This summer, I am teaching in an "enrichment program" for "underprivileged" children. That I teach them Latin may amuse you; I can assure you that it is not actually amusing.
Many of them have reading, writing, and mathematical skills that could--and should--be much better. So what are we teaching them? You guessed it!
"Environmental justice."
These are kids who, when asked what happened to General Washington after the Revolutionary War, suggest that he was assassinated. These are kids who, when presented with the name "Agamemnon," and having had it pronounced for them, cannot pronounce it themselves. They don't know anything about history--their own or anyone else's--and they can't really read.
I don't believe that "environmental justice" (whatever that means) is a worthwhile thing to teach anyone. But it certainly should not take precedence over the English language and basic arithmetic.
4 comments:
Don't blame them for being ignorant or stupid... children just learn at different rates.
By 12 I could already get a grasp on multivariable calculus but I distinctly remember having no idea about what happened to General Washington in the Revolution. Even now I'm not quite sure (although a quick look at Wikipedia will soon solve this problem).
I'm pretty sure Lushy's point is that these kids are uneducated / incompetent in *all* useful areas, rather than excelling in one discipline at the expense of another.
Anonymoose: He became the first President of the United States. Unless you're from a foreign country, there is no excuse not to know that.
Angry: I agree that teaching young, undereducated students "Environmental Justice" may be a waste of time. But it's pretty rich to hear this critique coming from a woman who is teaching them a dead language.
Okay, i feel I must jump in here in defense of Latin. I have taken six years of Latin, despite the fact that it is a "dead" language. Why? Because writers, polititians, and philosophers in ancient Rome formed the basis of western civilization. The language is still relevant because some of the greatest literary classics were written in Latin, and reading any work in its original language instead of a translation is generally infinitely more satisfying and enlightening. Throw in the fact that a good chunk of the English language is derived from Latin, and you've got yourself a worthwhile foundation subject.
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