southern high school offers Latin, all years + AP. New the first years we moved here but after 6 years it is a huge program now and the classes take a trip to Italy every year now with funds raised by the students.</p>
<p>Was significant enough in daughter’s life that she will be graduating in May with a degree in Classics minoring in Latin (she is also pre-med). There are 19+ high schools in our district and I think all also offer Latin with some offering Greek.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>My D asked several years ago why our HS didn’t offer Latin, and was told there was no one to teach it. I don’t think they were looking very hard for a teacher, though. She ended up taking 2 years of Russian instead, which she enjoyed, but she had wanted Latin and was told she could do it online only.</p>
<p>D took 4 years of Latin and S is in his 5th, AP, year of Latin. It has helped them in other areas of their studies.</p>
<p>Mortua lingua sola est bona.</p>
<p>“The only good language is a dead language.”</p>
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<p>Latin won’t be “back” as a living language until such time as there is a population somewhere in which toddlers learn it as their first language by hearing their mothers speak it.</p>
<p>LOVED this article! S1 (hoping to major in classics in college) was amused to see his old 7th grade textbook in the photo. </p>
<p>Unfortunately in most communities in the county under discussion, Latin is still very much a private school thing. Which is one reason we moved S1 from the local public school.</p>
<p>Ah, Sextus and Cornelia. We used that textbook in 7th grade. My private school requires Latin study for a minimum of two years. I thought it was great, but I don’t think it would be effective or appropriate to require Latin in mainstream public schools (magnet schools, charter schools, etc. are different). Latin is a great option for talented and/or motivated students, though.</p>
<p>When S was in (public) high school, the Latin teacher retired. The school considered itself very fortunate to be able to hire two new teachers, one to replace the retired teacher, the other to meet increase demand. The (not quite so) new interest in learning Latin has resulted in a dearth of Latin teachers.</p>
<p>S is taking Latin at a (suburban, Midwest) public high school. The teacher is very young and was a classics major–Greek is his better language, but the school doesn’t offer it. The teacher travels between two schools, and students have to travel to another high school for 3rd and 4th year Latin.
I guess Latin is the #4 language in the district. Chinese is offered at certain schools, also. Spanish starts in kindergarten here.
Russian was taught at my public HS back in the 70’s–I don’t think you see as much of that anymore. </p>
<p>BTW, the Latin Mass, Gregorian chant, etc. are back, too!</p>
<p>I sent that article to my Classics major D this morning. Even though she’s not particularly interested in teaching, it’s good to know that there’s a demand for Latin teachers out there.</p>
<p>S is taking Latin for his college language after 3 years of it in high school. It’s really hard in college once they get past basic vocabulary.</p>
<p>Both my boys take Latin in their public schools. It’s pretty popular.</p>
<p>In Chicago, a Latin Olympics is held for middle, junior and high schools students. There are certamen competitions, regional and state.</p>
<p>There is also a state convention and an Illinois team is sent to the Junior Classical League national convention.</p>
<p>I attended a high school freshman year that only offered French and Latin. I took French and an acquaintance signed up for Latin. I asked her why. Thirty five years later, her response is still high up on the list of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard: “I want to be a nurse and all the doctors these days are Latins …”</p>
<p>^ That is incredible! Did she pass Latin?!</p>
<p>I didn’t discuss it again, but I had visions of her becoming fluent in Latin and attemting to assist a Hispanic doctor in an operating room while speaking only Latin.</p>
<p>missy, I didn’t know you went to school with Sarah Palin!</p>
<p>That’s a joke, people! <em>ducking</em></p>
<p>Marite - Your comment about the dearth of Latin teachers gives me hope that the huge sum we are investing in S1’s classics major will actually afford him a meaningful job. Originally when he declared his major we joked that he could always obtain a job on Wall Street since that’s where most of his school’s graduates seemed to wind up regardless of major, but of course that option faded from view. We were picturing three more years of tuition for law school…</p>
<p>Here is a link with a photo and brief article about the young woman who gave the Latin oration at D’s graduation ceremonies this past June.</p>
<p>[English</a>, Latin, graduate orators get a chance to make their voices heard — The Harvard University Gazette](<a href=“http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/06.05/19-orators.html]English”>http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/06.05/19-orators.html)</p>
<p>Sitting there listening to her speech, I was amazed at her fluency in Latin. It just flowed out of her as easily as English does out of everyone else. Plus she punctuated her speech with ad locutio gestures in true Old Roman rhetorical style. The article also points out what one can do career-wise with a Classics degree - in her case she has been accepted into the MD/PhD program at Harvard Medical School.</p>
<p>BTW:The Latin oration is a very old tradition at Harvard commencement ceremonies. Back in the 17th and 18th centuries it was tradtional at Harvard for the graduates to give three speeches: one in Latin, one in Greek, and one in Hebrew. The Greek and Hebrew orations have long since been turned into English speeches, but the Latin continues to this day. For the '08 graduation twenty two graduating seniors composed speeches in Latin and competed for the honor of giving the Commencement Latin Oration. The young woman linked above was the winner.</p>
<p>Sweet. Finally something I can do with my Classics degree! I also majored in Bio, intending on going to Med school. Now, my job normally doesn’t involve either major. Except on weeks like these when there is an outbreak on campus. Ugh.</p>
<p>At my high school, a large public in rural California, they offered Spanish, French and German. By my senior year, they only offered Spanish. Unfortunately, no one wanted to take anything but Spanish. I was very excited to take Latin and Greek when I went to college.</p>