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 begin with Mobile, Alabama through Santa Rosa, California.
This is page 2 of 9 - Continued from NCEA Survey, Part 1
Please note that prudence tells us we should not act as individuals in this sort of matter. We must be very careful in our response - as a group - to this survey. As Catholics who know that it is a teaching of the Church that we have the right to home educate, we must also be aware that there are many who look upon us as isolationists or reactionaries. Many perceive home education as a threat. We know it isn't. The time may well be upon us to not only explain our position, but defend it as well.
There are at least 3 stages to any movement: 1) birth and infancy of the movement, when we are weak and trying to thrive, 2) growth of the movement, in which we learn more about the why's and wherefore's of what we are doing and begin to unite our efforts, and 3) propagation or promotion of the movement, which includes sharing the established why's and wherefore's, and the "apologetics" stance - defending and explaining our position with reasoned argument. This third stage could also include insisting on the rights and recognition of the movement as a legitimate and viable group. The Catholic home education movement is definitely in the second stage and overlapping the third.
It is obvious from the questions and the following responses that many of the diocesan "officials" are not aware of 1) the Church's teachings on the Sacrament of Matrimony and the rights and responsibilities of the vocation, 2) the impact home education has on the "revival" of the domestic church as well as the survival of the Roman Catholic Church in America, 3) the impact home educators have had in the past in the political arena (H.R. 6, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, etc.), 4) the true standing of the various Catholic curriculum providers loyal to the Magisterium, which the commentators define as "Pre-Vatican II" - whatever that is supposed to mean!
Survey Comments. Question #9 asked for the specific name(s) of a homeschooling association in the diocesan area, if known, while Question #10 requested that the Religious Education Department of the diocese share with the NCEA "any other information and insights regarding homeschooling." Individual state Religious Education Departments actually listed the names and addresses of Catholic homeschoolers or organizations (usually support groups). However, the survey noted, "The comments listed are not complete except for the deletion of names and addresses of individuals listed as homeschooling contact people. Where a contact is listed as part of an organization, the names and addresses were retained."
However, Magnificat! has deleted all names and addresses which were retained in the original survey, in the hopes of ensuring some privacy to those individuals and/or groups. Those deletions are marked with (*D).
Italicized sentences below are questions or comments from the editor.
Survey Results
Alabama, Mobile - Q #9. *D. Q #10 - On occasion, homeschooling association has borrowed testing materials from Office of Catholic Schools. One year, small number of children(6) that were homeschooled did take the ITBS standardized tests and OCS facilitated the scoring processing along with diocesan process.
Alaska, Anchorage - Q # 10. Homeschooling is not uncommon or new in Alaska. Most homeschooling is accomplished through the state. I believe there are and/or were some Catholic families in the Archdiocese of Anchorage doing their "own style." Some have joined to form a small unofficial Catholic school. They would most certainly be described as conservative, pre-Vatican II. (What is the definition of conservative or pre-Vatican II? Are they synonymous or not?)
Arkansas, Little Rock - #10. If NCEA gets involved with homeschooling, I would see it spreading itself too thin. Our association with NCEA would be in question. (Why?)
California, Fresno - Q #9. *D. Q #10. Many families in our area are homeschooling due to the negative socialization at their local public school (violence, drugs, etc.). Homeschooling is a reality and the Catholic Church needs to support and encourage authentic curriculum, networking with Catholic schools, and "middle of the road" religious education. Many Catholic parents who are homeschooling do not participate in parish religious programs. (For the most part, this seems like an open-minded commentary. Perhaps it would have been wise to also mention why many of the homeschooling parents do not participate in the CCD programs.)
California, Los Angeles - Q #9. We would like a list of homeschooling options for reference purposes. (What are "homeschooling options" exactly? Are we talking about approaches - curriculum, self-styled, unit study?)
California, Orange - Q #9 *D. Q #10. I believe the central question will center on religious education - who will be responsible for monitoring it? - plus the whole concept of transferring in and out of a homeschooling situation. (The New Code of Canon Law would be a good starting place to answer the first part of that question.)
California, Sacramento - Q # 10. We have had an increase in a number of small private schools run by parents. These schools teach conservative Catholic teachings. (At best, this commentator is ambiguous. What does this Religious Ed Dept. define as "conservative Catholic teachings"? Is a Catholic a conservative if one is obedient to the Magisterium and our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in matters of faith and morals? Or is that defined as Pre-Vatican II?)
California, San Bernardino - Q # 10. I believe that homeschooling could polarize Catholic parents and even undermine some schools in an economic sense - tuition! (Here may be the real concern about home education's impact. Is the concern really for a child's Catholic education - or money? - or jobs?) Home schooling could be very appropriate in areas where Catholic schools are not available physically or "economically" ( cost of tuition vs. cost of living ). Also, [what would be the] impact on religious education programs in parishes, especially of those who disagree with pastors, DRE's, etc.? (Could this mean that homeschooling should be allowed only when attendance at a Catholic school is not feasible either logistically or financially? On the reverse side of the coin, what is the impact when the parish program, DRE, etc. disagrees with the real definition of Catholic education, as given to us by the Church - then what is a parent to do?)
California, San Francisco - Q #10. This was an agenda item at the California Catholic schools superintendents' recent meeting. We are particularly concerned about the development of religious curriculum materials that could be put in the hands of those inquiring about homeschools. (Again - why? Is it not possible that parents might actually be concerned about the religious curriculum their child(ren) receives? Why would they not have the right of access to such materials?)
Materials need to be developed and made available that are post-Vatican II ! (What exactly is Post-Vatican II material? The Benziger or Silver-Burdett series, perhaps? If not, a definition would be most helpful when using the terms Pre-, Post-, or Vatican II.) Thank you for whatever help you can give!
California, Santa Rosa - Q #10. Mostly "far right" with Church. Others, not near a Catholic school or there is no room in existing schools. This topic was discussed in the California Catholic superintendents' meeting on September 26. Brother Bill Carriere will be contacting you for our group.
Click here to read Part 3 of 9, survey results from Denver, Colorado to Venice, Florida
