Latin: The Language That Forms Minds and Hearts

It has been said that the study of one language yields insights into others. That’s one reason Latin has been part of a Great Hearts education from the very beginning. While Latin may seem like a language of the past, its influence is still all around us, in the words we use, the books we read, and the ideas that have shaped Western culture. At Great Hearts, we believe studying Latin gives students another way to make connections, ask questions, and better understand the world around them.

Scholars will study the language for a minimum of three years, beginning in 6th grade. Once they reach high school (9th grade), they have the option to continue with Advanced Latin, or they can choose to study a modern language, like Spanish, French, or German. Juniors and seniors can top off their education at Great Hearts with two years of Classic Greek if they choose to do so.

“The study of Latin and Greek has been the backbone of higher learning in Western civilization for literally thousands of years, and modern research has confirmed what our forebears knew through experience: classical languages are a clear pathway to both intellectual development and the love of language and literature,” said Andrew Ellison, Executive Director of Great Hearts North Texas

“Latin is essential. I think it is the foundation of a classical education,” explained Justin Aquila, a middle school Latin teacher at North Phoenix Prep. “I sometimes call it the portal of entry into the ancient world. I sometimes call it gymnastics for the brain. You have to think in a much different way and much more deeply about what you’re doing when you’re using Latin, studying Latin, and that crosses over to any other discipline.”

Learning Latin is beneficial because it promotes mental organization and analytic skills. The great contribution of Latin is that, unlike math or literature taken by themselves, it shows how clear and rigorous thought can improve our understanding of life, love, death, human nature, and beauty.

Fellow colleague and high school Latin and Greek teacher at North Phoenix Prep, Sebastian Pagani, says his lessons go beyond grammar. “In our Latin classrooms, we don’t merely focus on grammar and memorization of vocabulary and the syntactical rules. That’s a huge part of learning the language. But another thing is the language itself is beautiful. I remember when I was first interviewed almost 20 years ago, one of the questions they asked me is, ‘What do you love most?’ I love the musicality of the language.”

“The study of Latin is formative in that it teaches you that you can do hard things,” said Sonya Hemmings, another North Phoenix Prep middle school Latin teacher at North Phoenix Prep. “Latin helps you order your thinking. It’s okay if it’s hard. It is hard, but it’s worth your time.”

“I came to teach the things that I loved and over time I came to love the students even more. It teaches us who we are,” added Pagani. “What we do is beautiful.”

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