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 Davenport, Iowa through Louisville, Kentucky.
Iowa, Davenport - Q # 10. There are approximately 1,800 students involved in homeschooling in Iowa - a number that increases each year. The Iowa public schools are good - highest test scores in the States. (Shouldn't the DRE be concerned with Catholic schools - not just the public schools?) Middle-class families and strong (somewhat conservative) family-oriented parents want this type of experience for their children for a variety of reasons. I personally feel this type of education will continue to grow, even though I have some reservations about this program. (It would be interesting to know what the reservations are. Catholic home education is a way of life, not a program. A program would be a curriculum used as a teaching tool.)
Iowa, Des Moines - Q # 10. We would hope that any NCEA statement on homeschooling would be consistent with our diocesan board policy (copy enclosed). (The copy was not included in the survey results. What is this board's policy?)
Iowa, Dubuque - Q # 10. The schools of the Archdiocese of Dubuque are accredited by the State of Iowa, unlike the schools of other states. (This person is stating that not one other Catholic parochial school in the entire nation is accredited by its own state! This is obviously not a true statement.) We do this in order to be perceived (emphasis added) as academically sound and secondly, to receive a variety of legislated services. (Such as money from the government, which means that school policy is government-mandated? If so, such schools can no longer be Catholic in purpose and intent, though they may bear the name.) We are not in support of homeschooling (see policies), since we believe the socialization factor is important. (Is their idea of socialization now one of the hallmarks of Catholic education?) We have worked hard to remain quality and accredited and view the growing homeschool movement as a "weakening" of our commitment. (Don't parents have a commitment to their children which supercedes the "rights" of others? "The role of parents in education is of such importance that is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute. The right and duty of parents....are primordial and inalienable." Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1653) I would be opposed to any "pro-homeschooling" statement by NCEA. (The encyclical Sapientiae Christianae affirms, "The family may be regarded as the cradle of civil society, and it is in great measure within the circle of family life that the destiny of the State is fostered. Consequently, they who would break away from Christian discipline are working to corrupt family life and to destroy it utterly, root and branch. From such an unholy purpose they are not deterred by the fact that they are inflicting a cruel outrage on parents; who have the right from nature to educate those whom they begot.... It is incumbent upon parents to make every effort to resist attacks on this point and to vindicate at any cost the right to direct the education of their offspring, as it is fitting, in a Christian manner.")
Iowa, Sioux City - Q # 10. We have a diocesan policy prohibiting involvement of our schools with homeschoolers. (Who established the policy and why?) We do not want any connection, strings, or attachment at the moment. (What does this mean - "at the moment"?) The battle that we fight is that the public school people in our state sometimes want to group us (Catholic schools) with homeschoolers and non-accredited schools. (Why would they want to put up a "good" front for the public schools and turn their backs on other Catholics?) We vehemently resist this. Homeschoolers = fundamentalists most often. (Obviously, they are confusing Catholic homeschoolers with fundamentalist homeschoolers. However, regardless of denomination or even lack thereof, all parents have this God-given right - whether they recognize God or not - to home educate their children if they choose to do so. Or could this diocese possibly mean that fundamentalists are now approaching Catholic parochial schools for assistance?!?)
Kansas, Kansas City - Q # 10. Parents (particularly non-Catholics) homeschool because (1) the public schools lack value teaching, (2) students lack respect, (3) [there is a] fear of drugs and violence; (4) [there is a] lack of family focus. (All this may or may not be true, but shouldn't the concern be focused on Catholics who home educate, not non-Catholics?)
Kansas, Salina - Q # 10. If we truly believe in choice, we have to consider homeschooling as an option. Guidelines need to be established in the event that such schools seek affiliation with Catholic schools. (We are grateful that this DRE at least supports educational choice. Who shall establish the guidelines? Why would homeschools seek affiliation with parochial schools?)
Kentucky, Louisville - Q # 9. Our Lady of the Rosary School, Bardstown, KY. Q # 10. After attending a conference on homeschooling, I was very frightened by what I saw. (The specific homeschooling conference, who it was sponsored by, and speakers are not mentioned, so we can only wonder who or what frightened this person.) This was with the conservative element. I found it be very narrowly focused. My initial feeling is that if the NCEA should try to become involved in assisting homeschoolers, it would be disregarded totally. This is for the conservative element. The others would probably welcome any assistance that could be given. (Who are these "others"?)
Click here to read Part 6 of 9, survey results from Alexandria, Louisiana through Jackson, Mississippi
