RETURNING TO CLASSICAL EDUCATION
Looking back on my own education, I can point to one elective choice that furthered my grasp of all other subjects and helped me achieve all my goals: the study of Latin.
Today it often seems that the study and acquisition of hard knowledge, factually based, has taken a back seat to contemporary concerns and the politics of managing schools. Although many decry the loss of critical thinking in our population, it is arguable that proficiency is unattainable without a sound bedrock of knowledge. Latin forces us to not only learn the grammar of a foreign language and how English is directly impacted, but Latin impels us to delve deeper into history, philosophy, geography, literature, political science, art and architecture. Latin is also part of our shared heritage as human beings. For better or worse, those who spoke Latin left their mark on every settled continent.
Commentator Micah Meadowcroft, writing on the Thomas D. Klingenstein website, has spoken eloquently of the importance of classical education. His articles are well worth reading (a recent one linked below). He notes that classical education, which certainly would include exposure to Latin, promotes intellectual development rather than simply a mass leveling off of the population. Ironically, classical education could promote individualism by making individuals aware of the common ground from which we all spring.
Thankfully, the movement toward classical education is growing. Schools are springing up around the country; here in St. Louis, the Classical Lafayette Academy in just a few short years has established itself as a potent force in the region. This movement is not for the select few; it is for all of us.
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