Quo Vadis? Laboring in the Classical Vineyards: An Optimal Challenge for Gifted Secondary Students.

LATIN language; SECONDARY education; PERFORMANCE; LANGUAGE & languages; GIFTED persons

This article puts forth an argument for the optimal match of the subject matter of Latin for verbally precocious students at the secondary level, beginning no later than the middle school years. It delineates the major benefits for students of learning the language and links those benefits to a view of differentiation in curricula and instruction of the gifted. Furthermore, the article provides a blueprint for schools on developing a Latin program of study over the secondary years. The study of Latin can be a real joy for verbally precocious students if they can access it early in their secondary school experience. Its benefits are profound and clearly provide an optimal match for most gifted students.