Cogito ergo sum Do you know the meaning of this phrase or are you among the majority of Americans who have had no formal training in Latin? The phrase means, “I think, therefore I am.” Take a moment to consider the history of Latin instruction in America. When educational institutions began forming in the United States of America, Latin instruction was a component of the curriculum. Educated European settlers brought their form of education with them, which included Latin instruction because it was considered a “tool of scholarship,” as well “as a mark of social status”(Wraga, 2009, p. 81). As the education system morphed into the one in place today, Latin continued to be an expected part of the school curriculum. Until the mid 1900’s over fifty percent of U.S. high school students studied Latin (Teaching of Latin in Schools, n.d., para. 2).
Secondary students taking Latin continued to be steady until the National Defense Education Act passed in 1958. Concern over how U.S. students globally ranked in mathematics and science resulted in the omission of monetary support for Latin studies (Teaching of Latin in Schools, n.d., para. 3). Placing more emphasis on math and science, especially in terms of funding, had a negative impact on Latin instruction. Instructors and supporters were unprepared to provide the empirical studies necessary to support the tenet that Latin should be funded and taught in U.S. schools. As a result students enrolled in Latin dropped to less than two percent by 1994 (Teaching of Latin in Schools, n.d., para. 3).
Interest in learning Latin has increased by just over eight percent since 1994. Paul Sandrock, the director of education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, reports...
... middle of paper ...
...n Schools. (n.d.). Answers. Retrieved July 5, 2014, from http://www.answers.com/topic/teaching-of-latin-in-schools
The Survival of Latin?. (n.d.). The Survival of Latin. Retrieved July 27, 2014, from http://www.lms.org.uk/resources/articles-on-the-mass/the_survival_of_latin
States. National Park Service. (2014, July 16). History & Culture. National Parks Service. Retrieved July 27, 2014, from http://www.nps.gov/wamo/historyculture/index.htm
Wraga, W. G. (2009). Latin literacy redux: the classical investigation in the United States, 1921-1924. History of Education, 38(1), 79-98. Retrieved June 25, 2014, from the EBSCOhost database.
Baugh, A. C., & Cable, T. (n.d.). Latin Influences on Old English. Latin Influences on Old English. Retrieved July 27, 2014, from http://www.orbilat.com/Influences_of_Romance/English/RIFL-English-Latin-The_Inflluences_on_Old_English.html
One of the many permutations that language has made is into what is collectively known as English. This particular tongue was brought to the British Isles in the Sixth Century CE by Northern Europeans or “Germanic” people. (Kemmer) It followed English colonists around the world, including areas in North America, which will be the subject of this essay.
Yellowstone is a national park covering 3,468 square miles in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and it is elevated 8,000 feet from the ground on a plateau. But is there still present volcanic hazard in Yellowstone? The park is covered with over 10,000 geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and travertine terraces, perhaps caused by a ?hot spot? that it overlies. A violent history suggests equally as devastating future volcanic activity, underground forces are causing the landscape to change and geysers to become more active. The real question is, if a super volcanic explosion took place, would human life exist as we know it ever again?
By the next decade, both the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unlawful to keep students who couldn’t speak English from getting an education. Later, Congress passed the Equal Opportunity Act of 1974, which resulted in the implementation of more bilingual education programs in public schools.
When one thinks about Hispanics, all too often the image of a field full of migrant workers picking fruit or vegetables in the hot sun comes to mind. This has become the stereotypical picture of a people whose determination and character are as strong or stronger than that of the Polish, Jewish, Greek, or Italian who arrived in the United States in the early 1900's. Then, the center of the new beginning for each immigrant family was an education. An education was the "ladder by which the children of immigrants climbed out of poverty into the mainstream." (Calderon & Slavin, 2001, p. iv) That ideal has not changed, as the Hispanic population has grown in the United States to large numbers very quickly and with little fanfare. Now, the population of Hispanics in the United States has reached numbers that are finally drawing that attention of schools, state offices, the federal government, and the marketplace. As the new, largest minority, as well as the largest bilingual group, in the United States, Hispanics are finally being recognized as a group of people with the potential to greatly impact economic, social, and education reform. In this paper, several issues will be examined that relate to education: language barriers, poverty, cultural representation, and problem schools. Through an understanding of the Hispanic culture and the motivation behind the Hispanic population, the American education system will be able to overcome the natural hindrances of a diverse society.
Hallen, Cynthia L. "The History of the Latin Language." Department of Linguistics Brigham Young University. Last modified September 6, 1999. Accessed January 9, 2014. http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/ling450ch/reports/latin.html
Boom! A once ice-capped mountain peak explodes as ash fills the air. “‘Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!’”Those were the last words of expert geologist David Johnston (Gunn 561). In 1980, Mount Saint Helens of the state of Washington erupted, filling the air with ash and causing mudflows powerful enough to lift tons. It decimated everything in its path. The eruptions, mudflows, and ash caused great damage on the landscape, yet it gave us information on how catastrophes happen and how they affect society and the surrounding landscape. The data acquired can also help us understand the way the landscape was formed. Mount Saint Helens caused much damage, but also helped people understand the science behind it.
phrase, cogito ergo sum or I think therefore I am, a phrase brought about by Rene Descartes. This phrase is the
The number of English language learning (ELL) students in the U.S. has grown dramatically in the last decade. According to a 1991 national study, there are over 2,300,000 students in grades K through 12 who are English language learners (August & Hakuta, 1997). This number has grown by over 1,000,000 since 1984. The majority of these students are Spanish-speakers (73%), followed by Vietnamese-speakers (3.9%). Because the overwhelming proportions of ELL students are Spanish speakers, the issue of bilingual education is largely a Latino one. No other language group makes up more than 4% of limited English proficient students. What complicates the issue of education for language minority students is their low socioeconomic status. 80% of ELL students are poor, and most attend schools where the majority of students also live in poverty and are English language learners. There is some difference in the level of poverty among language groups. Here, again, Latinos are disproportionately represented: 57% of Spanish-speaking families earn less than $20,000 compared to, for example, only 35% of families where Asian/Pacific Island languages are spoken (McArthur, 1993). Poverty has many implications for educational achievement, for example, parents' educational attainment mirror income levels, and parents' educational achievement is highly linked to that of their children's.
In 1939, Ohio became the first state to adopt a bilingual education law, authorizing German-English instruction at parents’ request. By the end of the nineteenth century, about a dozen states had passed similar laws. By the turn of the century, it was estimated that at least 600,000 primary school students were receiving part, or all, of their education in the German language, that equaled approximately four percent of American children in the elementary level. These numbers add up to be more students than those students enrolled in Spanish-English programs today. It seemed, at that time, that bilingual education was becoming more prominent and successful in the United States. However, once the country entered the first world war, these educational programs seemed to collapse dramatically. Fears about the ...
Padilla, Amado. "Bilingual Education: Issues and Perspectives." From Community to College, New York, St. Martin's Press 1992
Daniels, Harvey A., and Urbana, IL. National Council of Teachers of English. Not Only English: Affirming America's Multilingual Heritage. 1990. ERIC. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Quezada, Maria S., Terrence G. Wiley, and J. David Ramirez. "How the Reform Agenda Shortchanges English Learners." Educational Leadership (Dec.99-Jan.00): 57-61.
From the mighty mountains, waterfalls and forests that cover our country, the energy that has gone into preserving these earth-given gifts alive is extensive. The environments created by thousands of years of natural progression have within themselves kept a piece of the world to themselves. Beginning in 1872 with the Yellowstone National Park located in the previously known territories of Montana, people began to protect these places, placing them within national parks boundaries. Since then, national parks have appeared across the country from “sea to shining sea”. With the creation of fifty-nine of national parks to date, people across the country travel to visit these sites where nature has been left alone to be as it was before human
America, a country built on immigration dating back to the early 1600s Mayflower voyage, continues to thrive as a melting pot full of various cultures and ethnics. In the past, many immigrants came to America due to the offered freedoms and equality, yet today, many naturalized citizens suffer with injustices, including with educational practices. The use of bilingual education, which is teaching students in both English and their native language, has become a controversial topic. In 1968, the Bilingual Education Act, which recognized and offered education to students who were lacking English, was passed, yet the topic still seems questionable to some. Bilingual education provides a variety of beneficial attributes to equally help foreigners
The settlement of the British Isles by north Europeans followed by Norman French paints the backdrop to this essay which will focus on the period between the early 15th and 17th centuries, when a 'standard' English evolved. It will show that modern-day English is very different to that first introduced to the British Isles, but by identifying changes through time, its continuity can be demonstrated. Finally, it will suggest that present day English is in a position analogous to that which existed before the Norman invasion, when there were many varieties and dialects, and that this may lead to its decline as a global language, due to decreasing intelligibility.