Valparaiso High School - Valenian Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

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MISS OLIE WELTY THE LATIN DEPARTMENT. HREE or four years of High School life is concerned with the study of Latin and the important place given to it in the High School naturally leads to an observance of the reasons for the amount of time consumed. There is no more effective means of strengthening the mind than by the earnest pursuit of this branch of study. Latin has both a cultural and an educational value. Our civilization rests upon that of Rome, and we owe much of our knowledge of ancient times to the Roman writers whose products we learn to read. Latin words con- stitute about sixty per cent of our English vocabulary and by increas- ing that vocabulary through Latin, English is made more intelligible and interesting. For one who has chosen Law or Medicine as his pro- fession Latin is required, and in almost any line of intellectual work whether it be Mathematics, Chemistry, Physiology, Botany, Physics, History, Mythology or Literature, a knowledge of it is necessary, as Latin words and phrases continually occur. To know Latin is to under- stand English better, and to use it more intelligently and effectively. Besides being so large a part of our own language Latin is the founda- tion of five European languages, French, Roumanian, Italian, Portu- guese and Spanish. For all these reasons Latin is given a very important place among the subjects taught in the Valparaiso High School. A complete course of Latin consisting of three years works is offered, although another 16

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Oreeks, the Eomans and the early Germans. In the study of each and every nation the })riniary idea is to be kept in mind — that the historical significance of the i)eople is to be estimated by wliat it contributed to the general civilization and the conditions which made that contribu- tion possible. When the student has completed the study of Greece, he has learned that the historical importance of the nation rests upon its eontril)utions to political liberty and to the develo])ment of a superior intellectual life and he realizes that under existing conditions its con- tribution could not have been otherwise. The same significant study continues throughout the Medieval Age, when Church and State are contending for Supremacy, and through the Modern when more liberal principles of government are being devel- oped, with more stress on the industrial and cultural than ])olilical or military. Perhaps the most important and interesting of all the work is the half year of Civics, in which the city, townshi}), county, state and nation are studied, each in relation to the other and to the citizen. The aim and purpose of this work is especially intended to train for membership in the community. The idea is kept constantly before the student that he is a citizen now with real civic relations and duties which require knowlege of what the government does for him and how, and what it has a right to expect from him in return. A term i aper is required of each student, upon some imjtortant subject which appeals to him. Some of the topics chosen are: Pub- lic Health, Causes and Prevention of Crime, Our System of Taxa- tion, and Prison Reform. Some of the most interesting and liel])ful exercises given are: Experience in casting ballots in regular elections; observations made on court and council proceedings; trials conducted by the students and visits to the City Hall, to county farm and factories. Contemporary History is studied throughout the entire course and constant use made of magazines and papers. A weekly digest of cur- rent events is made, of local, state, national, international and foreign affairs, and special assigned topics reported upon frequently. The one great handicaj) in the work is the lack of ecjuii)ment. The department has provided what visualizing material it could by collect ing, mounting, classifying and preserving pictures from various sources; but there is great need of illustrative apparatus. The depart- ment looks forward hopefully to the time when the History room will be a laboratory, as fully equij ped for the study of History as the Science room is for the study of Chemistry. Miss Mclntyre, the head of the deiiartment, knows her subject thoroughly and is a very proficient teacher. She insists that the pupils make History and Civics a part of their every day life and not study them abstractlv and as a result her classes are wide-awake and ]u-ogres- sive. ' VERNA SUMMERS. 15

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year may be had by those who wish to take it. The first year ' s work is a preparation for the interesting study to follow. Vocabularies, con- jugations, and declensions are learned, a thorough knowledge of the grammar is acquired, and short stories are translated. The two y ' ai-s of study which follow is merely a utilization of the foundation built during the first year. During the second year the accounts of the wars with the Helvetians, the Belgians, the warlike tribes who threat- ened the passage of the Alps, and with the Germans are translated from Caesar ' s own Commentaries. Cicero ' s Orations are taken up dur- ing the third year. There are four Orations against Catiline and his fellow conspirators, one concerning the Manilian Law, and the Archais. At the end of the third year the compulsory study of Latin has been com] ileted, but the most enjoyable and interesting part remains for those who read Virgil ' s Aeneid, the story of the nine years wanderings, trials and marvelous escapades of the Trojan Aeneas in his attempt to found a city. The Latin course gives the student a new interest in his own language, broadens his vocabulary and gives him an understanding of the foundations of our civilization that is necessary before he can appreciate that civilization. LEONORA WISE. 17