a. d. ix Kal. Jul. ann. dom. MMIXschola est, cuius duces studium linguae Latinae abolere susciperunt....
A local girl's academy, arguably one of the best in the nation, is phasing out Latin. The motive is economic: in these hard times — and they are hard, make no mistake — underperforming programs must be cut.Which school? Ah, well, that would be telling. In the interest of decorum and tact (yeah, yeah, I know) let's leave names out of it for now. Suffice it to say that you would know which school if you combined, rebus-style, the first name of a match-making Jane Austen heroine with the first name of a movie misfit who trains large rodents to do his bidding.
Ever the activist, one of my colleagues spearheaded a letter-writing campaign. Here's the salient text of his letter, which not only makes a good argument for the preservation of Latin in the most difficult of circumstances, but also quotes the school's Latin mottoes in the process. Impolitic? Perhaps. Delectable? certe.
We are saddened to learn that [name of school] has decided to phase out the teaching and learning of Latin. While we appreciate the challenges that your institution, indeed all of our institutions, face in these difficult times, we hope you will reconsider this decision. We see the loss of Latin at [name of school] as a loss for your students, your school, and all of us who value educational excellence.
As one of the nation’s leading college preparatory schools for young women, [name of school] has fashioned a reputation for unsurpassed excellence. Those graduates who matriculate at our nation’s colleges and universities rank among the finest students enrolled and bring with them the renown and the high aspirations of their alma mater. That reputation, and those aspirations, have been fostered by a diverse and exciting curriculum that offers young women the full spectrum of disciplines, perspectives, and ideas. In our judgment, the decision you have made to eliminate Latin from the curriculum runs contrary to [name of school]’s historic mission and will deprive current and future students linguistic and literary windows on a profound culture.
All of the data, both regional and national, demonstrate a continuing upsurge in interest in the study of Latin. In the Capital District, Saratoga Springs H.S. teaches 225 students in Latin, and Shenendehowa High enrolls 425 [editor's note: !!!]. And, at [names of baccalaureate institutions], Latin and Classics are thriving, and annually we witness exceptional achievement from our students as a result of studying Latin and ancient Greek. The intellectual discipline that these languages demand distinguishes our students, who routinely apply their studies in Classics to the challenges of contemporary society. Latin and Greek don’t just expose students to two ancient civilizations; they equip students with the requisite skills to meet the challenges of a global and complicated world.
...This is not the time to cut a program that has been at the heart of [name of school]’s academic program for nearly two hundred years. Indeed, your school’s mottoes strike us as particularly apt to this issue: gaudet patientia duris, “Patience rejoices in adversity,” and semper fidelis, “Always faithful.” How ironic it would be if a school with such a commitment to perseverance, to its traditions, and to the value of knowing Latin would discard that commitment.Respectfully, etc.





