STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY

PREFACE

Intent

The North Carolina Public Schools have valued the importance of Latin and the study of classical civilization. Classicists have long known the effects of Latin study on improving English reading and writing ability. In addition, many have recognized that the study of the culture of ancient Greece and Rome provides Americans the background to understand the customs, values, and ideas that we have in common with Europe and North and South America.

North Carolina has had a state Latin curriculum for many years. The most recent document, the Latin Curriculum Guide, was published in 1998. It was designed to address the new national Standards for Classical Language Learning while providing classroom strategies and suggested assessment measures for Latin teachers.

Curriculum Revision

The implementation of the "North Carolina Course of Study Graduation Requirements" called for clarification of eligible courses to meet those requirements. Inclusion of Latin in the Second Language Standard Course of Study ensures that Latin is recognized as meeting the two credit foreign language requirement in the College/University Prep Course of Study, as well as the University of North Carolina system admissions requirement. In addition, the earlier document did not describe specific Latin courses but rather provided a framework at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. Input from teachers and others in the schools indicated the need to format the Latin curriculum like other areas in the Standard Course of Study.

In response to this identified need for alignment of the Latin document to the Standard Course of Study, a committee of Latin teachers at the middle and high school levels and university professors was formed under the guidance of the Department of Public Instruction. The Latin committee and DPI solicited input from other Latin teachers/professors, through a variety of focus groups and an online questionnaire and incorporated their suggestions in the final document. Although Latin does address many of the goals and objectives of the Modern Foreign Languages, it has its own specific purposes and emphases and therefore needs to be addressed separately. This document replaces the Latin Curriculum Guide.

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