Why Latin?
One of the most common questions we get from prospective families is, "Why study Latin?" A proper classical education necessitates the study of a classical language, of which there are only two, Latin and Greek.
Certainly, studying Latin helps with the SAT, facilitates the learning of romance languages, provides a good background for the technical vocabularies found in the sciences and law, and bolsters a student's grasp of the English lexicon. Reading the original words of Julius Caesar in Latin and understanding thematic references to the Ancient Romans tucked in the pages of The Hobbit also make your enjoyment of literature and history much richer. However, the real value of Latin is the mental development it fosters.
The study of Latin is systematic, logical, and cumulative. Each step in its study builds upon the prior step, thus demanding mastery at each level before progress can be made. The rigor required to employ the precise declension by its correct number, gender, case, and tense is an exacting task. Latin stretches the student's mental acumen like no other subject can, and it requires perseverance and discipline. By studying a language taught entirely through its grammatical structure rather than the spoken word, students are poised to appreciate how language actually works, making them better thinkers and communicators in their native tongue.
Learning Latin supersedes "college and career readiness" precisely because its purpose is not narrow training for the workplace but education for a fully human existence, one in which we think clearly and convey ideas with elegant and thoughtful language, making connections to every discipline in our arsenal, and forming conclusions grounded in logical thought.
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