Let's get one thing straight right now.
The idea that a study of Latin would help literacy
has been well established for a very long time,
long before any implementation of any program took place.
No recent program could seriously take credit for that.
Our program is different from anything out there.
Completely.
Let me reiterate, in case people decide not to pay attention to what I just said:
Our program is its own animal.
In other words, Completely Different From The Rest.
We fundamentally focus on grammar.
Everything we do in Latin, we do in English first.
Other programs may speak of students mastering "Subject, Verb, Object".
That's nice, but it isn't enough.
Why?
Because when you say "object", there isn't just one possibility;
there are three.
An object is either direct, indirect, or preceded and "governed" by a preposition.
When you say verb, you need to be able to identify its components: person, number, tense, mood, voice.
When you say subject, you must be able to identify its person and number.
Subject and Verb together require subject/verb agreement discussions.
The type of verb is itself another issue.
If it is transitive, it takes a direct object.
If it is intransitive, it does not.
Can students in years 5 and 6 (fourth and fifth grade) understand those distinctions?
Can they master them?
Apply them?
Absolutely.
If you explain it, they will get it.
So we don't dumb it down.
We make it accessible.
And when it comes to students and learning Latin, we speak of "capability" not "ability".
The use of the term "ability" necessitates a judgement regarding young people that is invariably premature, and always academically damaging.
drg