"Quid autem erat causae, cur graecas litteras oderam, quibus puerulus imbuebar, ne nunc quidem mihi satis exploratum est." "Why I detested the Greek language and literature, in which I was immersed as a little boy, I have not yet fully discovered." Such is the reminiscence of St. Augustine in his Confessions (1.13) some 15 centuries ago. Augustine's animosity sounds strangely modern, mimicing complaints that too many of us hear in our professional lives today. Moreover, his free floating antagonism to ward Greek foreshadows an attitudes among today's students which sorely needs addressing.
Recent MLA figures inforce the sense that the matter is urgent. The MLA publishes studies of college enrollments in languages on a five year cycle. The latest study studied 1995 figures and I am grateful to Bettina Huber of MLA for sharing her report w ith me before it sees full publication in ADFL's next issue. A quick glance would suggest that Greek is fine. After all, both in 1990 and 1995 it boasted just over 16,000 registrations at the college level, equal to 1.4% of all foreign language enrollments. But in a broader context, this is not good news. Only 11,666 of these registrations are undergraduate.; 4,385 are at the graduate level. Or consider that fact that while Greek might be stable now at 1.4% of the total foreign language registrations, in 1986 it was 1,8% and in 1980 2.4%. In short, we have fallen 58% in "market share" in 15 years. Spanish, by comparison, is up from 41% to 53%. Not only does Greek not draw as many students as Spanish, but, according to statistics compiled by Ed Phinney shortly before his untimely death, the average attrition rate between Greek I and Greek II is a staggering 50%. More on this later.
The reasons for these problems are many and are discussed often over many a sorrowful cup of coffee (or something stronger) on countless campuses each semester. Recently, the American Classical League and the American Philological Association have band ed together to try to address the problem in a more organized fashion through its newly formed Committee for the Promotion of Greek. The CPG was given its first home by Jim May, in the APA Education Committee and it is now, thanks to Virginia Barrett, a sub-committee of the National Committee of Latin and Greek, itself a joint committee of ACL and APA. We first began our activities with an inormal panel at the CAMWS meeting in Atlanta in 1994 and followed it later that same year with our first panel at APA, sponsored by the APA Education Committee and entitled "Greek 2000---Crisis and Challenge." These papers were published in Classical Journal 91(1996), 393-420. Today, once more sponsored by the Education Committee, we hope to pursue some of the iss ues raised in this earlier panel, to familiarize you with the work of the Committee, and to enlist your wisdom and support.
Initial discussions and investigation have revealed a few basic facts. First, Greek is perceived as difficult. It matters not whether you or I think it is difficult. Our target audience is convinced this is so. Secondly, the language is often seen as elitist --- a private bailiwick for those bright enough to have it, a private playground for the few. Finally, and this the most damning charge of all, it is seen as even more irrelevant than Latin.
Other factors conspire against us. Given the fact that today's students generally start their Latin later than ever before and their Greek later than their Latin (hence the name for the panel), the level of Greek competency among our undergraduate majors is often questioned. As a result, it is not uncommon for students to begin graduate studies with the barest knowledge of Greek. In light of all these facts, many serious questions about the future of Greek studies in America face us as we enter the 21st century. Add to this the indisputable fact that today's students --- and the panel has as its focus teaching TODAY'S students--- have more pressures on them to take "practical" courses, that their English skills are not the same of students' of our generation, and that when compared to Latin studies there is a dearth of useful classroom support materials for Greek.
The questions before us are many. Why do Greek enrollments remain so consistently low? Which Greek, Attic or koine, should be taught? Should basic Greek grammar take two or three semesters? But all of these questions add up to the same, most importan t question---How are we to see to it that the study of Greek not only holds its own but sees something of the growth Latin experienced after its severe decline some twenty years ago?
The CPG was formed to seek realistic and pragmatic solutions to the problems surrounding the teaching of Greek today. Keeping to that goal we present today some practical solutions to the problems of student preparation, retention, and recruitment and will offer practical advice on ways to address each issue. Finally, we will outline the CPG's three year plan and goals. We also ask you to take notes for we will end with an open discussion session and truly need your suggestions and advice.
