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Educators discuss teaching Latin in city public schools: From left to right, Lester Long of South Bronx Classical Charter School, Kathleen Durkin of Maspeth High School, Jason Griffith of Brooklyn Latin School, and Ron Janoff of Williamsburg Charter High School.

City students at selective public and elite private schools have long had the option to study Latin. Now several schools with less affluent students are breathing new life into the long-dead language by requiring all students to study it.

At a panel discussion on Friday organized by the New York Classical Club, educators from across the city spoke optimistically about the revival of Latin at their public schools.

“A lot of schools are pushing to go back to what works, to what they know produces intellectuals and thinkers. Latin is a return to norms that once were,” said Kathleen Durkin, one of two Latin teachers at Maspeth High School, which opened in Queens this year.

Educators on the panel said one attraction of Latin instruction is the idea that it could help fuel academic achievement in other subjects.

“I chose it because of the timelessness of it. When in doubt, go to Latin. You can’t go wrong with it,” said Lester Long, executive director of the South Bronx Classical Charter School, where students start taking Latin in third grade. “We want students to use Latin to understand what they read in English. That’s our big driver.” (more…)