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

[De_Maria]

We homeschooled all our children (4). And so, we’re done. But, none of our children have yet married and started families.

Of the families that homeschooled along with us, many have also graduated their children. And many of those children have started families. But I’m not aware of any that have continued homeschooling.

Is Catholic homeschooling dying out?

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

Why don’t you ask Catholic Homeschool Curricula providers? They’d have better stats. As far as I know most Catholic HS providers are booming.

Homeschooling is about 20 times as popular as it was in the 90’s. It’s gone from .2% of children educated that way, to nearly 4%. Except for California most states allow Homeschooling without any oppressive laws.

More homeschoolers will likely mean more Catholic homeschooled children. That’s just the way stats work. Does it really matter if they are 2nd gen?

Most people I know who were Catholic homeschooled have chosen non-dioceses Catholic schools post-grade school for their own children. These schools did not exist in the 90’s.

 

[De_Maria]

Why don’t you ask Catholic Homeschool Curricula providers?

It’s not that important to me. I just thought it’d be a nice topic of conversation, here.

They’d have better stats. As far as I know most Catholic HS providers are booming.

Homeschooling is about 20 times as popular as it was in the 90’s. It’s gone from .2% of children educated that way, to nearly 4%. Except for California most states allow Homeschooling without any oppressive laws.

More homeschoolers will likely mean more Catholic homeschooled children. That’s just the way stats work. Does it really matter if they are 2nd gen?

I think so. I surveyed my kids, and apparently, if they’re telling me the truth, they are the only ones they know who actually enjoyed being homeschooled. They say that most of their mates fought to be sent to public or private school so that they could meet more kids.

Most people I know who were Catholic homeschooled have chosen non-dioceses Catholic schools post-grade school for their own children. These schools did not exist in the 90’s.

Too bad. In my opinion, homeschooling is the best way to pass on the unadulterated Catholic Faith. But, who am I?

Thanks for responding.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

It’s not that important to me. I just thought it’d be a nice topic of conversation, here.

Gotcha

I think so. I surveyed my kids, and apparently, if they’re telling me the truth, they are the only ones they know who actually enjoyed being homeschooled. They say that most of their mates fought to be sent to public or private school so that they could meet more kids.

This sounds more like you want affirmation through your children that you made the right choice for them by seeing them repeat what you did.

In my former state, a homeschooler wasn’t allowed to enter a Public School unless the school was opened to the general public (IE performance). But in my husband’s state you could dual-enroll. He was dual enrolled and took his advanced level Math classes at a public school. I plan to do the same, and many parents who homeschool today take advantage of “loopholes” like this.

Mind you, socilization, because of the large number of homeschoolers, is far better today than it was in the 90’s. You could literally leave the house at 8am and not get home until 7pm and still miss out on homsechool events. It’s not like decades ago where events planned events (like gym days) may be the only chance to get out of the house for months besides Daily Mass.

Too bad. In my opinion, homeschooling is the best way to pass on the unadulterated Catholic Faith. But, who am I?

Well…given these schools are staffed by former homeschoolers who went to schools like Ave Maria in Flordia, Benedictine, Stebuie and the like and are all founded in their faith, I’d hardly consider it a loss…especally since parents are so involved.

 

[De_Maria]

This sounds more like you want affirmation through your children that you made the right choice for them by seeing them repeat what you did.

My affirmation comes from the fact that they remain good Catholics. Whatever they decide when they get married, will be between them and their spouse.

In my former state, a homeschooler wasn’t allowed to enter a Public School unless the school was opened to the general public (IE performance). But in my husband’s state you could dual-enroll. He was dual enrolled and took his advanced level Math classes at a public school. I plan to do the same, and many parents who homeschool today take advantage of “loopholes” like this.

Our state is very homeschool friendly.

Mind you, socilization, because of the large number of homeschoolers, is far better today than it was in the 90’s. You could literally leave the house at 8am and not get home until 7pm and still miss out on homsechool events. It’s not like decades ago where events planned events (like gym days) may be the only chance to get out of the house for months besides Daily Mass.

That’s good to hear.

Well…given these schools are staffed by former homeschoolers who went to schools like Ave Maria in Flordia, Benedictine, Stebuie and the like and are all founded in their faith, I’d hardly consider it a loss…especally since parents are so involved.

That’s good to hear. Especially if the parents are involved. It sounds a great deal like the Catholic cooperative group we had here for awhile. Parents taught their specialty and that really helped the moms who were a bit shaky on say, “math” or some other subject. I know my wife appreciated it. We even had some retired public school teachers helping.

 

[Rau]

More homeschoolers will likely mean more Catholic homeschooled children.

Social and economic changes such as the need / practice of both parents working could be expected to influence any trend.

 

[Rau]

homeschooling is the best way to pass on the unadulterated Catholic Faith

I assume this is more about avoiding Catholic school tuition than about providing “good” Catechesis, since the latter could be done by parents outside school hours.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

Xanthippe_Voorhees:

More homeschoolers will likely mean more Catholic homeschooled children.

Social and economic changes such as the need / practice of both parents working could be expected to influence any trend.

SAHP was falling in the late 80s and early 90’s from the post WW2 peak of about 50%. It leveled off in the late 90’s at around 26% and goes between 24% and 28% today. Yet in the 90’s homeschoolers made up a fraction of a percent of K12 children. Today they make up 4%. So one cannot argue that SAHP=Homeschooling since there has basically been no change. (Bureau of Labor Stats)

That said, working parents and Homeschooling are not mutually exclusive. DH’s mom worked almost full time, his dad worked full time, (juggled schedules) and I imagine if I choose to homeschool I’ll still need to balance freelance work as well.

 

[De_Maria]

I assume this is more about avoiding Catholic school tuition than about providing “good” Catechesis,

Avoiding Catholic school tuition? Perhaps you’re one of the noveau rich. But we couldn’t afford Catholic school tuition.

since the latter could be done by parents outside school hours.

Why wait? Why not do it during school hours?

 

[De_Maria]

I assume this is more about avoiding Catholic school tuition than about providing “good” Catechesis, since the latter could be done by parents outside school hours.

I thought this might deserve a more thorough response than the one I gave earlier. Actually, it’s more about ensuring that our children are well educated.

1st of all, since we couldn’t afford a private school tuition, my wife and I decided to homeschool to ensure that our children weren’t left behind in what we consider to be a very poor public school system.

Second, since she and I are also products of public school, we decided that we would ensure that our children would not be “socialized” or “desocialized” in the public school system.

Third, although I blame neither Catholic schools nor Catechism schools grinning:smile for Xanthippe), we wanted to make certain that we didn’t have any excuse for the catechesis of our children. Therefore, we made sure that we passed on the Faith, ourselves.

That’s why we decided to homeschool our children.

 

[Rau]

Avoiding Catholic school tuition? Perhaps you’re one of the noveau rich. But we couldn’t afford Catholic school tuition.

What an odd statement. Are financial constraints a driver for homeschooling - public schools are also available. And where I live (not the US), Catholic schools receive government funding so are not as expensive as the US.

Why wait? Why not do it during school hours?

The reason would be so that parents would not have the burden of also teaching Maths, Science, English and the rest of the curriculum.

 

[Rau]

my wife and I decided to homeschool to ensure that our children weren’t left behind in what we consider to be a very poor public school system.

US schools with all the specialist teachers do such a poor job? That is surprising. We often hear about “decay of the once great US”: your school remarks make that rhetoric sound very tangible.

we decided that we would ensure that our children would not be “socialized” or “desocialized” in the public school system.

What does that mean?

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

US schools with all the specialist teachers do such a poor job? That is surprising. We often hear about “decay once great US”, but you make that rhetoric very tangible.

US schools are entierly dependant on their location/neighborhood.

My town has some of the worst elementary schools in the state but has one of the top higschools of the area. Go figure.

In the US there is very much class warfare going on in the public/private forum. One has to find it CRAZY that one of the worst high schools in the ENTIRE US is only minutes from the BEST private school in the US and about 30 minutes from one of the best public schools. You’re talking about town boundaries that can mean a difference between an 98% graduation and 80% college placement rate of primarily 4-year schools and a 40% graduation rate and a 5% college placement rate of primarly CC.

 

[De_Maria]

What an odd statement. Are financial constraints a driver for homeschooling - public schools are also available.

They certainly were for us. Because when our first child was born, I hadn’t heard of homeschooling. Our first choice was to send our kids to Catholic school, but there was no way we could afford $5000 a semester.

And where I live (not the US), Catholic schools receive government funding so are not as expensive as the US.

That sounds excellent. I’m not sure if Catholic schools in the US receive government funds. But the Catholic schools in my area are well above our range.

The reason would be so that parents would not have the burden of also teaching Maths, Science, English and the rest of the curriculum.

By the grace of God, we joined a Catholic homeschooling group. And someone had the bright idea of forming a cooperative. We would get together once a week and parents with special talents would teach their specialty. It worked out great. Eventually, some retired public school teachers were recruited. At that time, it was free. But then, the group sought accreditation and they became a real school and then they began to charge exorbitant fees and needless to say, we recused ourselves.

By that time, though, mom was an expert in all subjects.

 

[De_Maria]

US schools with all the specialist teachers do such a poor job? That is surprising. We often hear about “decay of the once great US”: your school remarks make that rhetoric sound very tangible.

It remains so. I hope the voucher system is approved so that parents will at least have the choice of where then can send their children, soon.

Of course, I believe homeschooling is the best choice, but I understand it’s not for everyone.

we decided that we would ensure that our children would not be “socialized” or “desocialized” in the public school system.

What does that mean?

[/QUOTE]
It means that children are the main educators in the public school systems today. It’s called “peer pressure” and it is not a force for good. Secularized children push their secularized values down all other children’s throats. Those who don’t comply are ostracized.

I am a product of the public schools in America and I am convinced that they are the main reason I became an atheist at a very young age. Both because of the peer pressure of essentially pagan children and because of the anti-religion climate of the school administrators.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

It means that children are the main educators in the public school systems today. It’s called “peer pressure” and it is not a force for good. Secularized children push their secularized values down all other children’s throats. Those who don’t comply are ostracized.

I am a product of the public schools in America and I am convinced that they are the main reason I became an atheist at a very young age. Both because of the peer pressure of essentially pagan children and because of the anti-religion climate of the school administrators.

To be fair, this is VERY dependant on the school and it’s environment. PS’ in the Bible Belt are very different because the Christian religion is deeply respected to the point where Catholics often find themselves a bit excluded even in the PS system.

 

[Rau]

US schools are entierly dependant on their location/neighborhood.

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.

 

[Rau]

I’m not sure if Catholic schools in the US receive government funds.

I believe they do not. Which seems a little harsh given you paid taxes, and the government is getting benefit by not having to fund your child’s education.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

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.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

Addressing the original question more directly: I was raised evangelical, and my siblings and I were homeschooled. My three siblings all homeschool their own children as well. I don’t have any children myself yet, and I am not sure what we would do for school. I would lean toward homeschooling, except that I don’t think we can afford to lose my income if I were to stay home and teach the kid(s). Public school is not an option (my husband and I agree on this), so chances are we would put out child in Catholic school. So, ironically, it might be more affordable in some cases to put a child in private (Catholic) school.

Whether homeschooled kids will turn around and homeschool their own children largely depends on how good an experience they had with it and whether it is the experience they want for their own child. Did they receive a solid education that prepared them for college? Did they at times feel isolated or left out? Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? (and every education method had both benefits and drawbacks).