How to Keep Your Homeschool Catholic                                                    by Marianna Bartold

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This article may be reprinted in your homeschool newsletter

with written permission. Just email KIC  and ask!

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The Roman Catholic Church infallibly teaches us through many means, one being the "Ordinary Magisterium." Encyclicals of the Church fall into that category. So it is through an encyclical that we know the four marks or cornerstones of a Catholic education are these: that the teachers, organization, text and syllabus "...must be under the direct and maternal supervision of the Church" (from the encyclical Divini Illus Magistri, 1929 - Christian Education of Youth). This same encyclical also reiterates that religion must permeate the curriculum.

This means the whole methodology should follow the tried-and-true methods of authentic, traditional Catholic education in all aspects. Let's take a look at each point!

TEACHERS - In marriage, both by divine and natural law, parents are teachers. As parents and teachers who want to obey the Church, we must know Her traditional teachings on marriage, education, and family life. We start with our spiritual lives and so we must live the sacramental life. We must be practicing Catholics. This does not mean only attending church on Sundays and holy days of obligations. Each of us must think and act and believe as a Catholic, in every circumstance, every day.

When it comes to the educational books, magazines or any other resources for your homeschool, be on guard for the We can Catholicize it mentality. Catholic homeschooling is a way of life, in addition to being a method of education. It takes more than reasoning skills, excellent as those are. Too much faith in one's own reason can lead to pitfalls.

Know that it isn't easy to "Catholicize" material containing false information, like history texts that glorify the Reformation, or math books and unit study helps that use Scripture quotes from a non-Catholic Bible.

We should be wary of those who try to tell us that "anything we find in a book or resource that is true and beautiful is Catholic." Today, that basic truth is often twisted to advocate, allow, promote, and excuse the heavy use of secular and/or allegedly "Christian" resources in Catholic homeschooling. Catholicism is Christianity!

Graces give us supernatural gifts. Only Catholic books (history, literature, etc.) address this truth.

ORGANIZATION - Within the context of the encyclical Christian Education of Youth, organization means two things: the establishment or the society of the school and its order, design or way of implementation. Therefore, the organization of the Catholic homeschool will imitate those excellent examples given by traditional Catholic teaching methods used through the centuries. The order, design and schedule of a Catholic homeschool shall also follow the same good examples.

The Church has always preferred the systematic, methodical, and cyclical approach to education. The Church, our Mother, is like a living human mother who teaches her children what is good for them and why it is good for them. The Church understands our disordered human nature which is inclined to say, These things are just recommendations. It is more than that - it is a matter of right and wrong.

Many of us are highly offended when we first hear that the teachings on authentic Catholic education are not mere guidelines or a pick-and- choose options. These teachings are mandatory for faithful, obedient Catholics. Following our own inclinations in education result, at the very least, from lack of knowledge. At the very worst, it is a matter of our own natures, weakened and made stubborn by the stain of Original Sin.

CATHOLIC TEXT AND SYLLABUS - Abandoning the primary objective and use of Catholic materials is dangerous for the Catholic homeschooling family. We should learn our lesson from the many Catholic schools which went from using Catholic text - to diluted Catholic text and, finally, to secular text. They abandoned the truth that the teaching, the whole organization of the school, its teachers, syllabus and textbooks must be thoroughly Catholic.

One by one, these schools discarded each of these four pillars of Catholic education. They erroneously believed that the teachers' methods and actions would be enough to provide a Catholic education. Slowly they abandoned the use of an entirely Catholic curriculum. Next to go was the regular practice of morning prayers, daily Mass, and the noon Angelus. Catholic homeschoolers must be careful not to make the same mistakes.

As Fr. Belisarius, a priest who counsels and assists at Seton Home Study School, observed, "A note is in order here about Catholic books. This subject has become something of a bone of contention in the Catholic homeschooling movement. Sometimes they have glitches but that is all they are - small blemishes on a beautiful face. Some Catholics books may not be as fetching as 'neutral' books, but there is no such thing as a neutral book for a child."

FINDING CATHOLIC RESOURCES

The easiest place to find authentic Catholic materials is through the Catholic home study programs. You might want to seriously consider enrolling your children with one of them. If this is not possible for financial or other reasons, don't forget to inquire about scholarships. One Catholic homeschool, for example, offers scholarships to children, based on certain financial criteria.

Remember the Catholic curriculum providers also welcome homeschooled students to enroll in one or two courses rather than the entire program. If you choose not to enroll your children in the complete programs available, do yourself a favor and purchase books from Catholic home study programs first. This will help you customize and design your own Catholic curriculum. It will also provide the funds to these curriculum providers who were and still are the first in their desire to serve Catholic homeschoolers. Our financial support helps them develop, write and produce more Catholic text and resources. Don't forget to ask the Catholic home study programs for their catalogs as well as enrollment information.

Please prayerfully consider using the services of both the small and large authentic Catholic businesses which cater specifically to Catholic homeschoolers. Some of these include The Neumann Press, Tan Books and Publishers, Guardian Angel Books,  Lepanto Press (the publishing arm of Our Lady of Victory Home Study), Seton Home Study Press (Seton Educational Media Catalog), Christendom Press, Our Lady of the Rosary Catalog, Kolbe Academy,  Catholic Heritage Curricula. (And please don't forget Keeping It Catholic!)

Make frequent, polite requests to the Catholic publishers to reprint or update Catholic textbooks. Every time you order from them, thank them for already offering what they have in inventory and then ask if they have considered publishing more Catholic textbooks, manuals and supplements!

Ask them what they need in order to do this - Extra donations? Copies of older out-of-copyright books they could reprint or update? Is there anything else I could offer in a concrete way? Enough compliments and requests will get their attention. Everyone will benefit once more Catholic textbooks are available for homeschoolers!

We need our Catholic home study programs and publishers and we should treat them with kindness, not impolite demands (the Golden Rule, as Our Lord taught us). They're doing a fantastic job for us and, after all, where would we Catholic homeschoolers be without them?

In turn, Catholic publishers and home study programs need us -- not only for suggestions and positive, helpful requests but for the financial and even hands-on assistance to produce those ardently needed Catholic materials and supplements for our homeschools.

 

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