The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-01-26
rs LATIN WORTHWHILE,
John r. Smith

10 is quite fair to raise here In Berea
the ancient question, us Latin as a
required subject really worthwhile ?"
When we consider the needs Of the
majority of our students for very
definite kind Of training, and con.
slider the small amount Of money that
so many Of them have TO spend on
their education, we raise a perfectly
fair question when we ask whether
we are giving them square deal
when we accept their money for fees
and require them TO spend a lot Of
time on the study of Latin, which has
precious little value in any way In the
affairs Of everyday life in this re-
gion.
For a number Of years have
strenuously opposed Latin as a re-
quired preparatory study in high
schools and academies. ! do this not
because consider Latin absolutely
worthless in modern education, but
because there are hundred other
things that may be studied that arc
infinitely more useful TO the student.
! have been teaching for a quarter
Of a century and have had opportun-
ity TO see some Of the strong as well
as some of the weak points in our
educational system. For thirteen
years ] taught preparatory Latin. and
for six years I taught preparatory
Greek. In the light Of this expert
ence, do not hesitate TO insist that
the average boy OF girl who pours
over Latin grammars and readers
during the preparatory course is
wasting time And after having
worked for many years in close as
ISOLATION with country folk, and with
the people who are most helpfully
interested in the welfare Of country
people, / insist that the teacher who
compels young people to spend
large share Of their time in learning
Latin is wasting the time of his stu.
dents. Students know that their
time is being wasted, and many
teacher knows it, too. il he would
only say so.
The argument that a knowledge Of
Latin is essential 10 a good working
knowledge Of English is n farce. II
will become more apparent when our
Anticipated methods Of teaching Eng
lish are improved. When I hear
this argument advanced, always
wonder how Shakespeare. Robert
Burns, Mark Twain, and q number
Of other well-known writers managed
to use the mother tongue to such ex-
cellent advantage. And ! often won.
der why our expert Latin scholars
do not become our foremost writers.
When ] hear some teacher of Latin
insist that n knowledge of the Ian
guage is essential TO a successful
career, and point to VIM. f. Glad.
stone, David Lloyd George, Theodore
Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Charles
w. Eliot, and other distinguished
leaders TO prove his point, il sets me
wondering how he would explain the
success Of men like Henry Ford. Rob
ert Dollar. Luther Burbank, Orville
Wright, Thomas Edison, Abraham
Lincoln, Frank Woolworth, James j.
Hill, and dozens Of other eminently
successful men who spent their time
at something else besides declensions
and conjugations.
II is not Latin on trial so much as
it is our educational system on trial.
There are scores Of other things
which a student ought to know. and
everyone of them is far more impor-
tant in training young men and wo-
men for life than Latin. For the boy
or girl who plans to spend life in the
open country Latin is practically
worthless. The time spent on this
might far better be spent on a study
OF trees, flowers, birds, insects, fishes.
rocks, weather forces, soils, ETC., for
these things are closely related to
everyday life. Latin is not. A boy
should know how to make a table, a
chair, picture frame, loom, a
toy; should know about tock-breed-
ing, Announcement, peoples loan
associations, marketing, care Of for
ests; and girl should above all
things know how to care for children,
should be able to knit, sew, pasteur-
ize milk, put on an invisible patch,
select pictures and durable articles
for the home-but neither gets any
OF this knowledge from Latin gram
mars and readers.
The amount of crime committed at
present is appalling. One Of the sure
means of checking and preventing
this will be realized when courses in
practical citizenship are introduced
into all our schools. Latin Is one of
the things that, now stands In the (
UNIV kAxy ~ Ill