Classics or another modern language

[AnLeanbh]

Son starting secondary in Sept.He will be taking French and is lucky enough to have a choice between Spanish or Classics also.
He also studies Irish language ( we’re in Ireland = compulsory )
He seems to be bright in most areas and doesn’t have a preference himself .
So my question is ..look to the future and take 2 modern languages French and Spanish or look to the past and take Classics ( and French)??
I suppose I’m also a bit worried that he might get confused with 2 new languages at once ..
For those who have studied Classics at any stage ,what do you perceive as the benefits ??
( They also study History /Geography /Science /Business so scope for a wide range of interests but I’ stuck on this one and now overthinking 🙄🙈)

I did A level classics, have a BA in Classical Civilisations and an MA in Ancient Visual and Material Culture ... I clearly biased here.

Id say classics. It's a really interesting subject. My personal interest was always in art and architecture but also how modern societies use the ancients to inform / justify their own actions.

Sorry, didn't study classics, so can't really answer your question directly. But joining as a parent in a similar situation (just one year ahead) and similar questions

DD in year 7 is studying Latin and French (and next year Spanish in addition) and I was (still am) thinking exactly the same - what's the point of Latin?

Against that, I note that DD is genuinely enjoying learning Latin, finding French harder. They do some role playing in Latin classes that she relishes (Roman shopping street etc) and delights in pointing out various Latin roots of English words now a days to us.

That makes me wonder whether there really needs to have a point for everything a child studies, why can't they study a few things for pleasure?

But then, there is limited finite time, why not spend it on practical things, like another modern foreign language?

Looking forward to answers from classicists!

Good question.

I feel that the point of any history type subject is to see where we've been.

We are destined to repeat mistakes if we don't know about them.

We can't know where we are or where we are going without knowing where we have been.

In my own studies, the ancients developed many of the artistic and architectural standards and processes we use today.

A lot of languages have roots in Latin. Knowing those roots can help to understand how the languages are formed.

The Athenian Greeks developed democracy, the Romans showed how democracy can give way to dictatorship and then monarchy.

Do I use my degrees in my everyday life? No not really. But it my interest and passion and I'm always learning and seeing the connections between our ancient past and today. The Romans conquered our land and their footprint is still very evident today.

Thank you so much for your insight-really helpful .

He has decided to take Classics.

It sounds incredibly interesting and we’re now of the opinion that he can always access Spanish lessons at any stage in life if he is keen ,but he won’t have this opportunity again.

Thanks again.

Classicist here. The whole 'Latin is pointless' thing always bugs me a bit. If you think about it, how often do you actually use any of the subject content that you learned at school, unless you specifically work in that field (or you're a teacher)? Plant cell structure? Nope. How to calculate acceleration? Nope. The causes of the Industrial Revolution? Nope. The formation of an oxbow lake? Nope. The wives of Henry VIII? Maybe in a pub quiz. Even maths - I worked in finance for a while, and I never used anything beyond the maths I learnt in primary school. And languages - the occasional holiday in France, but no more. What you do use is the skills you learn by studying all of those subjects. And in that sense, Latin/classics is just as useful and relevant as other subjects. If you actually want practicalities, then classicists tend to have very good spelling and grammar, both in English and in other languages. But otherwise, classics/Latin (depending on the exact nature of the course and the level to which you take it), teaches a very broad range of skills in terms of language acquisition, logic, research, writing etc.

More importantly, the classical world is absolutely fascinating, and studying it gives you access to some of the best literature in history, as well as archaeology, philosophy, myth and religion, and history. Of course it's not for everyone - but please, please don't discount it because there's no 'use' to it.

@goclassics , brilliant answer. Thank you! (I was in the 'what's the point of Latin' crowd)