UncleEbenezer wrote:scotia wrote:UncleEbenezer wrote:How do you measure a classical education?
A big comprehensive school, followed by a degree and a career in STEM subjects?
That was my own (and my wife's) career path - and it included (Scottish Higher) Latin.
We both decided to skip the job of PM.
Interesting. I kind-of thought Latin was the big difference between grammar schools and the rest of the state sector. You're saying you had it in a comprehensive?
It certainly seems elusive now. A few (and I mean few) years ago I looked around for any kind of course I could sign up for locally, but found none.
Yes - In the 1950s, the Scottish State Co-Educational Secondary (11+) Schools had classes streamed by ability with Latin included in the curriculum for the top cohort. In rural districts with a low density population there was only a single (Comprehensive) Secondary School - for all pupils. My wife attended such a school in the North of Scotland. In more densely populated areas there was a history of separate Junior and Senior Secondary Schools - again streamed by ability, but with only the higher ability pupils attending the Senior Secondary (for up to 6 years), while the others attended the Junior Secondary for 3 years. However this structure was, around that time, being converted to the Comprehensive model - as had been the one I attended in Central Scotland.
In my day, for the Lower Latin Certificate you studied Caesar's De Bello Gallico. For the Higher Latin Certificate you studied Virgil's Aeneid.
Moving on a number of years - both my children attended a Scottish State Co-Educational Comprehensive Secondary School - but they only received a Latin "taster", which did not proceed to an examinable level.
As to names - High School, Grammar School, Academy - in Scotland they are simply names (and are still used). However the structure of Scottish State Schools is Comprehensive, no matter their name - and has been for a long time.
Well - that seems to have veered well off topic. So back to happiness. I wouldn't say that my school days were the
happiest days of my life - but they were reasonably happy apart from the odd contact with a few teachers who should not have been in teaching employment. Some, however, were excellent, including my Latin teacher.
How do I measure happiness - well nostalgia plays a substantial part. I like to think back over occasions that I really enjoyed - and get forgetful of the parts that weren't so enjoyable