As it appeared in the Summer/Fall 1995 issue of
The Catholic Family's Magnificat! Magazine
Copyright 1994. All Rights Reserved.
by Marianna Bartold
Survey results on this page continue with Denver, Colorado through Venice, Florida.
Colorado, Denver - Q #10. Most of the calls (and there are many) request information on the Seton Homeschooling Program. There are several large groups organized around the homeschooling concept in Colorado Springs; some have national connections. I simply tell inquiring parents that homeschools are not under my jurisdiction. (So true! Home education is under the jurisdiction of the parents, with the understanding that such education be faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. See "Homeschooling and the New Code of Canon Law".) However, in Colorado there are LARGE numbers involved in homeschooling. Also, the state rules and regs regarding homeschooling. Many of the people who call me are dissatisfied with our religion program - they tend to go to the Tridentine Mass - are Cuffers (C.U.F.), John Birchers and the military. We are a conservative city; the diocese is definitely post-Vatican. (Tridentine or Indult? They are the same, Tridentine is the Mass. Indult is the permission to say the Mass. And are these homeschoolers dissatisfied with the religious program just because they attend the Tridentine Mass? Does this mean those who attend the Novus Ordo are satisfied with the religion program? Or could it simply be a case of parents being aware of Church teaching and seeing that it is not always exposed in the religious ed. classes?)
District of Columbia - Q #10. Some of the parents that I know of who opted for homeschooling also chose to teach the religion program, ("Parents are under a grave obligation to see to the religious and moral education of their children as well as to their physical and civic training." Canon 113) The children did not attend CCD classes. (This would not be a necessity if their parents "chose to teach the religion program.") Some said they did not want their children playing with children who were not being taught Catholic values by their parents. (This brings up the entire issue of "socialization" of homeschooling families with others. Those not familiar with homeschooling families typically assume that these homeschoolers are closed off from society and parish life. Clearly, that is almost never the case. In regard to those parents who strictly guide their children's companionship, the New Catechism tells us, "The home is the natural environment for initiating a human being into solidarity and communal responsibilities. Parents should teach children to avoid compromising and degrading influences which threaten human societies." (2224) Homeschoolers worship in the parish, receive the Sacraments in the parish, and participate in and volunteer for various parish activities and boards. Their children often play with neighbors and with children who attend the parochial school. Homeschoolers belong to Cub Scouts, Brownies, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, etc. It is a fantasy to suggest or imply that homeschoolers know and take seriously their divine rights as educators of their children, it is outrageous that , for this, they are deemed as "pre-Vatican II" or "suspicious" or worse.)
Florida, Miami - Q #10.. Over 8,000 students are being taught in homes in Florida today. Mostly these families are fundamentalist but gradually Catholic families are showing interest as crime increases. NCEA should at least have a curriculum for religious education which could be of use at the elementary level. Good luck. (Are Catholic families in Florida showing an interest in home education solely because of crime increases? If that is true, what good is one religious ed curriculum from the NCEA going to do if parents opt for total home education simply to avoid crime?)
Florida, Orlando - Q #10. Developing curriculum guidelines especially in the area of religion would be helpful. My experience is that fundamental Catholics use homeschool to preach their own version of Catholic doctrine. (What is a "fundamental Catholic"? How do they "preach their own version of Catholic doctrine?")
Florida, Pensacola-Tallahassee - Q #10. Because there is a little legislation to restrict who may homeschool, some parents who take on this task are very poorly prepared to carry it out. (Is this person aware of the fight homeschoolers have faced in the political arena to establish their rights? Who has the right to decide who may or may not homeschool? Why, in this person's opinion, are "some parents" poorly fitted to this task? If, in truth, there are some who were not prepared to home educate when they took on the job, does this mean all should be denied this choice? We cannot judge these individual parents who may not have been able to carry the burdens. However, Pope Pius XI explains the reason why this happen in his encyclical, On Christian Marriage: "...unless they cooperate with grace, the grace of Matrimony will remain for the most part an unused talent... If, however, doing all that lies within their power, they cooperate diligently, they will be able with ease to bear the burdens of their state and to fulfill their duties. By such a Sacrament, they will be strengthened, sanctified, and, in a manner, consecrated.")
Florida, St. Petersburg - Q #10. In our area, this schooling has become an alternative for traditionalists. The State of Florida has specific guidelines which must be followed. NCEA would need to support homeschooling only if it would be representative of the our hallmarks of Catholic education (message, community, service, and worship). (Shouldn't Catholic education be based upon the four marks of the Church: one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic? Since when is "worship" the last hallmark of Catholic education? Rather, the definition of a Catholic school is "... that all the teaching and the whole organization of the school, its teachers, syllabus and textbooks of every kind, be ... under the direction and material supervision of the Church." - Christian Education of Youth. By the way, what is this Religious Ed. Dept.'s definition of a traditionalist? Is that the same as a conservative?)
Florida, Venice - Q #9. *D. Q #10. Early childhood education and programs for children with special needs do not appear to be the reasons for homeschooling in the Diocese of Venice. The reasons appear to be parental choice and conservatism. We are not overly concerned with academic homeschooling but we are concerned with homeschoolers who do religious education with no linkage to the parish. (Does "non-linkage" mean children who are homeschooled do not attend CCD programs, or that these home educating parents have not approached their pastor to request an interview for their child, especially for the Sacraments? It would be most helpful to know.) I recommend that the Department of Elementary Schools talk to the Department of Religious Education and collaborate on some guidelines. Many diocesan offices would appreciate this. (All well and good, if these departments follow the teaching of the Church concerning the purposes and aims of Matrimony, the Church's definition of Catholic education, and what various encyclicals, documents, and the New Code of Canon Law say on these matters.)
Click here to read Part 4 of 9, survey results from Atlanta, Georgia to Lafayette, Indiana
