Extracts from "Latin Curriculum in the
1980's: Literacy and Cultural Awareness in a Global Perspective"
by Gilbert Lawall
[The following extracts from The Classical Outlook, December-January
1982?1983, pp. 35?36, are reprinted here with permission of the Editor of
The Classical Outlook. They are part of a paper delivered at the
Thirty-fourth Annual Institute of the American Classical League, held at
Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, in June 1981.]
There would . . . be a new twist to the second year with introduction
of the Greek language and Greek culture. The Greek introduced at this
level would include the alphabet, key Greek words, simple Greek sentences
in culturally illustrative stories, and Greek bases and affixes in English
word formation. The cultural material would parallel the Roman cultural
material introduced in the first year, and it would include Greek
mythology. Frequent contrasts would be made with Roman culture. In the
second half of the year, special emphasis would be placed on the formative
influence of Greek culture on the Romans and the Romans as transmitters of
Greek culture to the Western world. The course might appropriately
conclude with reading of selections in translation, adapted as necessary,
from the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid, and a study of Achilles,
Odysseus, and Aeneas as emblems of their respective cultures. . . .
Greek language and culture are introduced in the second year for two
reasons: 1) because of the large and extremely important influence of
Greek upon English vocabulary (especially technical vocabulary), and 2)
because of the necessity of introducing students to Greek culture and its
transmission through Rome if they are going to develop an
"understanding of Greco-Roman civilization and culture as a key to
understanding ourselves and our place in the kaleidoscope of cultures in
the contemporary world" (our fourth proposed objective above). This
exploration of our cultural roots must take place in the Latin classroom
or it will not take place at all in secondary schools, from most of which
ancient history has long since disappeared as a separate subject. Further,
by introducing Greek culture alongside of the Roman, we invite our
students to compare two ancient cultures with one another in an objective,
distanced perspective, while at the same time we are inviting them to
compare and contrast these ancient cultures with their own immediate
culture today. What better way to "sensitize students to other
cultures, to the relativity of values, to appreciation of similarities
among peoples and respect for the differences among them," as the
report of the President's Commission urges (1979, 11)? What better way to
give our students a "record of the ideals that have guided men and
women in the past," to give them "historical perspective,"
and to make them "sensitive to what it might be like to live in a
different time, place, or culture," thus allowing them to make their
own "value choices without automatically assuming that contemporary
reality has no precedent. . . . ," as the report of the Commission on
the Humanities urges (1980, 30)? By contrasting Greek, Roman, and
contemporary American culture, and thereby tracing the roots of Western
civilization, the Latin program is making its unique and indispensable
contribution to global or international studies. In reaching backwards to
Greece and forwards to the Romance languages and English, the Latin
program achieves a secure place for itself as the cornerstone of the
language department in our fantasy school, which will be offering (if the
recommendations of the President's Commission are implemented) not only
Latin but also French, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and
Japanese. Through its Latin program the global language department will be
firmly rooted to the Greco-Roman origins of language and culture in the
Western world. . . .
Latin III in our fantasy curriculum is for those who elect to continue
their classical studies for their own personal enjoyment and enrichment,
for the sheer pleasure of continuing to work with inflected languages, for
the sheer fascination of continuing to explore the people and civilization
of the ancient world, and as part of a sequence that would prepare for
further study of the Classics in college. In the first half of the third
year, the final third of the Latin grammar would be completed with
continuing attention to all four skills and with a continuing emphasis on
reading. In the second half of the year, readings would be done in a
variety of specific Latin authors, chosen for their cultural as well as
their literary value. Oral work would continue with emphasis on reading
the Latin aloud with proper phrasing and expression and on recitation of
memorized passages. Translation from English to Latin would be dropped,
while translation from Latin to English would continue, with the specific
aim of developing polished, elegant English renderings of the Latin
authors being read. Culture study would be based on the readings in
Latin.
In the second half of the third year, the class would split into two
groups, according to the choice of the pupils, one group continuing along
full time with the Latin readings, while the other would spend half its
time on Latin readings and devote the other half to beginning a systematic
study of the Greek language. By diversifying the classroom activities,
both groups could easily be accommodated in a single classroom with a
single teacher.
Latin IV in grade eleven and Latin V in grade twelve would continue
this two-track arrangement, with some students doing just Latin and some
doing Latin and Greek simultaneously. Latin III, IV, and V could easily be
combined in a single classroom with individualized instruction and
projects tailored to the interests of the individual students. The
presence of Greek studies alongside of Latin in the third, fourth, and
fifth years not only continues the pluralistic cultural horizons of the
first and second years but also offers the exciting possibility of having
all the students in the third, fourth, and fifth years doing some work in
Greek literature as well as Latin. For example, even those who do not
elect study of the Greek language could still read alongside of their
Latin texts certain parallel Greek works in translation. Numerous
possibilities suggest themselves, including reading of the Iliad and
Odyssey in translation along with the Aeneid in Latin.
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