I have never understood the intention of those who choose to enroll their children in a Latin class over a Spanish class. I may take a step farther and say that I do not understand the intention of those, in this context, who choose to enroll their children in a French or German class over a Spanish class, but at least some of them may have the excuse of a German or French lineage. I have yet to meet a Roman. On the other hand, I have met many Spanish speakers who would probably love to meet a couple more WASPs who could speak their language. Instead, white mid-upper class Christians are pushing classical education as the Christian alternative and are raising up generations of students who can read Cicero but are unable to communicate with their neighbor or the boy at school who has few friends because he can't speak English.
What great service does this provide? Well, our young Latin scholars may score higher on the SAT because they know root words. Then they can get in a better college. Then they can make lots of money. Then they can boss around their neighbor and the child from school. Then they can pay thousands of dollars to go on a "missions" trip to a country where they can't speak the language and make comments about how blessed they are and how poor the country is (nice hotels though). Then they can feel better about all of their life decisions.
Spanish is not the only choice, but it makes a lot of sense in our context. Latin is the shibboleth of the elite deceptively passed off as a way of embracing the rich history and culture of a long dead and over glorified society. Classical education in the area is a faintly disguised form of academic rationalism with a Christian spin when it comes to language teaching. Perhaps people might believe that we care if we put a little more effort into learning their language and a little less effort into improving our standardized test scores.
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Interesting thoughts, John. While I understand the value of learning Spanish in the U.S., it's not necessarily wrong to study Latin or German. Not everyone is called to work with Mexicans or any Spanish-speaking people. Not everyone is burdened for Spanish-speaking people. I've never had a burning desire to go be a missionary to South America. If I were to be a missionary, I'd go to Germany. That's the language I am most familiar with (besides English obviously, haha.) I didn't want to learn Spanish in high school because everyone else did. I thought German was more interesting. I s'pose someone could say Spanish is more useful, but I've met more Germans in the U.S. than I have Mexicans, ironically. Maybe it's just the way my path is, or the people I am around and tend to meet. Either way, God sees fit to bring specific people into our lives.
Latin. Latin IS useful. It's the base for so many languages, and it can help when you're interpreting other languages or if you're in a new country, etc. Even Spanish.
I've decided that people should do what they want because in the end, God'll use you no matter what. Let me clarify. Even if German and Latin isn't practical on a day-to-day basis, maybe God will use that person who knows Latin or German in a "nonpractical" setting. I.E. a college professor who builds relationships with his students; a point of conversation with an English major; a desire to be a missionary in Germany; or, simply knowing more about the world and being able to enjoy all the beauty of God's creation -- such as history, culture, language, diversity. A God-ordained appreciation of these things can be a result of studying Latin or German. Spanish may be practical in building relationships with Spanish-speaking people, but that doesn't mean everyone is required to learn Spanish before any other language. If God opens up a job in Dalton for me to teach high school English, it'd probably be useful for me to learn some basic Spanish. But until He gives me a job in Dalton, GA or El Paso, TX...I don't need to learn it. If God wants me to, then okay. But until there is a clear useful purpose for learning, I'm going to study what I want...because God will use it in the future.
I do agree with you about how knowledge has been reduced to a standardized scantron test. Higher SAT scores seems to be an idol in the world of education. But instead of throwing out the study of Latin or German, the priorities of the educational system need to be changed, not the languages to be studied.
I don't know if this makes sense. I feel like I'm kind of rambling. Language is a very dear thing to my heart, so that's why I'm a little defensive about the value of studying all languages!! Haha.
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