K
kristie_m
Guest
Funny you should mention that…this thread has inspired me to do that very thing!
- Status
K
KathleenElsie
Guest
What do you consider qualified? We have many friends within the community that felt non-qualified and have done wonderfully. Some of them have taken on-line classes to keep ahead of their kids and the parents are having fun learning also. Some getting degrees and others just narrowing the gaps they felt they had. The support we get from one another can supply support for the gaps in each of our own abilities.I had considered that too, but I am neither qualified nor disciplined enough to homeschool my kids. Good suggestion, though.
The suggestion is to just commit to one year and see how it goes.
V
vern_humphrey
Guest
I would like to see an internet-delivered Computer-aided instruction system developed (I used to work in that business.)
I envision a system that could be used in Catholic schools, for home schooling, and in an in-between “oil spot” school – where home schoolers living near each other would be hooked up, share teaching and supervisory responsibility, recruit other parents and “grow” a school as their numbers increased.
I envision a system that could be used in Catholic schools, for home schooling, and in an in-between “oil spot” school – where home schoolers living near each other would be hooked up, share teaching and supervisory responsibility, recruit other parents and “grow” a school as their numbers increased.
K
kristie_m
Guest
hmmm…well, as bad as this is going to make me sound…
I dropped out of college my first year so that I could work full time and get out of my parents house. Most of what I had learned prior to that (save that which I use daily) I’ve forgotten. My own meager abilities would provide my children with a mediocre learning experience at best. Apart from that, the discipline required to homeschool is definitely lacking on my part. My kids would be better off in a traditional school setting.
K
KathleenElsie
Guest
Ah but since you start with pre-school and kindergarten you learn with your children. That is the wonderful thing about it. The myth that is our there is that children are “better off” in the public schools. Don’t always believe they hype.
M
Maureen_Fiore
Guest
I think it is a shame that either the Catholic schools are closing or in my diocese they are merging schools because of low enrollment. I believe that this is a problem that faces us all and the reason why IMHO is because parents are not teaching the faith as they should. As parents we have an obligation to instruct our children first and teach them the importance of our Catholic Identity. If we start to do this then we can increase enrollment and possibly lower the tuition payment.
B
buffalo
Guest
Something like catechismclass.com
V
vern_humphrey
Guest
Yes, indeed – but this would teach all subjects – history, math, languages, chemistry, physics, geography, and so on. There would be courses for parents and teachers to help them do their job. It would be a complete pre-school through high school program.
D
DCD
Guest
The real issue with Catholic school closings is bad parenting. An examination of conscience is all that is needed in most cases. Sell the two new cars parked in the driveway. Quit taking the 2-3 weeks of vacation per year. Stop eating out 2-3 times per week. Scale back the junk made in China you buy yourself and the kids. And quit funding a 401K at the rate that will allow you to retire at 50. The list goes on and on. Feel free to add more.
Peace,
DCD
Peace,
DCD
K
kristie_m
Guest
Pretty quick judgement, my friend. We live on a single income so as to be able to raise our children ourselves, rather than using childcare. We do NOT take extravagent vacations. Our van was purchased used, and the other car we paid off several years ago. We do take the kids to McDonalds on occassion, but not nearly as you describe. And as for the 401K, well, I don’t expect my husband will be retiring any time soon. Can we afford Catholic school? Nope. You might consider being a little more careful in your posts…there are an awful lot of middle income families doing the best they can.
D
DCD
Guest
The post was not a judgement you misunderstand. The post is true if the facts apply. By your post it is evident that you do not fall into that category. You are in my category and we still provide a Catholic education. We homeschool. Pray for us and we will pray for you.
Peace,
DCD
K
kristie_m
Guest
:hug3:
Because homeschooling isn’t a viable option for us (and granted, that is a failing on my part) I can only do my best to provide my children with moral values at home, and through catechism at church. As I said in an earlier post, this is a hugely sore topic for me. I appologize if I went into attack mode. :hug3:
Thank you for the clarification. It’s easy to jump to conclusions and feel attacked on these sometimes.
Because homeschooling isn’t a viable option for us (and granted, that is a failing on my part) I can only do my best to provide my children with moral values at home, and through catechism at church. As I said in an earlier post, this is a hugely sore topic for me. I appologize if I went into attack mode. :hug3:
K
KathleenElsie
Guest
B
buffalo
Guest
Schools of the elite, it is true. We have lost sight of the mission. I
D
DCD
Guest
No problem on the clairfication.:hug3:
Thank you for the clarification. It’s easy to jump to conclusions and feel attacked on these sometimes.
Because homeschooling isn’t a viable option for us (and granted, that is a failing on my part) I can only do my best to provide my children with moral values at home, and through catechism at church. As I said in an earlier post, this is a hugely sore topic for me. I appologize if I went into attack mode. :hug3:
Homeschooling is not a failing on you part. Society does nothing to foster the homeschool alternative. My wife and I fell into that trap for a long time. Once we realized the only requirement for homeschooling our children was love we were off and running.
If you ever want someone to talk to my wife would welcome all your questions and concerns. Just p.m.
Peace,
DCD
R
rlg94086
Guest
I agree. It does vary by area, but one of the issues is that our success hurt us in the long run. Initially, Catholic schools were serving Catholic families primarily. The education proved to be better than the public schools, so many, many non-Catholics wanted to send their kids to the Catholic schools. While this should be good from an evangelism standpoint, it rarely works that way. In fact, what has happened is that fees have gone up, religious instruction has been watered down in the interest of not offending the non-Catholic students, and there is no registration preference shown for Catholic families in a lot of areas.
Again, this is a generalization based on my experiences and what I have heard from other Catholic parents who have sent their kids to Catholic schools. We were on a waiting list so long in a couple of areas, that we gave up and homeschooled for a while. Now, we use the public schools and supplement. If we can afford it next year, we hope to put our two youngest kids into our local Catholic School. From what I can tell, they still are very Catholic in their approach.
V
vern_humphrey
Guest
Actually, everyone has lost sight of the mission.
- Some people regard Catholic schools as schools of the elite and therefore of no account when it comes to charity.
- Some people regard Catholics and others who send their children to parochial schools or homeschool as not entitled to taxpayer paid education (I suppose that’s your penalty for pulling your kid out of that swamp of a Public School.)
- Some people regard Catholic schools as parents-only responsibility, and not worthy of support from those who don’t have kids, or who don’t send their kids to the Catholic schools.
- Some people regard Catholic schools as parish schools – no support from outside the parish.
- Some people regard Catholic schools as “Catholic only” and don’t consider we have an obligation to establish Catholic schools in the poorest, most failure ridden school districts.
D
DCD
Guest
O
OriginalJS
Guest
School choice is not a one-size-fits-all determination for parents. Home schooling may be fine for some, but not for others. In his public high school years, my son was taught government by a man who had actually worked in government in Washington, D.C. and took the class on an illuminating field trip there. In music he was exposed to professional orchestra musicians. He learned more math than I ever did, and his written skills have served him well in college. Had a good public high school not have been available, I would have sent him to parochial school which was more distant (and a lot more expensive!) Home schooling would have been my last choice because I could never provide the variety and quality of the education he got from his professional teachers.
I disagree with the observations that it wouldn’t cost that much to maintain Catholic schools. Schools are very expensive to operate and bishops find themselves involved in every variety of mental arithmetic trying to keep them open. Long gone are the “good old days” when a large national cohort of nuns selflessly devoted their professional lives to teaching for little or no remuneration. While many parochial school teachers are not paid as much as public school teachers, they are still paid employees and cost a lot of money…
I disagree with the observations that it wouldn’t cost that much to maintain Catholic schools. Schools are very expensive to operate and bishops find themselves involved in every variety of mental arithmetic trying to keep them open. Long gone are the “good old days” when a large national cohort of nuns selflessly devoted their professional lives to teaching for little or no remuneration. While many parochial school teachers are not paid as much as public school teachers, they are still paid employees and cost a lot of money…
- Status