Are Catholic children who were homeschooled continuing the tradition with their own children?

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

Yes, homeschooling overall has grown exponentially, so I am sure we will continue to see more Catholic homeschoolers. Also, as the price of Catholic school is often astronomical, especially if you have more than one child enrolled, people who don’t want to put their child in public school will see it as their only viable option.

I think that the Catholic groups are growing in-kind but Homeschooling is really getting gains from secular parents who are at odds with what is being taught for whatever reason. Catholics, like they were in the 90’s are still a minority of homeschoolers and they still are. It’s easier to find Catholics because there are simply more homeschoolers. But secular homeschooling is now HUGE and you would never have seen that in the 90’s…I think it was something like 90% to 95% of homeschoolers listed religious reasons for reasons why they homeschooled. Of course, nonsectarian has grown in all facets, so it’s not surprising. Religion is only listed as a concern for 64% today. The primary concern of 91% of parents is school environment.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

Religion is only listed as a concern for 64% today. The primary concern of 91% of parents is school environment

Interesting–although I think these reasons quite often overlap. Many religious parents are very concerned about the public school environment for a variety of reasons, some of which may be directly linked to religion and others not. For example, a parent might decide to homeschool their child because 1) the public schools are of low quality and they believe they can give their child a better education; 2) they are concerned about negative peer influences; 3) and because the public schools tend to impart a worldview antithetical to their Christian beliefs.

All of the above were my parents’ reasons for homeschooling us. While all the reasons flowed from their Christian beliefs, I think they would have been just as likely to list “school environment” as “religion” for their main reason.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

Xanthippe_Voorhees:

Religion is only listed as a concern for 64% today. The primary concern of 91% of parents is school environment

Interesting–although I think these reasons quite often overlap. Many religious parents are very concerned about the public school environment for a variety of reasons, some of which may be directly linked to religion and others not. For example, a parent might decide to homeschool their child because 1) the public as are of low quality and they believe they can give their child a better education; 2) they are concerned about negative peer influences; 3) and because the public schools tend to impart a worldview antithetical to their Christian beliefs.

All of the above were my parents’ reasons for homeschooling us. While all the reasons flowed from their Christian beliefs, I think they would have been just as likely to list “school environment” as “religion” for their main reason.

They do overlap. 64% and 91% is more than 100% However, what I was trying to state was that religion and religious concerns have fallen from upwards of 95% to where it sits today at 64%. Concerns about the quality of education, school environment, and special needs are all MUCH higher than they were, to which their percentages dwarf religious reasons. One can homeschool because school environment and religion and special needs, but less and fewer homeschoolers consider religion a motivating factor. That’s all I was trying to point out…36% do NOT consider religion, whereas years ago that was under 5%.

 

[De_Maria]

Secular homeschooling? I didn’t realize that. But I understand. With all the gang violence, drugs, disease, bugs and everything else that happens in public schools, I recommend homeschooling for everyone.

 

[De_Maria]

We used the public libraries liberally. But we made sure the content of the books was what we approved. Nothing anti-Catholic nor anti-Christian nor vulgar nor sinful. You could say, we strictly censored the curriculum.

 

[pianistclare]

Yes. There is often a notion that everything the state has to offer is junk.
I can tell you that from working in a Catholic school for 10 years, that we were not able to offer NEAR the services to families with special needs, learning issues, etc.
Some of my daughter’s most compassionate teachers were in the public system.
Some of my colleagues were the worst teachers imaginable.
One can’t generalize. Depends on the area, and the neighborhood. I wish people wouldn’t assume that they need to panic. It’s decision that needs to be made and re-visited annually to be most effective and beneficial.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

Secular homeschooling? I didn’t realize that. But I understand. With all the gang violence, drugs, disease, bugs and everything else that happens in public schools, I recommend homeschooling for everyone.

Good grief.

Public schools are subject to their area. And given that in California anti-vaxxers are now listed as “reasons” for homeschooling and there have been breakouts of diseases…yeahhhhh.

Just because secular concerns have grown doesn’t mean that every PS is now bad. I do think that people cannot afford housing where there are decent schools zoned. Many people are also not willing to live in less-than-ideal homes/apartments in order to be in a good school zone. Values have changed. It doesn’t mean that all PS are bad.

Not only that, many secularists who once were willing to send children to Catholic/Christian school and force them to learn the prayers, etc, are no longer willing to do so.

Homeschooling is a nuanced answer to a multifaced problem with education today. It’s not an one dimensional call against Public schools.

 

[Xantippe]

Oh, wow. What a way to cement disadvantage. Where I live, the State funds all the public schools in that State and there are processes to link the level of support according to need.

It’s complicated.

There’s also something like that in the US (Title I), but children from poor and/or single-parent and/or non-English speaking families are just a lot harder to teach than kids from richer two-parent college educated families. The kids arrive at the school door with totally different levels of preparation and get totally different levels of home support.

 

[Xantippe]

Public school is not an option (my husband and I agree on this), so chances are we would put out child in Catholic school. S

There are a lot of decent public elementary schools in the US, even in unpromising locations. For example, despite being famous for terrible schools, Washington DC has a lot of good public elementary schools. Our oldest went to one for pre-k before we left the area. It was fine. However, middle class families tended to bail on the DC public schools by middle school.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

De_Maria:

We used the public libraries liberally. But we made sure the content of the books was what we approved. Nothing anti-Catholic nor anti-Christian nor vulgar nor sinful. You could say, we strictly censored the curriculum

Thanks. I’m on the board of our local library and we get so many home schoolers to our events that we often (due to limited space) have to schedule a separate presentation just for that group. But I have often wondered if some of what we are presenting (especially our science programs) might be offensive or against their religious views.

Since I utilized library programs for my niece last year.

Create a clear outline and make major points known in any announcements. Give children the chance to opt out of anything that could be objected to.

If parents don’t attend, make sure to call them in after a cover all major points so there is no misunderstanding.

Because kids often repeat things that have no basis in reality, so…

“Librarians said I wasn’t allowed to do 6th grade Math”

Which, in reality, was, that they would only help her with the assigned 4th grade homework and didn’t let her take her friends assigment and do it for her.

 

[Xantippe]

One can’t generalize. Depends on the area, and the neighborhood. I wish people wouldn’t assume that they need to panic. It’s decision that needs to be made and re-visited annually to be most effective and beneficial.

Yes, you have to carefully study the specific area and specific schools.

There are huge differences between different public schools, different private schools, and different homeschooling environments.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

A quick question for you home schoolers. Did you ever have any concerns about allowing your children to go to the public library for programs or to check out books?

We used the local libraries all the time. Always had a big stack of library books at home. My mom would glance through our book choices, and a few times she vetoed some of those choices, but not too often. That was 20-30 years ago, though. There is probably more questionable content out there now than there was then, but parents should absolutely make frequent use of the library. They should monitor what their children are reading, but that goes for all parents, homeschooling or not.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

Xanthippe_Voorhees:

If parents don’t attend, make sure to call them in after a cover all major points so there is no misunderstanding.

Thanks. Happily, parents attend these events with their kids or there are a few designated adults with them.

You should be fine then. If the kids aren’t too little (under 8) then they can have the “we don’t believe that” conversation with their parents. So long as you advertise correctly a parent can know what they are walking into and be happy with what they are walking out with.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

EnglishTeacher:

We used the local libraries all the time. Always had a big stack of library books at home. My mom would glance through our book choices, and a few times she vetoed some of those choices, but not too often. That was 20-30 years ago, though. There is probably more questionable content out there now than there was then, but parents should absolutely make frequent use of the library. They should monitor what their children are readind, but that goes for all parents, homeschooling or not.

Yes, parents need to have the responsibility to know what their kids are reading. Because of the privacy laws of our library, the librarian cannot obviously give out information on what a patron has checked out. If the family has a “family library card” than all family members will know what is going home for books. When a person turns 13 they have the option of having their own card, which 99% of the time is no big deal and is actually a good thing because that teenager is valuing books and the other services libraries have to offer. Once they have their own card, the librarian is not going to tell Mom or Dad what’s being checked out (privacy rule), Teenagers have the option of staying on their family’s card. So, again, it is a topic to be considered by the family

That must vary by state. Here kids get an “under 18” card and are eligible at birth. It is tied to a parent’s card and accounts for both checkout and fine reasons. They can’t get their own unlinked card until they are 18.

 

[Rosalie]

I only know one Catholic who was homeschooled, and she is planning on doing the same for her future children. I and quite a few Catholic friends are planning to homeschool our children for a variety of reasons. My reasons are:

1. We cannot afford Catholic school unless we move to a cheaper part of the country. (We are planning to move within the next two years but who knows what the parish schools will be like where we end up).
2. The public schools around here only have 10-20 minutes of recess starting in kindergarten, which is ridiculous and unhealthy.
3. We can’t afford to live in a decent school district and I’m not sending my child to a school with gang problems.
4. Control over the curriculum and pace of learning.

 

[pianistclare]

The Catholic school I worked at for ten years only permitted 20 min for lunch and 15 for recess.
The parents complained, but the administration said it was because the children were “wasting time” socializing. That horrible Administrator finally walked off the job after literally ruining that Catholic school. Over 400 various families left. There was nothing the teachers could do about it. An important lesson for parents: Learn what the pRincipal is all about, and what their approach to learning is.

 

[De_Maria]

Homeschooling is a nuanced answer to a multifaced problem with education today. It’s not an one dimensional call against Public schools.

There’s a very basic reason why Catholics should not send their children to public school in America. They are anti-Christian. Everything you teach about the faith, they undo. Its a hard battle. Because you’re fighting peer pressure. The books they read. And the teachers and authorities.

In addition, Public Schools are the main reason, in my opinion, that families in America are so dysfunctional. They erode the parents’ authority. Especially religious and conservative parents. Because the parents’ values are devalued and replaced with the secular agenda.

As I said, I believe that my being in public schools is the main reason I became an atheist at a very young age. And it was exacerbated by my attending a secular college as well.

That’s why my wife and I homeschooled ours and would not recommend anyone send their children to Public School. Not in the USA anyway. Because, according to the news, its the same everywhere.

 

[Xantippe]

Because, according to the news, its the same everywhere.

It’s not.

If you were to go off the news for everything, you’d assume that we were all murdering each other every day.

 

[De_Maria]

De_Maria:

Because, according to the news, its the same everywhere.

It’s not.

If you were to go off the news for everything, you’d assume that we were all murdering each other every day.

The news reflects the experience my wife and I had when we attended Public Schools. And I haven’t met many people who disagree. In fact, it seems to be getting worse, if word of mouth is to be trusted. I understand that several girls in the middle school (8th grade) nearby, have had abortions. (Our neighbor is a school bus driver). I don’t remember that happening very often when I was in school. Although my wife does remember one.

Add to that the fact that public schools are, by law, anti-Christian. The children aren’t allowed to pray. Nor are the teachers allowed to mention Christ or anything Christian.

I don’t know why any devout Catholic would want to take the chance of sending their children to those cesspools, if they had a choice. I understand other reasons might exist which force you to do so. And I feel truly sorry for anyone in that situation.

 

[Xantippe]

I understand that several girls in the middle school (8th grade) nearby, have had abortions. (

The national abortion rate is way down since the peak around 1980. See the chart here:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/17/509734620/u-s-abortion-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-since-roe-v-wade

It’s possible that your area is particularly bad, but nationally, abortion is down and sexual activity among high schoolers is down.

http://recapp.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.StatisticsDetail&PageID=555

“Between 1991-2015, the proportion of [high school?] students who ever had sexual intercourse decreased from 54% to 41%.3”

So, average kids are less sexually active than when I was in high school. Again, particular areas may be particularly bad, but on average nationally, there is less sexual activity among high schoolers than there was when I was in high school. Today’s high schoolers are a lot more closely monitored than yesterday’s high schoolers, at least in terms of where they go and what they do (although social media use is another story).