Latin classes to be cut at Senior High in Billings
BILLINGS, Mont. - BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The last school in Billings School District 2 to offer Latin as a foreign language plans to phase out the program over the next few years.
The district faces a budget shortfall in the millions of dollars and has to find ways to cut expenses, educators said.
Four sections of Latin classes currently with 53 students at Senior High School will be eliminated.
Tom Feeley, who teaches Latin at the high school, said cutting the program means students won't receive as good of an education.
"I think we're kind of deluding ourselves," he said. "We could be better, and by cutting Latin we're making it worse. Latin gives our top students an equal footing intellectually with top students in this nation."
Latin backers said the language prepares students for disciplines such as law, science and medicine that are built on Latin vocabulary and terminology.
Latin is the "primary transmitter of the Western tradition," said Rob Natelson, a constitutional law professor at the University of Montana Law School.
He said he learned Latin as an adult and it was a revelatory experience.
"It was like seeing the world in three dimensions for the first time," Natelson said. "It was stunning to see what a difference it made."
Harold Olson, president of Billings Catholic Schools, said Latin hasn't been taught at Central Catholic High in at least five years, partly because it's difficult to find a qualified teacher.
"There aren't any people around that I know of that are certified to teach it," he said.
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Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com
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