And you should check out the National Junior Classical League (njcl.org). You should be able to find your local Junior Classical League chapter through their website.

That’s almost unbelievable…really.

My husband and I are looking into moving to the west coast (his family lives out that way) and I am curious about what I will do for a job whenever we manage to get out there because they don’t offer any Latin in the public schools in the specific area we hope to move to.

That’s a true statement for basically the entire west coast. And inland empire. And rocky mountain states. And desert southwest. Honestly, I have a hard time believing there’s a place where that isn’t true outside of the miraculous bubble that you live in. I hope and pray that perhaps you can help bring a latin revolution to the west, because it ain’t here right now.

I happen to have grown up where Latin was available and (relatively) thriving in the public schools and so I started studying it there. There are also state and national Latin conventions that bring thousands Latin students and teachers together from all over the state/country. So, believe it or not, Latin is alive and growing (though it hasn’t always been).

I really hope you understand that I’m not trying to be rude, my grandmother taught latin in a public school…in the 1930s. I personally had incredible difficulty finding latin education even in college, in high school it was only offered by private tutor at our local catholic high school. So to think that latin education in the US is on the upswing is like learning that unicorns have been captured in the wild and are now breeding in captivity. It’s fabulous, but defies belief.

I’m not sure of your age so I can’t be sure what “Latin Era” you grew up in, but it did almost die out in all schools across the country at one point. That episode is what prompted the conventions and the academic competitions that help Latin blossom in the USA today.

Mid-thirties (that’s age, not era TYVM) and it was definitely on life support if not already in the casket in the early 90′s. I’ll have to look into what latin clubs and competitions and whatnot are in our area and volunteer some support. I’m honestly beyond shocked that latin has any role in today’s education system.

First, thank you.

Second, as someone who had to take Latin by correspondence for two years in high school because it wasn’t available ANYWHERE near me, I assume you teach at a private Catholic school? My grandmother taught Latin in public school, but I always assumed that went the way of the dodo well before I was born. I’m honestly shocked that there is a place left in the US (I am assuming the US, perhaps you live in Rome?) that teaches Latin to high school students.

“It carries a lot of humble eloquence” is one of the finest compliments I’ve ever recieved, thank you.