Mrs. Homeschool

I love how you are so opinionated and unafraid to step on toes! Your reasoning is exactly why I chose to teach mainly Spanish for my kids’ foreign language. But I have to admit I love learning ANY language, so Latin was on my list of things that might be nice . . . just didn’t get to it.

Some of my kids have wanted to study some other less commonly spoken languages, just because they wanted to do something different, so some have studied French, Russian, and last year my daughter studied Swahili and Malay (just some basic things like greetings, numbers, and a few words).

I think the emphasis on Latin in some homeschooling circles is because of the “Classical” method which is interesting in itself, with the concept of different learning phases based on age groups– but this method does encourage learning of Latin.

My guess is that in the Classical education method Latin is used as a mental exercise (so any other language could achieve the same purpose) and also might just be a nostalgia thing, because Latin– at certain times in history– was considered the language of scholars and scribes. If it worked for all those kids in the 19th century (and also for resaissance college students), why break with tradition?

This issue kind of reminds me of the argument about why every student needs to take higher maths . . .

I guess I’m kind of glad I know a little bit of Algebra– not that I’ve ever needed to use it, but just that I know how to create an equation if need be. But really, the only reason I remember any Algebra at all is that I’ve helped 7 of my kids learn it.

But I’m kind of sorry for the kids that are pushed to know maths way beyond beginning Algebra, even though they aren’t interested in the least in a career in sciences. But colleges require this high level of math achievement. To so many kids it is nothing but a mental exercise. Sure, mental exercises can be useful– but why not put your efforts into doing something that fits better with your interests and likely career path?

Funny you should mention signing…my children all know a bit of sign language and it came in handy just last week. Our girls were in a performance and were across the room from me and needed to say something, so we signed it! Everyone around us looked at us funny, as if they’d never seen anyone use sign language.

I’ve found that ASL has been a very helpful tool while trying to teach the children Spanish. It adds another visual dimension to their foreign language learning when I can sign a word AND say it in Spanish. :)

As a Latin teacher, this is how I make my living. But you’re right. For anyone living in or around or near a large community of foreign language speakers, the conclusion, which you draw, is correct. Resoundingly so. However. (And here is my standard defense of Latin when vocabulary/grammar/writing advantages are cast aside—and frankly those are skills separate from Latin, whatever uses Latin may have in teaching them.) In order to know where you’re going, you must know where you came from. Latin is our heritage as Western Christians. From antiquity through the medieval era to the Renaissance, Latin was the intellectual language of the Christian West. Even after Latin’s second death in the Renaissance, people with serious educations (the American founders for Americans) were steeped in the Latin tradition. Latin is where we, collectively in the West, came from. My secondary argument is that Americans (and I see you’re living in Costa Rica, so this may be moot) live in a deeply monolingual world, which is a pity in its own right. Any foreign language will broaden a child’s education, so why not pick one that will enrich their understanding of their own culture? You’re shockingly fortunate to be living in a country where you and your children are able to learn a second language and culture by immersion. You’re doubly fortunate to not have to do it as a disadvantaged immigrant. Maligning Latin to people who may have marginal use for low-level Spanish isn’t useful. I am also painfully aware of how ungood many Latin curricula are, so I won’t build them up. I’d also tell someone who wants to learn Spanish to learn Spanish, not Latin—no matter how useful Latin may be toward learning Spanish. Yes, Latin is strangely popular among homeschoolers—I am delighted by that for reasons of light and heat at home—but it isn’t for everyone.

Love it! I teach “Latin” in the sense that we study prefixes, suffixes, roots, etc., but I don’t teach it for the sake of learning to speak Latin. We do it for vocab, spelling, grammar in English, and…… (drum roll, please)….. Spanish! Thank you for this post; I feel vindicated.