Homeschooling: the new monastery

[John655]

I truly didn’t expect this type of reaction. My children have attended public school, home school, and have done on-line distance learning. I never suggested that homeschooling was the only way - and neither did Father - he does on outstanding job of pastoring our parish school. He was simply speaking words of encouragement and admiration.

 

[John655]

Sometimes I want to discuss the merits of homeschooling vs. the merits of building school. This thread was not created for that purpose. The OP relayed some words of encouragement to homeschoolers from his priest. Can’t someone start a new thread titled, “Let’s bicker about homeschooling” and leave this one to the original topic?

Thank you.

 

[LilyElain]

I truly didn’t expect this type of reaction. My children have attended public school, home school, and have done on-line distance learning. I never suggested that homeschooling was the only way - and neither did Father - he does on outstanding job of pastoring our parish school. He was simply speaking words of encouragement and admiration.

I love your story…I hope you hold on to that and not what happened in this thread…

 

[lizaanne]

I truly didn’t expect this type of reaction. My children have attended public school, home school, and have done on-line distance learning. I never suggested that homeschooling was the only way - and neither did Father - he does on outstanding job of pastoring our parish school. He was simply speaking words of encouragement and admiration.

By your post count you are still new to CAF - I’m sorry you had to encounter one of the hot topics of these forums the hard way. Don’t let it get you down, there are many of us who do “get it” and understand what Father was trying to say, and not placing any evaluations on any method of learning over another. I think it was a beautiful observation, and thank you for sharing it with us!

~Liza

 

[tafan]

Home schooling parents deserve a tremendous amount of praise for what they are doing. They are often making great sacrifices to provide the best catholic education possible in today’s society. I think the analogy by the priest in the original post on this thread is spot on.
Having said that, and this is where home schoolers fail, they do not realize that homeschooling is not the ideal. It is the often the best option they have, but it is not how our children should be educated. Kids should be taught in catholic schools. This is the ideal. We should be demanding orthodox, affordable catholic schools at the parish level. As a catholic community we should strive for universal catholic schooling. The priests comments about home schooling being the modern day equivilant of Irish Monasteries is spot on. While we are extremely grateful the Irish monks preserved the richness of the faith in dark times and it provided a seed for a regeneration of Christian thinking that flowerd in the 11th though 13th centuries, we should remember that it was not an ideal way for Christendom to advance. The decay of society, along with the destruction of large swaths of Christendom by Islamic forces that took place during the period was not beneficial to the advancement of Christendom. The analogy is very good, but it needs to be carried to its logical conclusion.

 

[St_Francis]

Home schooling parents deserve a tremendous amount of praise for what they are doing. They are often making great sacrifices to provide the best catholic education possible in today’s society. I think the analogy by the priest in the original post on this thread is spot on.
Having said that, and this is where home schoolers fail, they do not realize that homeschooling is not the ideal. It is the often the best option they have, but it is not how our children should be educated. Kids should be taught in catholic schools. This is the ideal. We should be demanding orthodox, affordable catholic schools at the parish level. As a catholic community we should strive for universal catholic schooling. The priests comments about home schooling being the modern day equivilant of Irish Monasteries is spot on. While we are extremely grateful the Irish monks preserved the richness of the faith in dark times and it provided a seed for a regeneration of Christian thinking that flowerd in the 11th though 13th centuries, we should remember that it was not an ideal way for Christendom to advance. The decay of society, along with the destruction of large swaths of Christendom by Islamic forces that took place during the period was not beneficial to the advancement of Christendom. The analogy is very good, but it needs to be carried to its logical conclusion.

My homeschool *is *a Catholic school.

 

[tafan]

My homeschool *is *a Catholic school.

I don’t want to assume to much. What is your point in making this remark? .

 

[St_Francis]

I don’t want to assume to much. What is your point in making this remark? .

You wrote this: …homeschooling is not the ideal. It is the often the best option they have, but it is not how our children should be educated. Kids should be taught in catholic schools…

Catholic homeschools *are *Catholic schools.

My overall view of homeschooling vs schooling is that whatever is best for the children and the family is best. People who criticise *either *are not really doing the right thing, because the purpose of parenting is to raise children and to educate them.

What counts more than the type or location of education is the relationship between the parents and the children and inculcation of the Faith. I have seen families in each educational setting where the relationships are good… and where the relationships are bad. And the latter will cause problems no matter how the education is “delivered,” and the former will work out pretty well in either case also.

But to simply make a blanket statement that homeschooling is not the ideal is not right, either. Homeschooling is the ideal for certain children and certain families. Schooling is the ideal for others.

I think that the priest in the original comment to this post was spot-on, considering the number of so-called Catholic schools which are not Catholic, and the low number of schools which are even called Catholic. What it really boils down to is not that Catholic homeschooled children will save the world, but that *parents who raise their children deeply Catholic, *so many of whom are homeschooled, and so few of whom are in even Catholic/CINO schools, are bringing into the world people of deep faith who will be able to provide the seeds for the future, just as the monks did in the monasteries.

 

[tafan]

St Francis:

You wrote this: …homeschooling is not the ideal. It is the often the best option they have, but it is not how our children should be educated. Kids should be taught in catholic schools…

Catholic homeschools are Catholic schools.

My overall view of homeschooling vs schooling is that whatever is best for the children and the family is best. People who criticise either are not really doing the right thing, because the purpose of parenting is to raise children and to educate them.

OK, fair point. I agree with this, so I will restate that one sentence: Homeschooling is not the ideal as the standard type of catholic education. Or something along those lines.

I think that the priest in the original comment to this post was spot-on

I stated the same thing. But, what I don’t see is homeschooling parents joining with othe catholic parents and demanding goopd, orthodox, and affordable catholic school., The monks of Ireland certainly perserved a great deal of Catholic teaching, I do not think they would have thought that their preservation of the catholic teaching was an ideal way to do so. That’s my point. And they worked for the reform in the church and society that was needed. They did not lock themselves in their monastaries and wait for a better time.

So if home schooling parents are the vanguard for good Catholic education, then they owe it to the church to help solve the modern day problems in other areas of Catholic education. They do this quite well when it comes to colleges, many of them support and send their kids to some of the really fine, small, Catholic liberal arts colleges in this country.

 

[St_Francis]

OK, fair point. I agree with this, so I will restate that one sentence: Homeschooling is not the ideal as the standard type of catholic education. Or something along those lines.

I’m not sure that I would agree with that, either. I think the ideal is what is *best *in each individual case. Certainly learning at the higher levels is best accomplished through schools (including colleges as schools here), and certainly for some situations, school is best.

I stated the same thing. But, what I don’t see is homeschooling parents joining with othe catholic parents and demanding goopd, orthodox, and affordable catholic school., The monks of Ireland certainly perserved a great deal of Catholic teaching, I do not think they would have thought that their preservation of the catholic teaching was an ideal way to do so. That’s my point. And they worked for the reform in the church and society that was needed. They did not lock themselves in their monastaries and wait for a better time.

The duty of educating the children falls upon *the parents, *who may use schools to help in that endeavor.

If a parent sees that the local Catholic school (if there is one) is not good, then what are they to do? Send their child and work for the improvement of the school? And what about the child in the meantime, who is exposed to non-Catholic education?

And I have heard many stories of parents “working to improve the schools” to no avail. My sister’s parochial school refused point blank to prepare her for her First Holy Communion. They said that was the parents’ job. And then there are all the schools which are Catholic in name only, who even teach *against *the Faith.

The fact is that there is only so much that parents and lay people can do to improve the schools, and when they do, it often takes a very long time.

Parents who homeschool are not “locking themselves up and waiting for a better time,” they are doing what needs to be done at that moment. They cannot afford to send their child to the school and “working for improvement,” because their child is there to be educated *right then. *

So if home schooling parents are the vanguard for good Catholic education, then they owe it to the church to help solve the modern day problems in other areas of Catholic education. They do this quite well when it comes to colleges, many of them support and send their kids to some of the really fine, small, Catholic liberal arts colleges in this country.

I would be perfectly happy to discuss this further with you, but I know I tend to go on a bit and you may not be wanting a humongous discussion, just comments here and there

 

[ac_claire]

I’m not sure that I would agree with that, either. I think the ideal is what is *best *in each individual case. Certainly learning at the higher levels is best accomplished through schools (including colleges as schools here), and certainly for some situations, school is best.

The duty of educating the children falls upon *the parents, *who may use schools to help in that endeavor.

If a parent sees that the local Catholic school (if there is one) is not good, then what are they to do? Send their child and work for the improvement of the school? And what about the child in the meantime, who is exposed to non-Catholic education?

And I have heard many stories of parents “working to improve the schools” to no avail. My sister’s parochial school refused point blank to prepare her for her First Holy Communion. They said that was the parents’ job. And then there are all the schools which are Catholic in name only, who even teach *against *the Faith.

Even if you find a good Catholic school, many of them are too expensive for regular lower-middle class families to send their kids to. In my ideal world, we would send our kids to good Catholic schools. I’m not 100% confident in my abilities as a teacher although homeschooling is the working plan we have now for our kids.

 

[Em_in_FL]

If a parent sees that the local Catholic school (if there is one) is not good, then what are they to do? Send their child and work for the improvement of the school? And what about the child in the meantime, who is exposed to non-Catholic education?

And I have heard many stories of parents “working to improve the schools” to no avail. My sister’s parochial school refused point blank to prepare her for her First Holy Communion. They said that was the parents’ job. And then there are all the schools which are Catholic in name only, who even teach *against *the Faith.

The fact is that there is only so much that parents and lay people can do to improve the schools, and when they do, it often takes a very long time.

I’m not going to argue against your mindset, but just saying that there are *other *mindsets.

Now, my own children are going to a good “Catholic” school (in name and practice), but I went to a public school, and plan on sending my kids to a public high school… yes, on purpose!
My mindset is that IF (and yes, ONLY if) the child is truly being raised by faith-filled parents who guide them and are active along the way, then exposing the children to faith-less and anti-faith sentiments aren’t going to harm them… in fact, it may make them even STRONGER EVANGELISTS!

I guarantee you, if I were NOT exposed to some very anti-Catholic sentiments during high school, then I would not be the same faith-filled person I am today.

Different methods can produce different outcomes…

 

[St_Francis]

I’m not going to argue against your mindset, but just saying that there are *other *mindsets.

I don’t think I have “a mind-set”—I just think that whatever works best for the family and the children is what is best–my idea is that *no one *should say this is ideal or that is best. My remarks about the Catholic schools were directed towards the previous poster’s comments about how parents should work to improve the school, apparently instead of homeschooling their children.

Now, my own children are going to a good “Catholic” school (in name and practice), but I went to a public school, and plan on sending my kids to a public high school… yes, on purpose!
My mindset is that IF (and yes, ONLY if) the child is truly being raised by faith-filled parents who guide them and are active along the way, then exposing the children to faith-less and anti-faith sentiments aren’t going to harm them… in fact, it may make them even STRONGER EVANGELISTS!

And this is absolutely great You set an educational goal and are choosing the best way of achieving it.

I myself was not really happy when my husband started introducing our children to more secular stuff, but that turned out to be a good thing because then we were able to discuss it in terms of Catholicism and it improved their critical Catholic thinking. You seem to have the same sort of aim and the circumstances which will allow you to fulfill them; we live far away from the nearest Catholic school and in a school system that is… less than what we want.

I guarantee you, if I were NOT exposed to some very anti-Catholic sentiments during high school, then I would not be the same faith-filled person I am today.

Different methods can produce different outcomes…

And I fully support the right of *all *parents to choose the outcomes and the means of filling those outcomes. I apologise for seeming to be critical as that was the exact opposite of my intention!

 

[wifenmommy]

I truly didn’t expect this type of reaction. My children have attended public school, home school, and have done on-line distance learning. I never suggested that homeschooling was the only way - and neither did Father - he does on outstanding job of pastoring our parish school. He was simply speaking words of encouragement and admiration.

I understand where you were coming from!! Please excuse those who took such an ugly tone when all you were doing was sharing something wonderful with us as parents. That same reaction is why I dont start threads much. Myself I am a homeschooler whose daughter was able to make her First Holy Communion 2 years early. I have no doubt it is because she is homeschooled she was able to do this. She wouldnt have gotten to that point at the watered down, barely Catholic school nor would she have been able to do it from attending our local public school. I do know that if your post was the same except credit was given to the excellent local Public or Catholic school, you would have NEVER had homeschoolers posting rude comments, the most you would have gotten would be a “wonderful” or “Congrats”…I would respectfully ask that those who dont homeschool, to please think before you post and remember how Christ would want you to respond. I hope this new member of CAF doesnt take the nasty tone to heart and have it keep them from posting again (again, that is why I do post rarely …)

 

[ac_claire]

OK, fair point. I agree with this, so I will restate that one sentence: Homeschooling is not the ideal as the standard type of catholic education. Or something along those lines.

…in your opinion. Obviously a lot of people strongly disagree.

I may not necessarily even disagree with you, but I’m just wondering why you seem to think that your personal opinion is some kind of indisputable fact? On what authority do you state this as a fact, in other words. (citable research, Church teaching, etc.?)

 

[tafan]

…in your opinion. Obviously a lot of people strongly disagree.

I may not necessarily even disagree with you, but I’m just wondering why you seem to think that your personal opinion is some kind of indisputable fact? On what authority do you state this as a fact, in other words. (citable research, Church teaching, etc.?)

The history of the Catholic church. Catholics sent their kids to catholic schools.
But mainlyn because of Canon 796 thorugh 806. You will see all the points I have made. It would be impossible to define your home school as one of these catholic schools.

Now, I will admit, the Chuch has done a horrible job living up to its end of the bargain in these canons, and I will state categorically that the parent has the right to deside if a proper school is available to them (ie is it truly catholic and is it affordable). It is a heroic act when parents, who find no catholic schlool available to them, decide to provide a home schooled catholic education. But it is not the norm.
St Francis:

If a parent sees that the local Catholic school (if there is one) is not good, then what are they to do?

Choosing to home school is a very good and legitimate option in this situation. But that does not absolve those parents from canon 800.2. That is one of my key points!!!

 

[KCT]

The history of the Catholic church. Catholics sent their kids to catholic schools.

How far back in history are we going? “School in a building” as we know it is very young compared to Church history.

 

[tafan]

How far back in history are we going? “School in a building” as we know it is very young compared to Church history.

You would be surprised. But nevertheless, you can ignore church history and you still have to folloe the canon law.

 

[wifenmommy]

You would be surprised. But nevertheless, you can ignore church history and you still have to folloe the canon law.

Huh? Is it cannon law that someone else other than the parents teach children the Catholic faith? Is it cannon law that we send our children out to a Catholic school? I dont get it…

 

[wifenmommy]

tafan…
Ok~ read Canon law 800-800.2…IMHO, it really doesnt have anything to do in regards to homeschooling per say, it basically states that it is the parents responsibility to make sure that the children get a Catholic education and that we support the Catholic school IF our children are attending there. So in saying that, if a Catholic school is unavailible or unattendable, we are within our rights as parents to educate OUR children in the faith. The way you state it is that homeschooling is against Canon law~dont think so…