Well Duane the answer to why we have dropped Latin is a lecture I do about the rise of nationalism and the attempt to get rid of the "old guard". It is true that now if you wish to be of the elite class via education you must know some Latin (medicine and law), but to even get to that "choice" in life the odds are you would have had to be born of the elite or exceptional in the lower classes.

Spanish... well that is obvious in states were Spanish is growing as the second largest language group. I personally believe every student who has the ability should learn at least one language that is not spokan in the household be it Spanish, Russian, German, American sign language, Hebrew, Japanese or whatever. When one learns a second language it can only help with one's native language because then one starts to see gramatical structures in comparison.

Our dominate educational system in this country is based on the Prussian educational system. Which was to not make critical thinkers, but to teach YOU how to comply to authority! The goal of public school was to teach you only one language so that you could not share insights or mix your "nationhood" with other peoples. The elite were not to be of public school and were to learn Latin and other languages in private schools. The current push for second languages is a pretty recent development as some minorities question the system. The goal of the Prussian school system for the average people was to teach them to be good nationalists and soldiers! To give you just enough ablity to read and write to read a sign saying "Warning: Highly Explosive" as you lit up a cigerette in your uniform in that conscripted military that we (lower classes) are suppose to be in.

Look up "Prussian Education System" in google.

This is why I started telling my students "question everything including me!" several years ago.