Latin: Living or Dead?

​Latin? I'm sure you're kidding.

My kids have enough trouble with the basics of English — certainly you’re not suggesting they learn Latin!

Well, yeah.

Let me explain why I believe Latin is an important part of a basic education, and why I started teaching it.

​Both of my children are dyslexic, and along with that came a more-than-average struggle in learning the basics of English and language arts. I knew studying Latin would help build their vocabulary.

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But since we’ve studied Latin, I’ve seen a remarkable improvement in not only vocabulary but also their spelling abilities and their general grasp of the English language.

The curriculum I use, First Form Latin by Memoria Press, gives the “Top 10 Reasons for Studying Latin” in an article featured at their website.

Here are my favorite 3 of those 10 reasons:

1. Half of our English vocabulary is made up of Latin words and roots. That’s a lot of vocabulary and an incredible aid in being able to ascertain the meaning of words simply by knowing the meaning of the root word.

2. Latin is the next step after phonics. Most of us can agree that studying phonics is a great first step in learning to read, write, and spell. But it shouldn’t stop there. Because our language is a “marriage” of both English and Latin, many of the words our students will encounter after 2nd grade are Latin based.

3. Latin is the foundation of all language learning. Did you know many other languages, such as Spanish, Italian, and French, evolved from classical Latin? What a great way to start your student’s interest in the study of any Romantic language.

In First Form Latin, we will do varied activities to build an exciting adventure into the world of Latin. We’ll sing songs, play games related to the weekly assignments, and have discussions about our weekly workbook.

I hope you’ll let your child study this very useful, practical, and valuable language with me!

​— Kristen Keeling, Loganville Instructor