Shoot The Moose

From the English to Latin Dictionary:

morior mori mortuus moriturus dep. [to die; to die away , wither away, decay].

Through some strange happenstance yesterday, I recalled a long-forgotten part of my life. The memory was sweet, but as I searched the web to catch up, my joy turned to meloncholy. Something from my youth that brought me much joy is fading away from the world, probably never to return.

High school, for me, was not the best of times. Being "the weird kid" - no, I take that back - the LEADER of the weird kids, made the high school experience one of constant fear and embarassment. There were very few bright spots for me at Hillwood High school between 1979-1982. Save two things.

The first was forensics. This was where I discovered my talent for over-the-top oratory, where I learned parlimentary procedure, where I honed my debating skills. I won't say I was "one of the group"; we had our share of Drama Club members who didn't have much love for those of us on the debate/student congress side. Nevertheless, it was something I was quite good at, even if I never felt like I belonged.

But then there was JCL. The Junior Classical League, for you youngin's.
Chances are, you don't know what JCL is/was. This from their website:

Formed in 1955, the Tennessee Junior Classical League and its parent organization, the NJCL, are non-profit fraternal organizations whose purpose is to promote appreciation and enthusiasm for studying Latin and the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. Any junior high or high school student who is currently enrolled in Latin, Greek, or a classical humanities course may join TJCL and NJCL. Also any junior high or high school student who has completed two years of study in Latin or Greek is eligible

As if you didn't think I was geeky enough, I took four years of Latin in high school. My third year (at least safe within the walls of Latin class) was one of the sweetest times of my life. Two years of vocabulary and grammar had paid off. In 3rd year Latin, at least back then, you didn't have traditional classroom instruction. You spent the year translating Virgil's Aeneid. For those of you who don't know, the Aeneid was the Roman version of the Greco-centric Illiad. You know, Medusa, Cyclops and all that. This was the perfect exercise for my Tolkien-crazy brain.

Also, my Junior year, I had earned the right to join the Junior Classical league. It was so nice to be surrounded by other Latin geeks (there were even girls!). I was home, at ease, and amongst friends and equals. Remember how much that means at that age?

The entire year was spent preparing for the Tennessee state JCL convention. The convention wasn't just a gathering of Latin and Greek enthusiasts, it was a competition! We drilled in grammar (I still shudder when I hear the word "conjugate"), vocabulary, derivatives, Roman History (my favorite), Roman life, mythology, geography, reading comprehension, and the Academic Pentathlon, which was kind of a "greatest hits" of all of the others.

There was even athletic competition: Olympika! There were art contests, even a homemade chariot race! We all got to wear Togas or Tunics as well. Can you tell this is a very good memory for me?

When researching this post, I went to the site of the Tennessee Chapter of the Junior Classical League. I saw there some things that brought back wonderful memories, then I saw the list of participating schools. This made me very sad. It seems that it has dwindled down to a handful, most of them private or magnet schools. The majority of participating schools are in Memphis. Apparently, most of Nashville's public schools have stopped their JCL club sponsorship - and it gets even worse:

Many do not even teach Latin anymore.

Dang.

I feel like we're losing something precious, something that could be extremely valuable to our youth today. The study of Greek and Roman history, culture, and language is the study of the beginnings of all other western societies, including our own. After a year of Latin, my English grades shot up; after two, I got straight 'A's in English. I learned many terms used today in Law, medicine, government. Isn't that something of value?

In perusing their website, I see Hillwood has a "Peace Club". Great. Hippies at Hillwood. That's what we've come to, I guess. I realize the demographics of the school has changed greatly since 1982. But, in my opinion, to deny a child, any child, access to study the roots of western language and culture is a form of neglect. Besides, what are the geeks and nerds supposed to do with themselves now?

This just makes me sad.

UPDATE: For those of y'all who haven't seen this yet, check out this translation of "Baby Got Back" into Latin, then back into English. Hilarious!