Catholic homeschooling.

The philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that a child s education is best carried out in the heart of the family and not in a system that is imposed by society. The great educator Maria Montessori believed that education should be tailored to the needs of the individual child. In today's society there is a great movement away from our present school-based child education system. Parents are taking it upon themselves to teach their children at home. Dissatisfaction with the current school system is a major factor in this home education trend. In both public and Catholic systems, large percentages of students are graduating from high school with scarcely acceptable levels of literacy; some even go to college lacking in basic language and grammar skills. Parents want to guarantee a solid education for their children.

For Catholic parents there is another motivation for homeschooling: the values crisis in Catholic schools. The "sex education" program, certain textbooks and literature made available in the classrooms, and the lack of basic catechesis all bear witness to the not-so-subtle introduction of secular values within the Catholic educational system.

There are other advantages of homeschooling which are not usually obvious until one has had experience with it. One major benefit is the strengthening of family bonds. In view of the high incidence of dysfunctional families today, it is a blessing to share healthy family relationships. Homeschooling enhances family bonds because of the increase in time spent together, and the additional communication and cooperation required to make the homeschooling project work. Every task is undertaken as a team; children are seen as cooperators in their education rather than as passive subjects. With homeschooling, children learn to appreciate their family as their primary social sphere.

Homeschooling also saves time and energy, particularly on the part of the child. It is commonly knows among homeschoolers that two or three hours of homeschooling are equivalent to a day's work at school. (The large number of students in regular schools makes things proceed more slowly.) At the same time, homeschooling does not place undue pressure on parents since it emphasizes a student-based approach to education, with the focus on learning rather than teaching. Skills required for self-learning are encouraged and developed to such an extent that, by the time they are thirteen or fourteen, many home schooled children are being self-taught through textbooks and hands-on experience.

There are many benefits also in a family belonging to an association of homeschoolers. The first one is fulfilling the natural need for a community. Although homeschooling has become increasingly accepted in society, there are still challenges involved in it. Parents need support for practical matters such as sharing textbooks and curricula, receiving advice and encouragement, and even pooling teaching resources. For instance, if one parent in a group has a degree in mathematics or science, the group could organize some class sessions with this parent for highschool-level students. Or, if a parent has experience in the arts, this parent could conduct a seminar. Combining such educational resources adds richness and breadth to the homeschooling experience without taking away its special character.

Children who are homeschooled also benefit from belonging to a homeschooling association. Like other kids, they delight in gathering with a bunch of friends, chatting or engaging in sports or other activities. It is important for them to make friends, compare notes on their challenges, and share their joys with young people of like-minded faith and values.

Another important result of uniting in a homeschoolers' association is political power. American homeschoolers have networked and mobilized their forces, so much that they influenced certain decisions of the United States Senate. They are politically involved, and come out in large numbers to make their voice heard. In Alberta and Saskatchewan homeschoolers have been successful in getting financial aid and other benefits from schoolboards and from their provincial governments.

There is no national Canadian Catholic homeschooling organization. However, there are regional groups across the country which I have heard of. For information concerning a homeschooling organization in Ontario, e-mail [e-mail]. For British Columbia, [e-mail]. For Toronto, [e-mail]. For Western Canada, [e-mail]. For Oshawa, ON, phone Marie Vandenberg, 705-432-2996.

Amy Gordon and her seven sisters and brothers in the Oshawa area have been, or are being, homeschooled.