The Country School is an independent, coeducational, Pre-K through 8 school founded in 1934.
Right Start Blog
Top 10 Reasons to Learn Latin
With so many other subjects taking up the busy student’s day, why do we still teach Latin in 7th and 8th grade? Here are our favorite reasons that we keep this “dead” language alive.
- Is your favorite subject English? Nearly half of English vocabulary comes to us from Latin, whether directly or filtered through the Romance languages, particularly French. Latin and English also share many grammatical rules, some of which make little sense in English because they are based in Latin. Ever wonder why you can’t end a sentence with a preposition? LATIN!
- Is your favorite subject Science? The names of many branches of modern science come from either Greek or Latin roots, and a large portion of periodic table symbols are based on the Latin names of those elements. Ever wonder why lead has the symbol PB or gold has the symbol AU? LATIN!
- Is your favorite subject History? The Roman people had a fascinating culture full of exciting historical events and people. In fact, much of our own American culture, particularly in law and education, is based off of the culture of ancient Rome! Ever wonder where the founding fathers got the idea of division of powers? ROME!
- Is your favorite subject Math? The translation of Latin sentences follows a specific step by step pattern, which helps train the brain to solve all sorts of other logic based problems, especially the sort which you might encounter in high level math classes. Ever wonder “When am I ever going to use this?” The ability to follow steps in a specific order to solve a problem? Well, everywhere really. But also in LATIN!
- Is your favorite subject Spanish? Even more related to Latin than English, Spanish IS one of the five Romance languages, along with French, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian. Latin provides an excellent basis for beginner study of any of these five languages, or other languages. Ever wonder about the origins of common Spanish words like amigo or madre? LATIN!
- Is your favorite subject Latin? Of course it is, because Latin encompasses most every subject in some way or another. The great thing about a Latin education is that in learning about the Romans, their culture and their language, you will be simultaneously learning information and skills which will be able to transfer into other fields easily and seamlessly.
Well, now that it’s your favorite class, let’s talk about some of the other facets of Latin that make it appealing for a student and his or her future.!
- On average, Latin students consistently score higher on standardized tests, both in verbal and quantitative portions, than students who do not study Latin.
- Thanks to the immense influence of Latin on both the American legal system and the worldwide study of science and medicine, Latin makes an excellent building block to a future career in law, medicine or various scientific fields.
- Interested in college? In candid interviews, admissions officers at top universities both public and private admit that when seeing Latin on a transcript they “add on extra ‘weight’”. Students who take Latin are seen as “pursuing academic study in the purest sense” and “not simply fulfilling a requirement.”
- From William Shakespeare to Thomas Jefferson, Dante Alighieri to J.K. Rowling, great minds and artists throughout history have been inspired to that greatness through their study of the ancients, their ideas, their writings and their language. What might it inspire in you?
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