more trivia

[tandfman]

There was a day when Latin was widely taught in US high schools. It was almost expected that a well-educated person would have studied Latin at some point. I never did take Latin (although my parents did). Is Latin taught in many high schools these days? Does anyone take it? (I'm excluding Catholic parochial schools from this inquiry--I assume they still teach Latin.)

[gh]

doggerel my father brought up when I embarked on my first two years of Latin:

Latin is a dead-dead language
As dead as dead can be
It killed off all the Romans
And now it's killing me

[dukehjsteve]

Veni, vidi, vici.

[Marlow]

Is Latin taught in many high schools these days?

Yes, most.

[bambam]

Is Latin taught in many high schools these days?

Yes, most.

Why? Doctors used to "need" it but most med students even from my era (early 80s) did not take it.

[Law dude]

Law dudes used to "need" it too, and there are still a lot of legal maxims that are widely referred to by lawyers and judges. But you can learn the maxims, and what they mean, without learning a whole language.

I never learned Latin and it didn't inhibit my career one bit.

[no one]

so remind me again what forum my post belonged??

[Marlow]

Is Latin taught in many high schools these days?

Yes, most.

Why?

Because a student's schedule is determined by their parents, and many parents see the advantages of knowing a language that many English words come from. As I said, even my own mediocre skirmishes with Latin got me ahead of the curve in my communication skills.

[gh]

Is Latin taught in many high schools these days?

Yes, most.

I'm guessing your response is colored by your experience, which isn't in the public school system. I did a quick google, and on one Q&A forum, found this response (from an avatar, so who knows about the credentials).

<<Many school districts are not hiring any teachers at all due to budget cuts, like in the city I live in, which is one of the top 20 in terms of population. Additionally, Latin is offered at very few secondary schools any more. (I've spoken at perhaps fifty schools in five different states and I always ask which foreign languages they offer. None, so far, has offered Latin or Greek.)

Reported statistics vary as to how many public schools in America even offer Latin - the figure I've heard is around 3%, and typically, enrollment isn't very high. A higher percentage of private - especially Catholic - schools offer at least a year or two, but again . . . it's not a popular class, and many schools have cut back. In Australia and the UK, reported figures range from 5% to 10%, but apparently many of the schools which "offer" it do so only online.>>

ps--that was a February 2010 posting.

[tandfman]

I was a bit surprised by Marlow's response to my question, and not at all surprised by what gh found. That's what I would have guessed.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mandarin is taught in as many US public high schools as Latin.

[Marlow]

I was a bit surprised by Marlow's response to my question, and not at all surprised by what gh found. That's what I would have guessed.
I wouldn't be surprised if Mandarin is taught in as many US public high schools as Latin.

Jacksonville (Duval County School Board) is not the premier school system in the state, and here's their language offerings:

http://www.duvalschools.org/static/abou ... erings.asp

As you can see, 7 of the 21 high schools offer Latin. ALL the larger private schools do.

I retract the 'most' statement and replace it with 'many'. Extrapolating this data, I'll say closer to 40% of FL schools do.

[tandfman]

And I'll retract some of my skepticism as to whether kids are really studying Latin these days in any substantial numbers. This article is 4 years old, but I have no reason to think the trend it describes has abated.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/nyregion/07latin.html

[gh]

I wonder if Florida might have a higher rate of Latin learners because the old standby, Spanish, doesn't apply to a significant portion of the populace? (no, not meant as an immigrant joke of any sort; just simple demographics)