ARTICLES

Very Counter Cultural

Can Catholic Home Schooling be Improved by Partnering with Charters?

BY ERIC RESLOCK

An article in the February issue of Faith on a publicly-funded charter school with a Catholic character generated a lot of mail and discussion (see "What Strings? Are Public Charter Schools an Answer to Home School Isolation?"). Some said the treatment of one Catholic home schooler's approach without a more comprehensive look at Catholic education in general, and home schooling in particular, was an oversight.

A full account of all the options that are available to parents is not possible here. But a good starting point as far as discerning what the subject of a Catholic education is can be found the 1929 encyclical of Pope Pius XI, On Christian Education. "In fact it must never be forgotten that the subject of Christian education is man whole and entire, soul united to body in unity of nature, with all his faculties natural and supernatural, such as right reason and revelation show him to be; man, therefore, fallen from his original estate, but redeemed by Christ and restored to the supernatural condition of adopted son of God, though without the preternatural privileges of bodily immortality or perfect control of appetite." In short, young people need to learn about their nature, what their proper end is, and what they need to do to have eternal life. This is clear. But when the subject turns to how to accomplish this, there are as many opinions, it seems, as there are families.

The common trait among those families who seem satisfied with home schooling is that they belong to parishes where home schooling is popular. But some home schooling parents also admit to yearning for a greater sense of community for themselves and for their children and wish they had more resources to augment their home schooling.

While the Church says that the life of the spirit is the highest consideration, many parents also hope their children acquire the character that helps them do well after they leave home and take on adult responsibilities and figure out how to make a living. There is no denying we live in a competitive society. There is also a political culture to participate in. Perhaps because all young people need certain skills to make their way in life, the Church has acknowledged that there is a role for the state to provide assistance and guidance for education to advance the common good. The Church simultaneously upholds the sovereignty of parents with regard to the education of their own children.

As a follow-up to the previous story, I asked six northern California Catholic home schooling families for their response to two questions: whether home schooling has caused them to feel isolated from society? Whether they see a problem with using government resources for the education of their children?

On the first question, the majority responded that the feeling of isolation is not really a problem for them. One of the mothers, who has seven children, said, "I can say that I have never experienced isolation. I have experienced other emotions and difficulties, but not that. If anything, there are too many things going on in our day and in our community for families that can become a temptation and distraction from staying home and actually schooling."

Regina White of Sacramento expressed a similar sentiment. She wrote, "I have five children, ages nine to baby. I currently home school a third grader, first grader, and kindergartner. I have never felt isolation due to home schooling. In fact it opened up many opportunities to meet a lot of great people. I am very blessed in attending a parish that has many home schoolers. There are so many activities, I have to force myself to stay at home to do school."

Another respondent, who has seven children, admitted to some difficult times but also paid tribute to the advantage of being connected with other home schoolers. She wrote, "at times, I have felt the burden of home schooling the large family and given way to discouragement. I have learned to view these feelings as temptations, because the fact is that our family belongs to a parish where the majority of the families are committed to giving their children a solid Catholic education at home. There is so much support by way of activities for the kids, moms, and families, that I have to be careful not to get distracted from my work at home."

Another mother admitted to sometimes having to deal with feelings of isolation. "But these feelings," she said, "come and go and don't negate the positive benefits to home schooling. I felt these feelings when I worked professionally and when I was a full-time college student. Isolation and feeling 'isolated' come from feeling a lack of acceptance or approval. The feelings are not because I home school and manage my household full-time. Home schooling your children is very counter cultural and it can be difficult to convince one's friends, family, and neighbors of the more positive rewards home schooling your children brings to the family. Any feelings of isolation are created by the culture at large, which rejects the notions of raising a family in such a way."

A mother in San Francisco agreed that the feeling of isolation can sometimes come from the opinions of those who are close to us. She wrote, "yes, I have those feelings, but mostly because there is no one in my family or circle of friends who understands why I am home schooling."

These home schooling mothers seem more inclined to work through their difficulties rather than return to a traditional school setting. However, as outlined in the February issue, the charter school movement now provides the opportunity for home schoolers to regularly come together as Catholic students, in a school setting, and have the government pay for it. One further benefit of independent charters is they can be designed to serve groups, or clusters of home schoolers. Granted, the students must often purchase religious materials with their own money, and they must subject themselves to state standards. But the advantage is they can use public money to hire well-qualified Catholic teachers, who, along with making sure the kids can test to state standards, can also assist with religious subjects. Still, many worry that inviting the state into one's schooling opens a Pandora's box of potential problems. What then, is the valid claim of the state with regard to education?

According to Pope Pius XI, civil society has some claim on the education of children, although this is subservient to the role of the parents, whose right to educate their own offspring is "inviolable." Nonetheless, according to Pius XI, "it also belongs to the State to protect the rights of the child itself when the parents are found wanting either physically or morally in this respect, whether by default, incapacity or misconduct, since, as has been shown, their right to educate is not an absolute and despotic one, but dependent on the natural and divine law, and therefore subject alike to the authority and jurisdiction of the Church, and to the vigilance and administrative care of the State in view of the common good.... In such cases, exceptional no doubt, the State does not put itself in the place of the family, but merely supplies deficiencies, and provides suitable means, always in conformity with the natural rights of the child and the supernatural rights of the Church." Moreover, "the State can exact and take measures to secure that all its citizens have the necessary knowledge of their civic and political duties, and a certain degree of physical, intellectual, and moral culture, which, considering the conditions of our times, is really necessary for the common good."

Paul VI also outlines a role for the state in his 1965 encyclical, Declaration on Christian Education: "the family which has the primary duty of imparting education needs help of the whole community. In addition therefore, to the rights of parents and others to whom the parents entrust a share in the work of education, certain rights and duties belong indeed to civil society, whose role is to direct what is required for the common temporal good. Its function is to promote the education of youth in many ways, namely: to protect the duties and rights of parents and others who share in education and to give them aid; according to the principle of subsidiarity, when the endeavors of parents and other societies are lacking, to carry out the work of education in accordance with the wishes of the parents; and, moreover, as the common good demands, to build schools and institutions."

One mother in Oakland, who herself was home schooled, complained that not enough thought was given to temporal considerations in her upbringing. "I am grateful to my parents for home schooling us," she said. "They wanted to keep us pure and protect us from bad things. But now we are adults; out of six kids, only two of us are well adjusted to adult responsibility. Two of my siblings are now divorced and having trouble finding jobs. My brothers and sisters still need my parents' help even though they are all around 30 years old. I have no problem with learning the traditional faith. But as far as going to college or thinking about how to do well as an adult, we never really had that and we never really learned how to take responsibility for our own lives. I wonder if going to some kind of school, maybe a charter, would have made us more comfortable out in the world and more aware of opportunities that other kids take advantage of."

One impediment to making many home schoolers comfortable with charters is the question whether accepting state funds is an endorsement of the state's policies. For starters, the state has fully embraced naturalism, which cannot admit that humans have a fallen nature. Plus, other policies, like facilitating students' abortions without parental consent, are the kinds of things that make the idea of participating in any way, even the use of public money, repugnant to many Catholics.

But again, what about independent charters like St. Don Bosco in Galt, where the public money is made use of in a manner that vouchers would be used? Can this ever be acceptable? One mother said, "My husband and I do not want the government interference of chartering, but that is what we know is best for our particular family. I know families who have the educational consultant come to their home and there is really no problem in that for them. They receive the funding and it helps them to purchase computers, piano lessons, etc., for their children. But it is hard to generalize because it depends on the local jurisdiction."

She continued, "but as for schools away from home, my husband and I still feel very strongly that what makes home schooling 'work' (whatever your definition of that is -- academically, spiritually, family bonding, socially, life-skills preparation) is the family being home together. For the mother to put her children in any school is to relinquish her right to determine what is best for her children in every way throughout the day. It is taking away from the children the ease of interacting with one another on their own ground where they are the most themselves and comfortable -- and able to naturally grow in self-sacrifice and intimacy within those sibling relationships." There were several responses like this. Of these the most common complaint, even about Catholic schools, is the rarity of single-sex education.

Another mother liked the idea of getting a share of the public money for education. But she also expressed little faith in the partnership. In answer to whether she had a problem with government schools, she said, "yes, I do. Although I think all parents are entitled to receive public funding for their children's education, as in a voucher system, the strings attached are not worth the cash. The education department has made no secret about what it thinks about home schooling and religion. Why would I want to let a complete stranger in my home to evaluate my home school with their public school standards?"

Continuing, she wrote, "as for setting up a charter school like the one described in your previous article, I believe strongly in the words of Pius XI in his encyclical On Christian Education. I will not use secular materials and put God in a box to be brought out once a week during religion class." This respondent cited this passage from Pius XI: "for the mere fact that a school gives some religious instruction does not bring it into accord with the rights of the Church and of the Christian family, or make it a fit place for Catholic students. To be this, it is necessary that all the teaching and the whole instruction of the school, and its teachers, syllabus and text-books in every branch, be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal supervision of the Church.... It is necessary not only that religious instruction be given to the young at certain fixed times, but also that every other subject taught, be permeated with Christian piety. If this is wanting, if this sacred atmosphere does not pervade and warm the hearts of masters and scholars alike, little good can be expected from any kind of learning, and considerable harm will often be the consequence."

Not every respondent was opposed to the state being involved in education. Asked whether she objected to government-funded charters, another mother said, "no, I have been in a public charter for the last two years. Like anything else, it has its drawbacks and pluses. Charters are as unique as the people who run them. When I started home schooling I used a private Catholic home study for two years. We've been in a charter now two years and have reaped some benefit from it. I will probably return to a private Catholic home study for high school in combination with community college courses and private tutoring. We are constantly evaluating what works for our family, and it changes frequently." Continuing, she said, "I support what Mrs. Crotty has done with her charter school. I support the idea that my tax dollars could benefit my children in a suitable learning environment where I had a say about the quality of the education. In the two instances where my children were in private and public schools outside the direction of my husband and myself, I was dissatisfied with what they were taught and what they were obviously not taught -- in the case of the Catholic school. As always, the first choice in education should be parental choice. Having options for families who are struggling is a good solution. Charters like Mrs. Crotty's St. Don Bosco School can do this for families and so can good and faithful Catholic private schools. For those who home school as a first choice -- for the lifestyle and flexibility it offers, a charter would not be attractive for other reasons. I see no reason why these options should not be available to any parent."

In response to the same question, Regina White said, "we have our children enrolled in a charter home school. The charter school has been great. They offer us $1,000 per year per child to pay for books or extra curricular activities. We get all of our music and sports expenses paid for during the year. The school allows me to teach from whatever books I think best no matter how Catholic. We are required to participate in standardized testing at the end of the year, with two computer tests during the year. Originally I had a problem with this, but I realize now that my children are learning about a skill they will need in later years, a necessary evil! If the charter school, at some point, started to dictate my curriculum, I would pull my children out immediately; but so far, so good."

Regina White said that her family "do not participate in a charter school to prevent isolation, but to help us afford school and to avoid truancy issues. The way I see it, we are paying taxes for public schooling, and I don't see why I shouldn't get some of that back. It is possible that the home school charter schools will so out perform the regular schools that they will start to change the face of public education. We are doing our part by providing the best education for our children that we can. It's hard work but the rewards could reach into our children's eternal life."

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