In the comments box below, Peony states:
On the other hand, I don't like the attitude of trying to shield ourselves from any taint of the larger culture. It strikes me as being counterproductive -- it deprives us of the chance to evangelize others, and it can set up a false impression to our children and to others that Catholicism = No Fun and Always Being Weird.I kind of agree with this. I did not for a while, but as I see more and more religious Catholic families losing their children I think there is much truth to this. My philosophy on Halloween is it is so much fun, carving pumpkins, going out on a fall evening,getting candy, and playing dress up. I have read so many conflicting stories about whether or not the origins are pagan, Catholic or whatever, and frankly it makes very little difference to me. For our family in upstate NY, 2003, Halloween is is a fun evening out that does not detract from All Saint's Day, or any religious education because we do not elevate to a status of religious holiday. What ever it may have been to others, is not necessarily what it is now to us. (A sad analogy in the reverse would be how Christmas is a celebration of the Birth of Our Saviour started by Catholics and has been reduced by many to nothing more than blatant consumerism.)
I have also been debating this question with things like home schooling. I keep thinking perhaps I should put the children in school for the very reason Peony stated, but I really do not believe my children will be educated like they can be at home. Nor do I believe I would be as involved in their lives, but just likes passing ships.
I wonder how much different motives for doing the same things affect an over
all outcome? I wish I could look into the future and see what would happen if I make different choices. Whatever the choice, if you take something away that is "normal" or fun, it should be replaced with strong family ties, family quality time and a sense of respecting the children's feelings. No matter what, that should always be the case.
Pansy,
You mentioned homeschooling, so I want to ask you and your readers this question about it, as the time is approaching for us to make the decision (well, Amalia is only two, but in Italian time that is a rapid decision to make). I am afraid of my abilities to teach Amalia mathematics. I can find my way through Calculus, but it was all so long ago, and I am not sure that I can really explain even basic algebra in a clear way.
Maybe you are great at math, but there has to be something that you are not so sure of. How do you deal with that? I have asked friends who teach college at a school that has a significant number of bright, home-schooled students, and they say that for the most part the home-schooled kids are good, but when they are bad at a subject, they are really bad at it (and it is usually writing or math). How do you all avoid this from happening?
I am not very good at math, but I think that has a lot more to do with the way I was taught than ability. Math is actually the main reason why I homeschool because I think if you can do math, you can do anything. There are many wonderful math program for homeschoolers that teach math in a much more "hey this makes sense to me" way. The two I recommend are Math-U-See and
Miquon Math. I am also thinking come High School, I may put the kids in school. There is an all girls Catholic school and a Christian Brothers Academy and a LaSalle here.
If you can do arithmetic, you'll be able to teach math through sixth grade or so. By that time, she'll be able to use the Saxon series, which is quite the best math teaching I've ever encountered. Algebra is largely intuitive, anyway, and you shouldn't have any trouble helping her through it. Don't let math worry you; in my experience, you'll have enough to do in grappling with relatives to make math seem a cinch. My family, being Irish, aren't in the habit of interesting ourselves in each other's affairs, but Cacciaguida's family was keenly anxious until homeschooling was eventually justified by results. Of course you can do this - the academics are the least part of the challenge.
I wish that I had homeschooled my kids for at least a while - I think that if I had made sure they had math down to the extent that I taught reading at home, they would have done much better.
I think that homeschoolers today are really helped by all the great curricula that are out there. I have been impressed by the Seton academy stuff, and there are many other fine Catholic homeschooling resources.
I am further convinced (of the rightness of homeschooling) by the focus being placed on making every iota of textbook material politically correct. It is truly scary out there.
Thank you, all! Alicia's comments about textbooks is a major part of my thinking. They were bad when I was in school, and they certainly have not improved (if anything, they have gotten worse, and that has carried over to college textbooks).
As far as fending off relatives, that is something to think about. My parents still have this peculiar notion that Catholic schools are worth it. Perhaps after a few years of Bishop Vigneron ours will be again, but they have had many years of his predecessor, so we will have to wait.
"My parents still have this peculiar notion that Catholic schools are worth it."
My mother was a little bit defensive about this, as well she might have been, having made great sacrifices to send us all to parochial school. The best way I found to smooth her down about it was to tell her about the bizarre and improper things that are being taught today, not like in the past, when Catholic school education was not only demonstrably Catholic but also academically superior to public school education. It's not a perfect fix, but it should lay to rest any question your folks may have that you're repudiating your upbringing by homeschooling.