Evening star., 1924-06-29
Reuiudl of Latin and Greek
Study Urged by Dean West
Extension of Secondary School Courses
to Six Years Also Recommended in
Report to american Classical League.

accord with known facts, and the
explanation which assumes that the
higher ability accounts for part cf
the higher results and that part is
due to the character of the teaching
and the nature of the study Is in ac-
cord with these and other known facts.
Latin Becoming More Popular.
Latin pupils are crowding as never
before into the school courses The
number of Latin studies is now a
little greater than the combined num-
Der of pupils enrolled in any or all
other foreign languages The less
encouraging aspect of this enrolment
is that the supply of Latin teachers is
very insufficient and that small provi
sion is being made for training them.
nlne-tenths of our secondary school
pupils are found, Greek is ordinarily
not provided at all. Even when pro-
vfded it is usually left to take it's
foriorn chance in scramble with
power and of quick commercial use
In such circumstances the pupil not
only is not encouraged to take Greek
even when he is fit for it, but is prac-
tically prevented from taking it by
useful studies. which are offered
him as presumably "just as good as
Greek.
d. 1t is not asked that pupils in our
X.
but that all who are At for the study
shall have the unhindered and really
encouraging chance to take it. 1t
is notorious that the line of least
resistance" is now being followed
by crowds of students who seek the
easier way through school and col
lege.
Foreign system Praised.
School Latin, the report held. must
be restricted to four years unless it is
to begin earlier. So far as is known
there is general though not com
plete agreement among educational
authorities that it would be much
better to begin the study of Latin two
years earlier There are some op
portunfties now given to do so. 1t
is to be desired that these opportuni-
ties be made more generally acces
Slble. They already exist in our
Junior high schools. in six-year clas-
sical schools and elsewhere. 1t is the
universal practice in the school SyS-
TENS of other countries.
Ours is the only important nation
in the western civilized world which
allows secondary education to begin
so late and contents itself generally
with only four years. This largely
accounts for the fact, noted by those
who have studied the situation. that
our boys and girls at the end of their
secondary schooling are practically
two years behind those of about
the same age finishing their second
airy schooling in other leading coun
tries.
The chance for establishing gener-
ally a well planned six-year second
airy school education has larger sig
nificance than the proper development
o. Latin or of any other individual
study. 1t presents the one available
opportunity for putting our whole
secondary academic education on a
satisfactory basis. On an intelligent
ly arranged six-year plan all second
AIRY studies would have a far better
chance for their proper development
at the time when they should be de-
veloped and with the time needed to
develop them. By shortening the
period of elementary schooling from
eight years to six. thus subtracting
the time now admittedly not used
and not really needed.
the opportunity also would be given
to organize our elementary schools
on clearly elementary lines.
Longer Secondary Education.
BY the establishment of a longer
and better secondary education, the
secondary school will be better edu
rated and the pupils who go on to
or other higher institutions
will be better able to go ahead with
in turn will be relieved from the re-
tarding and embarrassing task of
teaching high school studies and the
way thus be cleared for advances in
college and university studies.
The secondary school and not the
is now the strategic CEN
ter from which to attack the whole
problem of reconstructing American
academic education. England. France
and Italy already have found this to
be true in their educational recon-
struction following the world war.
If the principle of sufficient conti
nuity in separate leading studies Is
followed, it will natural
ly Lead to adopting the correlative
principle of conference as regulative
for arranging studies when taken to-
gether. whether concurrently or in
sequence.