[kabumpo]

What a sad and illiterate comment. Latin is the source for all Romance languages and is an important part of English as well. The study described in this article was for centuries considered to be the basic elements of education.

[sam_paine]

Unless you're planning a career as a historian, learning any language other than your own decently is way the hell too much work for anybody to want to be learning DEAD ones.

Same for learning about vacuum tubes. Nobody uses them anymore, but the theory is the basis for field effect transistors, which are everywhere.

Not to rag on her, but Wendy gives us a glimpse of why this article is just wishful thinking.

Without a central core, there would be a (large, I think) percentage of well-meaning parents out there who would cheat their kids out of the basics and perhaps give them a "good Snopes-based" superficial education.

The article mentions the classic education of the classic theological texts...ahem...but that was due to the central education institution of THE CHURCH.

Government schools are not the best, but they are typical of a large one-size-fits-all institution.

The one-size-fits-all Church was not all that good for an engineering education back in the day, either. (Ask Galileo!)