Latin is called a “dead language,” but that is not to say that it isn’t useful. Marysville School District is the only public school system in Snohomish County that offers the language of the Romans, and even then at only one of their eight high schools. But really, it should be offered by more schools around here.
Districts are struggling to get more students to pass standardized tests, but they aren’t utilizing one of the best study tools available. Students who take Latin score an average of 672 out of 800 on the verbal portion of the SAT, while the average score is only 573 out of all students taking foreign languages or not. Latin students tend to have higher grade point averages, and in studies of 6th graders learning Latin in other states, put them several years higher than expected on vocabulary tests.
It also gives a chance to read some of the great classics and study the ideas that much of Western culture is based off of, which helps connect many of the subjects that students are learning together. If schools around here want to get their act together, they need to start hiring Latin teachers.
Sydney Draper
Marysville
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