Post-Vat. II Catholic Schools & Homeschooling

[Geremia]

I would love to see some Homeschooling statistics though if someone has a link to some as I’m always open to new facts.

Read “How do homeschoolers measure up?” and “When Education Becomes Abuse: A Different Look at the Mental Health of Children.”

 

[leonie]

We must fight for school vouchers in the first place. Then, we should do our homework to find out which schools and colleges are truly Catholic, and preferably send our children to those schools.

At the high school level, the availability of school vouchers and the freedom to choose which schools to attend would fix the ailing school system practically overnight, because it would create competition and immediately expose those schools that do not perform well. I say this coming from a school system (the Hungarian one) that’s No. 4 in science and No. 6 in mathematics in the world, behind the Far East (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea). The USA is somewhere around places 26-28 on the same scale, among some 65 countries surveyed. Where I grew up, both in Romania and in Hungary, there was fierce competition among the various high schools in a city or area, and certain schools would develop a reputation as being the best in arts, chemical-biological sciences, mathematics-physics, electronics-electrotechnics, etc. Obviously these schools tended to attract the brightest and most highly motivated students, as well as the best teachers for that particular discipline. This was all achieved simply by having freedom of choice, because we were always free to choose which schools to attend, even in other cities if we wanted to, much like the colleges and universities are set up in the USA. And being a high school teacher, say, at the 1000-year old Benedictine (Catholic) Abbey of Pannonhalma, or the “Fasori Gimnazium” of Budapest, enjoyed the same level of recognition as teaching at a prestigious university. For a small country like Hungary, we have 12 Nobel prize laureates (equivalent to over 400 Nobel prize winners for the USA, since the population of Hungary is some 35 times smaller than the USA), and they always, invariably speak with gratitude about their Alma Maters and how those schools made an essential contribution to their later success in life.

I concentrated on the part of academic excellence, but I believe school vouchers, the freedom to choose the schools for our children, and our insistence as parents to send our children to Catholic schools that are truly Catholic and not in name only, also holds the key to giving a good spiritual education to our children. I do not mean to speak out against homeschooling. Let those parents who can, homeschool their children. I also do not mean to minimize the importance of parents and their role of giving a witness of Catholic life to their children. I only mean to say that in many schools and colleges, our youth will be exposed to a secular worldview, militant atheism, anti-Christianity, anti-Catholicism, sexual promiscuity, “anything goes” attitude, and the way to fight back is to pull our kids from those schools, to have school vouchers, and to do our share in preserving faithfully Catholic schools and colleges/universities.

Recently, I also find myself drawing parallels between the public school system and the proposed ObamaCare. How is it that attendance in Catholic schools dropped from 6 million to 2 million in 40 years (in spite of the growth of Catholic population and of the population at large), and the Archdiocese of Miami, for example, had to close several Catholic schools? The answer is simple: LACK OF SCHOOL VOUCHERS. While the Obamas deny school vouchers to ordinary middle-income people who cannot afford to pay twice for the same service (once through taxes, and the second time by paying the tuition at a private school), they made sure that the Obama girls attend one of the most exclusive and most expensive private schools in D.C. Talk about hypocrisy. And that’s exactly how ObamaCare will kill the private insurers and healthcare providers, including Catholic clinics and hospitals. Because they will raise our taxes and use the money to push the government-operated healthcare system, and most people will become stuck with government healthcare as they won’t be able to pay for private healthcare that will provide a higher level of service. And just as the Obamas and members of Congress send their kids to private schools, they will make sure to have a separate and more exclusive type of health insurance that’s not available to the general public. It is very telling how none of the Congress members told that they will enroll in the same public option that they are trying to push on the rest of us. They were asked again and again in interviews and at town hall meetings, and they gave evasive answers again and again. And the tax credit checks proposed by Sen. McCain, the ones that we the employees could take to the healthcare providers of our own choice, are on some level equivalent to the school vouchers that we never got, because we the Catholic voters lacked the will to fight for it.

Now, our children are often stuck in public schools that forbid prayer but where the teachers take 7-y.o. kids to field trips to attend “gay wedding” ceremonies. If ObamaCare gets passed, watch out for our mothers and seniors getting stuck with government-run healthcare that will favor abortion to pre-natal care, and assisted suicide to chemotherapy or hip replacement surgery.

I agree with school vouchers as long as there are no strings attached. Too often, taking gov. money means lowering standards and adopting government approved curricula.

 

[leonie]

You have to teach them both at home and at school. Personally I’m very against home schooling from my personal experiences.

My parents were both in Education (we weren’t Catholic) but took us to Church and taught us at home and we got a very good Biblical Faith Foundation.

In my time as a Counselor and from my personal experiences, every single person who was home schooled rebelled once they grew up.

Now I know for many on this board that is not the case, however it’s reality from everything I have seen and experienced. Yes yes I know people have play dates etc… but the lack of understanding how to truly deal with multiple types of personalities is a detriment when tying to eventually live in the real world… again, in my opinion.

Joe

I know lots of homeschooled adults and none rebelled. And, most intend to homeschool their kids.

I wonder if your sample is scewed because you deal with those who need counselling.

You have to consider as well the experience these homeschooled adults would have had if they had been in school. For example, my oldest son is a little quirky. He is 16 now and turning out fine, but when he was younger, he struggled with social anxiety. He’s also very imaginative and a little geeky.

Now, if you were to look at him, you might say, “This kid is kind of weird. Obviously, homeschooling has made him weird.”

But, a more accurate interpretation would be, “This kid is kind of weird. It’s a good thing he was homeschooled because the school culture would have eaten him up.”

So, I wonder if those rebellious adults would have rebelled anyway. And, maybe their formation will either keep them from extreme rebellion or will bring them back as they mature…

I’m glad that my son has been sheltered from the pressure to suppress his imagination and individuality. It would be a great tragedy for this world to have stomped all over my son’s personality. He’s a great kid.

Also, our homeschool group has a broad range of personality types. In fact, my family has a broad range. So, my kids get lots of experience dealing with different types of people. But, I do agree that in many respects, my kids are sheltered from immoral influences (but, not popular culture unfortunately), so as they get older, we have lots of discussions about the temptations they will face and why others have been either miseducated or have fallen into different lifestyles.

 

[eichenb2]

I know lots of homeschooled adults and none rebelled. And, most intend to homeschool their kids.

I wonder if your sample is scewed because you deal with those who need counselling.

You have to consider as well the experience these homeschooled adults would have had if they had been in school. For example, my oldest son is a little quirky. He is 16 now and turning out fine, but when he was younger, he struggled with social anxiety. He’s also very imaginative and a little geeky.

Now, if you were to look at him, you might say, “This kid is kind of weird. Obviously, homeschooling has made him weird.”

But, a more accurate interpretation would be, “This kid is kind of weird. It’s a good thing he was homeschooled because the school culture would have eaten him up.”

So, I wonder if those rebellious adults would have rebelled anyway. And, maybe their formation will either keep them from extreme rebellion or will bring them back as they mature…

I’m glad that my son has been sheltered from the pressure to suppress his imagination and individuality. It would be a great tragedy for this world to have stomped all over my son’s personality. He’s a great kid.

Also, our homeschool group has a broad range of personality types. In fact, my family has a broad range. So, my kids get lots of experience dealing with different types of people. But, I do agree that in many respects, my kids are sheltered from immoral influences (but, not popular culture unfortunately), so as they get older, we have lots of discussions about the temptations they will face and why others have been either miseducated or have fallen into different lifestyles.

After years of experiences with homeschooled children and thier parents, I have to agree with this post. Homeschooled kids may seem strange, but that is because they are not automatons created by the liberal establishment or drones taught to seek pleasure above all. Einstein nailed it when he said, "Albert Einstein
“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.”

 

[st_lucy]

Cathh(name removed by moderator):

The kind of stuff you’re describing sounds a lot like a school!

Part of the reason why I am skeptical about homeschooling is that even though both my parents hold advanced degrees in scientific fields, back when I attended school they could only help me with subjects they were experienced in.

And I had a lot of “homeschooling” even though I attended public school. My parents spent hours and hours teaching me and helping me with homework. In the relevant subjects I learned much more from them than I did from my teachers.

But the subjects they themselves were not experts in, they could not help me with very much. And I had some great teachers in those subjects that taught me things parents never could have.

Your idea of HS parents needing degrees are somewhat unfounded as shown in this study;

As one would expect, the education level of parents did affect the results. For example, homeschool students of parents without college degrees scored, on average, at the 83rd percentile for the core subjects. When one parent had a college degree, those students scored at the 86th percentile, and when both parents had a college degree, those students scored at the 90th percentile. There was virtually no difference, however, between the scores of students whose parents were certified teachers and those who were not.

You can read the rest here.

 

[Joseph_L_Varga]

I agree with school vouchers as long as there are no strings attached. Too often, taking gov. money means lowering standards and adopting government approved curricula.

I agree, we don’t want strings attached. We don’t want the government force its curricula on the schools. The whole point of free school choice is this: Government, stay away from MY KIDS. Government, give me back the control of MY TAX MONEY so that I can bring it to an appropriate school that teaches a CURRICULUM of MY CHOICE.

Take for example the Obama administration’s decision to totally cut funding for pre-marital abstinence and marital fidelity based sex education in public schools. They give out free condoms and teach everything from birth control pills to the “celebration of diversity” (homosexual indoctrination), using MY TAX DOLLARS, but they refuse to fund the teaching of the right things. This is why I want the school vouchers, with no strings attached. Let the deluded atheists send their kids to schools that will poison their souls, using their own money. Just don’t force me to contribute financially, through my taxes, to this abomination. And don’t try to feed my kids with this spiritual poison. I can do a much better job of choosing the right schools and right curricula for my kids and my tax money.

Government control of the school system and government-mandated indoctrination of our children, against the will of their parents, is a hallmark of fascist and communist dictatorships. I should know, LOL, I grew up in Ceausescu’s communist dictatorship. My sister and I were persecuted for attending church when we were just 8 and 6 y.o., respectively, I’m not kidding. It troubles me to see the USA headed in the same direction.

 

[Geremia]

Here is a good Catholic homeschooling book, all of which you can read completely online except for part of Apendix B: by Kimberly Hahn, Mary HassonCatholic education: homeward bound: a useful guide to Catholic home schooling

 

[Geremia]

Some of the replies to the post, though, illustrate why Catholics can be such a stumpbling block to me.

Although most Catholics are sinners (I think the only exception would be the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of God and most perfect human ever.), that in no way lessens the truth of Catholicism or the Trinity.

They have, in my opinion, have become lukewarm; which is worse than hating Christ.

Yes, I see it this way. We must try to live up to our expectations and the seemingly high standard that, for example, Pope Pius XI set in his encyclical on Christian education.

Catholicism clearly teaches that our lives and actions count; unlike protestantism.

Indeed

Despite this, Catholics seemed to think that their ethnocentric Catholicism will save them; so long as they stay cultural relevant.

Catholicism is not “ethnocentric.” The very word “catholic” means “universal.” Look at the diversity of people in the Church. I would not think any other religion is more ethnically diverse.

sin is “cosmic treason”

That sounds New-Agey. Sin is rejecting God, separating oneself from Him by violating His laws.

 

[eichenb2]

Although most Catholics are sinners (I think the only exception would be the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of God and most perfect human ever.), that in no way lessens the truth of Catholicism or the Trinity.Yes, I see it this way. We must try to live up to our expectations and the seemingly high standard that, for example, Pope Pius XI set in his encyclical on Christian education.IndeedCatholicism is not “ethnocentric.” The very word “catholic” means “universal.” Look at the diversity of people in the Church. I would not think any other religion is more ethnically diverse.That sounds New-Agey. Sin is rejecting God, separating oneself from Him by violating His laws.

Catholicism SHOULDN’T BE ethnocentric, but it IS. I am sure that I am not the the first to notice this. Parishes are predominantly Italian, Polish, Phillipino, Mexican, etc.

The term “cosmic treason” was used by a well-known Presbyterian peacher, who is, by no means “New-Agey”.

I think you took my post to me something different than what I intended. My point was basically that all people (Catholic or not) should understand that to genuinely follow Christ, one must make everything (even thier own life) secondary to Christ and His mission; that is the salvation of souls. The concept of a “carnal Christian” is not plausible.