By Neil Zolot/ Correspondent
Thursday, June 8, 2006
Should Latin be taught at the Swampscott High School? Should instruction in foreign languages begin at a younger age, maybe in sixth grade or even younger? Gretchen Fisher, a mother with four children in the schools, thinks so.
"I would love to see Latin reintroduced into our school system," she told the School Committee during public comment time at last week's meeting. "I was relieved to see that almost every discontinued course (at the High School) has its relevant content covered in the current courses. One glaring exception, however, is foreign language. SHS used to offer Latin I, II and III and Greek and Latin roots for English vocabulary building. I realize a virtual class is offered, but I want it in the building, not on the Internet."
She also thinks foreign language should be taught in sixth grade with each student taking one quarter of Latin, French and Spanish in order "make a truly informed choice about their interest in language. I will be happy to put my efforts where my mouth is and chair a committee to see this through."
School Committee Chairwoman Shelley Sackett agreed on the importance of Latin. She called the requirement for Latin at her Providence, R.I., high school "invaluable," although she admitted to taking a third year of the language to get out of gym.
"It provides excellent training in terms of discipline because there's lots of memorization and it's the backbone of so many other languages," she says. "It was required before; it's only been in the last recent years it hasn't been required."
"Students who take Latin in middle school do better on SATs," School Superintendent Dr. Mathew Malone confirmed. "It's something about root words and word recognition."
Sackett also remembers being taught foreign language in elementary school as a child.
"They teach it in seventh grade," she pointed out. "Why not in sixth? Those kids are already in middle school." "Over the next year, with the new principal, we'll be looking at pushing languages down to sixth grade," Malone said. "I'd also look to do small levels of language a the elementary level. It ties in with world studies and geography. I've asked the principals, 'How do we teach language at the elementary level? How can we experiment with introducing the study of language?'" He envisions a focus on mechanics, common phrases and cultural information.
French and Spanish, which have roots in Latin, may not be enough, however.
"We need to speak more than just French and Spanish to compete in a world market; we want to look at expanding our offerings beyond French and Spanish," Malone said. "The fastest growing language in the world is Mandarin Chinese. Why can't we teach that? American Sign Language is a world away, but is an example of innovation we can practice. We've got to look at this."
