Taking a world language is a graduation requirement for all high schools in Henrico County, with most students choosing between Spanish and French. In recent years, most don’t consider Latin as an option, reducing the number of students taking the language at Deep Run to less than 40 students. Many middle schools in Henrico don’t even offer Latin, which only adds to the diminishing number of students taking the class.

   “The number of students taking Latin has been declining for quite some time now due to the lack of awareness,” senior and co-founder of the Latin club Nathan Poovathukaran said.

   Due to the decreasing popularity of Latin as a world language class, the Latin teacher and students have been making an effort to gain student interest by creating entertaining videos showcased on the morning announcements.

   “The videos were primarily a result of the school’s decision to put [Latin teacher] Mr. Penland on a cart [taking away his classroom due to the low numbers in his classes]. Latin stands out more than other electives since relatively fewer people take it. It’s also an amazing and unique learning experience,” Poovathukaran said.

   So far, there have been five videos produced by the Latin students, inspired by classic films and literature like “The Great Gatsby,” “Rocky,” and “Indiana Jones.”

   The videos have proven to be impactful as Deep Run’s world language department has noticed a gradual increase in the number of students taking Latin courses.

   There is a common belief that Latin is a dead language; however, this is false, according to Latin teacher Frank Penland.

   “It continues to live on in the romance languages, which are all modern forms of classical Latin,” Penland, who also teaches French, said.

    Latin is still present in everyday life and impacts education, medicine, and literature.

   “Many people don’t realize this, but Latin is the foundation of medicine, science, law, and so much more. Sixty-three percent of English words come from Latin,” Poovathukaran said.

   Spanish and French, the more commonly taken world language classes, are actually derived from Latin. 

   “There are about 40 Romance languages which are modern Latin form,” Penland said. 

   Taking Latin could set up students for fundamental success in other languages due to the fact that so many languages have roots in Latin.

   If students are interested in taking Latin, email Mr. Penland to learn more about the course or Latin club.