I really should have paid better attention in Latin class, but I just didn’t grasp its importance at the time. I was young and preferred to party with my friends, so I did—a lot. But as the Tao Te Ching says: when the student is ready, the teacher will appear; and when the student is truly ready, the teacher will disappear. Pretty solid quote. Nonetheless, I recommend keeping the one-hour Latin class in high school; some of it may stick. Ideally, Latin should be taught by a teacher who grasps the deeper significance of each word, perhaps even someone with an interest in Sanskrit. I know that’s asking a lot. Biology, cosmology, and physics are equally crucial, but what truly matters is a teacher who can connect the dots, who understands the meaning of life as love. That’s after all the essence of it all.
~ Wald Wassermann