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Background

Latin is one of the linch-pins of classical education, and it remains of particular interest among classical homeschoolers.

For good or ill (it does tend to select for the most ambitious students) Latin is almost everywhere thought to be difficult -- the rocket science of the humanities. It is difficult; but like rocket engineering, its reputation is somewhat exaggerated. It is in fact not as difficult for the English-speaker as many other languages, including Greek or any of the eastern Asian languages: its spelling is phonetically regular, its vocabulary is exceedingly small, its use of metaphor is sparing and almost apologetic, and its sentence structures economical. It is a model of analytical order, however, both in its forms and in its syntax, so that learning classical Latin provides not only a grasp of a great world language, but also a path to more disciplined thinking about what we say and how we say it, about meaning, and about the logical analysis of propositions of all sorts. In that sense, it imparts to the student a kind of mental toughness that will support not only other languages but any other discipline the student pursues.

Later, of course, come the more immediately accessible delights of reading Latin literature in its original forms, from the music of Vergil to the nuances of Augustine, and from the dark psychology of Tacitus to the diamond-cutter formulae of Aquinas. These, too, feed back into larger fields of endeavor, but they are worthy goals and enjoyable in and of themselves. Latin remains the official language of the Roman Catholic Church, and the corpus of the Western Church Fathers contains a vast amount of theological and philosophical writing in Latin.

In the narrower arena, Latin has many secondary benefits. From there one can branch out to a variety of Romance Languages, all of which take their more fanciful root in Latin's spare and flinty soil. Latin was the learned language of the whole of the Western culture through at least the first World War; in consequence Latin names and terms are retained in law, in medicine, and in virtually all forms of biological classification; the writings of authors prior to about 1950 are liberally peppered with learned phrases in Latin.

In general, we do not recommend beginning Greek and Latin simultaneously, but it should be possible to begin one one year and a second the next, if the first is going well enough. Those students barely hanging on to Greek, though, should probably not commit themselves to Latin as well until they have the Greek well under control.

Program Overview

Latin instruction and pedagogy remains very diverse, and there are many programs that promise to teach Latin to the younger student. They range from inductive to deductive approaches, and take from four weeks to two or three years to cover the same basic material.

At Scholars Online we are proceeding with a systematic deductive approach to Latin using Frederick Wheelock's venerable text, taking either one year or two, depending on the program path selected. Either way, the course is rigorous and demanding, and should leave the student ready to move on to the reading of Latin prose and poetic authors in the second or third year. The coverage provided in the elementary course is roughly equivalent to two or three years of high school Latin, or a year at the college level. Subsequent author studies proceed from there.

The basic curriculum in Latin runs five years (though with the accelerated elementary program, a student can complete it in four). We will present courses as they are required, depending on enrollment. The Latin curriculum includes both of the AP Latin Courses outlined by the College Board -- Latin IV AP is the Vergil curriculum, while Latin V is the Latin Literature curriculum.

Advanced Latin courses beyond those are available, and have been offered through the eighth year. They are virtually never economically feasible to teach, however, since we seldom have many students remaining at that level: most have already left for college. Accordingly we offer these courses to continuing students who have already worked with us: it is unlikely that we will open a session of Latin VI or VII, or Mediaeval Latin, for a student who has not been with us for several years already.

Our fundamental pedagogical approach is deductive. There is a wide variety of programs, inductive and deductive, but the more traditional deductive model is more conducive to developing those analytical habits of mind that classical language instruction is supposed to provide. The first two years, or one year at the accelerated rate, is equivalent to one year of college Latin, and covers the elements of the language thoroughly. The next year is devoted to expanding reading fluency, using a selection of classical authors including Caesar and Cicero, with a moderate amount from other authors; the fourth and fifth are Advanced Placement courses; after that a variety of options is available, including prose composition and Mediaeval Latin.

Individual courses

If you would like to see a couse not yet listed, please use the EMAIL US link below to contact Scholars Online Administration with your course request.

Students who were enrolled in courses from previous years will find the teacher, text, and course description information available from the student's unofficial transcript, which can be reached from the parent's Account Management Center, or from an alumni's own Account Management Center.

Individual course requirements are being reviewed and updated for the 2009 summer and 2009-2010 academic year.

Theoretical Grammar • 2008 listing - for reference only • Grade 7 or above • [Summer course]

Latin I • 2008 listing - for reference only • Grade 7 or above

Latin II • 2008 listing - for reference only • Grade 8 or above

Latin III • 2008 listing - for reference only • Grade 9 or above

Latin IV (Vergil) • 2008 listing - for reference only • Grade 9 or above

Latin V (Latin Literature) • 2008 listing - for reference only • Grade 10 or above

Mediaeval Latin • 2008 listing - for reference only • Grade 12 or above

Theoretical Grammar • Offering for 2009 • Grade 7 or above • [Summer course]

Latin I • Offering for 2009 • Grade 7 or above

Latin II • Offering for 2009 • Grade 8 or above

Latin III • Offering for 2009 • Grade 9 or above

Latin IV (Vergil) • Offering for 2009 • Grade 9 or above

Latin V (Latin Literature) • Offering for 2009 • Grade 10 or above

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To enroll in any of the courses listed above, log into your Scholars Online Account Management Center using the login link at the bottom of any page and select the member you wish to enroll. If you do not have an account, you may create one using the Membership and Enrollment link in the SiteMap to the left of any page.