When designing your homeschool curriculum or choosing homeschool electives or a foreign language course, an interesting question commonly arises. "Should we study Latin?" For many students, the answer is a resounding, "Yes!"

Consider the following reasons:

* Latin increases the student's English vocabulary. For example, "60% of English words are derived from Latin." (Wheelock's Latin, 6th edition, copyright 2000). If a youngster knows that "amo" means "I love," then he can deduce the meaning of amorous, amateur and amiable.

* Latin helps the student understand English grammar. In Latin, the child must thoroughly learn and understand all the parts of speech and the sentence...direct objects, objects of preposition, nouns, etc. This knowledge is carried over to English.

* Latin aids in learning the Romance and other inflected languages. (Inflected means the change of form indicating the grammatical relationship. Speech is very clear.) Laura Berquist, Director of Mother of Divine Grace Home Study Program, writes, "... it (Latin) is the key to the structure and vocabulary of the Romance languages."

* Latin trains the mind to think logically and precisely. It teaches the youngster how to think. No fuzziness here! One must analyze, observe, evaluate, judge, understand. One must be disciplined, persistent and accurate. This reasoning process is transferred to other areas, such as mathematics.

* Latin helps with standardized tests. For instance, between 1997 and 2004, Latin students scored an average of 157 points higher on the SAT's than non-Latin students. (Latin Centered Curriculum)

* The study of Latin greatly assists those with careers in certain fields. Latin underlies the technical language of law, medicine, science, academia and technology. If a youth is interested in working in any of these areas, Latin is invaluable. Additionally, "The business world has long recognized the importance of a rich vocabulary and rates it high as evidence of executive potential and success." (Wheelock)

* Latin aids the understanding and appreciation of all aspects of Western culture. This classical language flows through history, art, philosophy and particularly literature. How exciting to understand the context of that familiar expression, "carpe diem" and to read Shakespeare and catch the nuances!

Yes, when perusing all the wonderful possibilities for your homeschool curriculum, homeschool electives or foreign languages, consider the study of Latin. It will enhance the student's education in the present and continue offering rewards throughout his life.