Catholic School Textbooks

[Salvatore]

I am trying to evaluate our local Catholic school to see if my children will be receiveing instruction that is in conformity with the Magisterium. I have obtained a list of publishers whose books are used for religious instruction at the school. Any comments, positive or negative, on the folowing list would be greatly aappreciated:

Grade School: Silver Burdett Ginn, 1998

Middle School: Sadlier, 1998; Good News Bible; Silver Burdett Ginn, 1998; Crossroads, 1999; Benziger 1990.

Thanks!

 

[asquared]

Salvatore:

Grade School: Silver Burdett Ginn, 1998

Middle School: Sadlier, 1998; Good News Bible; Silver Burdett Ginn, 1998; Crossroads, 1999; Benziger 1990.

Thanks!

All of the series you mention have more recent editions, and also have several extant series, some of which are better than others.
(usually a new edition just means more pictures and more expense, not a revision of content, but not always)

Benziger is not approved in our diocese, Sadlier after a complete revision has recently been approved, mainly because they have a bilingual series. silver Burdett is also approved, also have introduced a new Spanish series, which has not yet been evaluated. Of the 3 Silver Burdett is the least objectionable. Except for Benziger which at times is outright heretical in its sins of omission, none has actual doctrinal misinformation. It is more what they don’t say that is the problem, where is the stress.
things to look for:
= is the Eucharist emphasized as a communal meal to the detriment of teaching it as participation in the sacrifice of Jesus
= Is the Trinity referred to as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or are gender neutral words used
= is the information on confession exclusively focused on the loving forgiveness of Jesus to the detriment of acknowledging and being contrite over our personal sin; or conversely, is the mercy and justice of God overlooked by a too personal discussion of sin
= is the fall, original sin and the need for redemption taught
= is the fullness of Jesus’ person, and mystery of the Incarnation, life, mission, suffering, death and resurrection taught.
=in discussing sacred scripture, usually beginning in 6th grade, are miracles of Christ downgraded with natural explanations; is the old testament presented as myth and legend or as divine revelation of God to His covenant people; are the salient points of salvation history presented
=is the Church presented as the institution founded by Jesus Christ, led by successor of leaders he appointed, guided by the Holy Spirit in its teaching.

In using these series I have found the catechist must supply a lot of deficiencies through other resources and her own teaching.

We use Christ Our Life by Loyola Press, the best of the approved texts in our diocese. If I had my preference it would be Image of God or Faith and Life both from Ignatius Press, which are outstanding. Watch for Mary Jo Smith, editor of Image of God series, on EWTN to see a master catechist at work.

All these series have a CCD edition and a Parish school edition, which differ mainly in the teacher’s manuals. The Catholic school religion teacher by definition should have much more formal education and direction than a volunteer catechist. If the standard of teaching at your school is good overall, you should have no worry, as the teacher will supply any deficiencies in the textbook. The textbook is basically a workbook to reinforce the oral presentation of the teacher, not a compendium of doctrine.

 

[MooCowSteph]

It’s funny that this thread appeared as soon as I logged in. I came here today looking for some discussion on textbooks. I am currently reading Persecution, by David Limbaugh, and just finished a chapter discussing the horrendous information and LACK of information in public school textbooks. But I was wondering if private schools even use different text books. It seems like a publisher isn’t going to publish two different versions of the same book; obviously, if private schools are to have better textbooks there must be publishers who publish specifically for private schools. I wonder about the quality of private education versus public. The teachers are taught by the same university professors at the same universities; the have access to the same resources; they have often taught in public schools. Hmm……is home schooling the only way to go?

 

[puzzleannie]

since the trend in publishing today is large companies swallowing up smaller ones, there are very few independent publishers of Catholic religion textbooks, or of Catholic school texts in other subjects. For instance Harper Collins now owns the imprints of several formerly independent religion texts. When this happens, often the texts must be changed to fit the PC agenda of the parent company. This is a long and complicated story, but just be aware that because a text says it is Catholic, and that it is in conformity with the Catechism, that is not a positive recommendation. It simply means that there is not obvious content that contradicts Church teaching, but does not guarantee that the fullness of the faith is presented, or that the slant or spin on a topic is in accord with the mind of the Church.