Proposed charter schools include all-boys Latin prep

[Christina Paulston]

I said "elitism in academic achievement"  NOT academics for elites.  
There is a world of difference.  As far as I know/remember SW Philly  
is  a predominently African-American neighbourhood.  I don't think even 
an Appalachian would accuse them of being elitist.  It does not mean 
that they can't end up being elite in academic achievement which is 
presumably what Hardy has in mind.  My comment about Greek, however 
accurate was really tongue in cheek.  Meaning I find all this carrying 
on about Latin is insignificant compared to the "all-boys" school 
(where are the feminists?) and much more interesting the geographic 
context.
	I would say that advocating a program in Aymara is a lot more elitist 
that one in Latin which does have some practical implications.  
Christina
On Oct 18, 2005, at 11:53 AM, Kephart, Ronald wrote:

>>  >From the Philadelphia Enquirer, Thu, Oct. 13, 2005
>>
>> "When you look at SAT scores, the kids who take Latin, as a group, 
>> score the highest," Hardy said. "Latin puts an academic tone on the 
>> school that gets people serious from when they come in the door."
>
> Well, I don't have anything against Latin, but I bet a program 
> centered on the rigorous teaching of any language would accomplish 
> similar results.
>
>>  He said Latin also helps students with English grammar...
>
> The study of any language would help here, seems to me, because what 
> we're looking for is the metalinguistic toolkit that enables students 
> to reflect back on English.
>
>> ...and vocabulary...
>
> OK. This is probably true, because the prestige vocabulary, the 
> vocabulary likely to be tested on SAT, is largely Latinate. The SATs 
> represent a sort of ongoing colonization of the mind; does the year 
> 1066 mean anything?  (How many native Anglo-Saxon words are 
> specifically tested for on the SAT, I wonder?)
>
>> ...and provides a pathway for learning other languages. "Latin is 
>> something that takes some effort to master," he said. "If you can get 
>> kids to fight the fight to master it, they won't be afraid to do 
>> anything."
>
> Any language well-taught takes "some effort to master." The prestige 
> Latin holds in this regard is, in my view, still more 
> mind-colonization. Again, recall 1066 and then think of the folk 
> notion of French being harder to learn than Spanish.
>
> Anyway, as I tell my linguistics students, there's nothing special 
> about Latin that isn't true of every other human language.*
>
> Ron
>
> *No Latin teachers were harmed in the writing of this email.
>