Tuesday, March 19, AD 2024 5:48am

Diocese of Austin: Homeschoolers Need Not Apply

Twenty years ago, when my parents began homeschooling first my younger brother (who had some non-standard learning needs) and later all of us, homeschooling was still very much a fringe phenomenon. It was not unusual for people to predict, on hearing that children were homeschooled, that they would not be able to get into college, or for neighbors to harass homeschoolers by repeatedly calling the truancy officers on them. The extent to which homeschooling has become mainstream since that time has been quite extraordinary, and due in no small part to the academic and personal successes that homeschooled students have shown themselves capable of. Many states’ public education systems are now actively friendly towards homeschoolers, and make state curricula available free of charge to homeschoolers who wish to use them at home.

Sadly, one area where this increasing social acceptance of homeschooling has often been lagging is in Catholic circles at the parish and diocesan level. Homeschoolers are sometimes seen as a threat by parochial school systems — this despite the Church’s teaching that parents bear the primary responsibility as first educators of their children.

Such a situation has recently reared its head back in our old home diocese of Austin, Texas. A local Catholic homeschooling group, Holy Family Homeschoolers, sent an invitation to their annual Homeschoolers Blessing Mass to newly appointed Bishop Vásquez. In past years, an invitation had always been sent to the bishop. Bishop Aymond had officiated at the Blessing Mass when he first came to the diocese and had allowed a certain degree of openness in dealing with Catholic homeschoolers at the parish and diocesan levels.

Given the many demands on Bishop Vásquez’s time, it is hardly surprising that he was unable to attend this year. What is, however, both surprising and distressing is that the response to the invitation sent to Bishop Vásquez’s office came not from the Chancery but from the Catholic Schools Office, and in a tone which was decidedly dismissive:

> Bishop Vásquez received your invitation to celebrate a Eucharistic liturgy for the fall homeschooling blessing Mass.
>
> Bishop Vásquez believes Catholic education, and in particular Catholic school education, is an essential part of the life of the Diocese of Austin. As you know, Catholic schools are at the heart of the mission of the church.
>
> Bishop’s presence at the homeschooling Mass would convey a contradictory message equating the importance of Catholic school education with Catholic homeschooling; therefore, Bishop Vásquez must respectfully decline the invitation.
>
> Sincerely in Christ,
>
> Ned F. Vanders, Ed.D.

Ned Vanders is the diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools, and I think that the above email pretty clearly backs up the complaint I have heard that he is “openly hostile to homeschooling”.

Again, let me be clear: I think it is quite reasonable and understandable that Bishop Vásquez is unable to attend. A note from his office to that effect would in no sense be offensive. However, I think that the response that was received by the Holy Family Homeschoolers is worrisome in two senses.

First, it suggests that “Catholic education” means nothing other than institutional Catholic schools run by the diocese. Understand, Austin is not one of these diocese with a long and rich history of parochial schools. In a rapidly growing diocese of half a million Catholics in 125 parishes, it offers 17 elementary schools and 5 high schools, serving a mere 5,000 students. Clearly, the diocese is equipped to serve only a small minority of Catholic school-age children directly through its schools. One would think, under such circumstances, that the diocese would be especially eager to work with parents who take it upon themselves to provide a Catholic education to their children in the home. Instead, what we see is the claim that “Bishop’s presence at the homeschooling Mass would convey a contradictory message equating the importance of Catholic school education with Catholic homeschooling.”

Surely, Catholic education is something more than a particular 22 institutions in the diocese, serving a small fraction of the diocese’s children. Catholic education includes not merely those 22 schools, but also the religious education programs in all 125 parishes, and also the efforts of those parents who, in the spirit of the Church’s teaching that they are the primary educators of their children, take on the responsibility of educating their children. If “Catholic education… is an essential part of the life of the Diocese of Austin” then surely this essential part encompasses more than 1% of the people in the diocese. Surely it involves the education, in the faith, of all the children in the diocese. This does not mean that the bishop must be present at a mass blessing homeschoolers. He is a busy man with many duties, and such things are often not possible. But it does mean that it should not be suggested to homeschooling parents that they are acting in opposition to “the heart of the mission of the church.”

Secondly, it is concerning to see such a response issued on behalf of the bishop and the diocese to members of the flock. Politeness is something which costs very little. A simple, “Bishop Vásquez appreciates the efforts of Catholic parents who are striving to educate their children in the faith, but the demands of his office make it impossible to officiate at the Blessing Mass this year,” would have caused the diocese no inconvenience and earned it continuing goodwill among a dedicated and active group of parents. Instead, the response sent seems calculated to be as dismissive (if not actively adversarial) as possible.

In my experience, such an openly contemptuous communication to the public is almost never made by an administrator unless he believes that he has the full backing of his superiors — or believes his superiors to be so oblivious to his actions that he has free rein. If Superintendant Vanders’ email is an accurate indication of Bishop Vásquez’s attitude towards Catholic homeschooling, it seems to suggest a great deal of unnecessary antagonism on the bishop’s part. If it is, instead, an indication that the Catholic Schools Office receives little guidance or oversight, that seems a troubling sign for the diocese.

Either way, this is a regrettably provocative opening in the relationship between homeschooling families and the Austin Diocese.

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Donald R. McClarey
Admin
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 7:34am

“Politeness is something which costs very little.’

And in my experience slaps in the face tend to be very expensive. Did the Bishop really want to go to war with Catholic homeschoolers in his diocese, because I think that is what that petulant little note just did. Stupidity on stilts!

Art Deco
Art Deco
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 7:58am

That this fellow Vanders was willing to slum it in teachers’ colleges for seven years or so in order to place the initials “Ed.D” after his name should have been a red flag to whomever hired him.

PDQ
PDQ
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 8:22am

I think the homeschooling phenomenon is a complete travesty. What on earth is wrong with being part of your community, whether in a Catholic or public school? Bishop Vasquez is right – a “Catholic education” will not be gotten solely by parents and Catholic schools ARE at the heart of the mission of the Church.

Homeschooling began originally in the South as a way for whites to avoid having their children associate with black children. Today, it’s a way for holier-than-thou Catholic to avoid having their children associate with lesser Catholics. Many “Catholic” bloggers act as though homeschooling is the only option if you’re a real Catholic. It’s a load of _____.

Michael Demers
Michael Demers
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 8:44am

Looks like Vanders needs a learning experience.

DJ Hesselius
DJ Hesselius
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 8:52am

DarwinCatholic mentiones early on that his parents started homeschooling do to “non-standard” learning needs. That wasn’t the reason I started homeschooling, but that is the reason we continue. The Catholic Schools here do not have the curriculum available to meet my kids’ needs. This was also a complaint of one parent who eventually had to pull her child and put her in public school. Another parent of a Down’s child was rejected by the Dio. schools because they either could not or did not want to teach him.

Homeschooling will allow one of my children to go to a special tutor this fall during regular school hours when the tutor has time to fit him in. (The after school hours are already taken up with public school kids who can’t get out during regular hours.)

And then there is the expense issue…

As for Catholic “schools” being a the heart of the Church’s mission…why didn’t Christ found any? The system as we have it was a response to to the compulsory education laws we have in this country at a time of strong Protestant dislike for Catholics.

I find myself wondering if the Bishop ever really got the invitation or if his secretary just passed it on to the Super for follow-up, and the Bishop never actually read the Super’s letter himself to make sure it really conveyed what he (woud have) wanted to say.

Sharon Dever
Sharon Dever
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 8:59am

PDQ,

This is 2011. Catholic homeschoolers are not homeschooling because they have examined and rejected the Catholic schools. I live in the Diocese of Austin, and I assure you that you are completely wrong about the motivations of homeschoolers here, and about our attitudes toward and involvement with our parishes and the other Catholics therein.

But I don’t hope to convince you of this. What I want to know is what you think was gained by the gratuitous slap by the bishop. Homeschoolers here under Bishop Aymond felt welcome and involved, and their attitude toward the new bishop was unreservedly enthusiastic and welcoming. We are all staggered by this unprovoked attack. Goodwill was overflowing; and now it’s been squandered. And why?

There’s a saying in Texas: Kicking the dog won’t make him come lick your hand. Homeschoolers aren’t going to respond by signing up their children in the diocese’s schools. Other than a venting of spleen, what was gained?

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:01am

Thanks, Don, for reinforcing Darwin’s point by letting PDQ’s comment get posted. The racist card–how…refreshing. To paraphrase Andy Warhol, in the future everyone will be racist for fifteen minutes. And note that he/she made that observation right before indicting his/her opponents for being “holier than thou.” Apparently, working for the NCEA erodes one’s sense of irony.

My only response to PDQ–put your money where your mouth is. If the schools “ARE at the heart of the mission of the Church,” then make them tuition free to all baptized Catholics.

Well?

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:05am

Back to the post: David Carlin, in his “Decline and Fall of the Catholic Church in America,” pointed out that the episcopate is remarkable for one destructive trait: the ability to consistently alienate those who are their most naturally loyal constituency.

I suspect that a couple weeks of bursting mailbags, jammed telephone lines and overloaded servers will teach Bishop Vasquez about the dangers of forwarding his correspondence to others to answer.

John Henry
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:06am

Grimmace. That letter is an unprovoked and gratuitous slap in the face to people who homeschool in Austin. And it seems to reflect obliviousness regarding the primacy of parent’s roles in their children’s education. See, e.g. the Catechism, which indicates 1. That parent’s have the primary responsibility for the education of their children; 2. That “the home is well suited for the education of the virtues…” and “the natural environment for initiating a human being into solidarity and communal responsibilities,” as well as catechesis; and 3. That parents have a fundamental right to choose the form of their education. Dr. Vanders view, which denigrates the education in the home as less important than the Catholic school system, seem to be in tension with the Church, which states (as any sensible person would agree) that what happens in the home is far more important.

Additionally, I think the basic socioeconomic message (given the cost of sending kids to Catholic schools and that public school quality is closely linked to housing values) is basically that only the education of upper middle class children is “important” to the Diocese of Austin, which is pretty appalling.

Given some recent experiences, I sympathize with administrators who deal with homeschooling parents – like most people, they can be demanding and difficult, and by definition they may have less appreciation for the work of Catholic schools. But Dr. Vanders serves his dioces very poorly with these types of communications.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:12am

especially as it was posted anonymously by an IP address which has in the past always posted on the site under different names and has always sought to spread heat rather than light.

Oh, wait a minute. Are you saying this may have been an act of anarchic street theatre? Emphasis on “anarchic.”

If so, I’m no longer irritated–I’m amused.

Sharon Dever
Sharon Dever
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:14am

John Henry,

I have to correct you on one point. Bishop Aymond, despite pressure to establish a diocesan high school for the Catholic middle class, made it his priority instead to establish St. Juan Diego High School, to serve primarily the needs of the poorer and more numerous kids from east Austin. It’s been a massive success. Google for it; you’ll be impressed. Bp. Aymond may have wished that we all had our kids in Catholic brick-and-mortar schools, but he knew that the important thing was Catholic education, and that the Catholics with their children in public school (and often enough, in private Protestant schools with high academic standards–we have quite a few of these) far outnumber the Catholic homeschoolers.

Chris Burgwald
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:26am

A hearty “Amen” to Dale’s point about the dangers of bishops handing off correspondence replies to others. Were I in Austin, I would make sure that Bishop Vásquez was informed of the nature of the response by Dr. Vanders.

Dante alighieri
Admin
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:28am

Am I the only one amused that this man’s name is one letter removed from being Ned FLanders? Definitely not as nice, though perhaps he does share a mean passive aggressive streak.

S. Petersen
S. Petersen
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:38am

The actions of the Chancery official in Austin and PDQ’s mean-spirited comment that you traced to a similar body in D. C. both serve to illustrate a serious problem at the core of the U. S. Church: a legion of modernist spies in the employ of the Church (whether or not as volunteers). These are lay people who, since V II, have taken over too many functions of Priests and Religious. Most of them know only a protestantized, community-oriented, immanentist kind of Catholicism. Even the most orthodox of Bishops and Priests are encumbered with them. I don’t think there’s any solution until we reach the point of a smaller, openly persecuted Church.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:39am

Given some recent experiences, I sympathize with administrators who deal with homeschooling parents – like most people, they can be demanding and difficult, and by definition they may have less appreciation for the work of Catholic schools.

Yes, homeschoolers run the gamut from soup to nuts (metaphor chosen deliberately). Even I find them irritating at times, and we homeschool. There is a skeptical, sometimes antagonistic mindset toward the local diocese–but there’s also appreciation. Back when Archbishop Daniel Flores was an auxillary bishop in Detroit, he gladly celebrated Mass for the Michigan Catholic Homeschoolers’ Conference in Lansing. I can’t tell you what a great impression that made on all present. And Bishop Mengeling sent a supportive note which was incorporated into the program.

Which makes wholly gratuitous slaps like this extremely destructive. I’m sure it was cathartic for Dr. Vanders, being bishop for a day, but this one is going to take some doing to repair.

I have to think the Bishop is going to do something to make amends on this one.

John Henry
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 9:45am

I have to correct you on one point. Bishop Aymond, despite pressure to establish a diocesan high school for the Catholic middle class, made it his priority instead to establish St. Juan Diego High School, to serve primarily the needs of the poorer and more numerous kids from east Austin. It’s been a massive success.

I think that’s great. And I wasn’t criticizing Bishop Aymond. But I think the broader point still stands; only a small minority of all Catholic children attend Catholic schools, and an even smaller percentage of less wealthy children are able to attend (despite the laudible efforts of schools like St. Juan Diego HS). The upshot of Dr. Vanders’ statement still suggests that the real important Catholic education will be primarily (with a few exceptions) available to the upper middle class.

Phillip
Phillip
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 10:17am

“I will, however, note that having looked up the IP address of the commenter I find that it is 208.78.150.3 and comes from a user at the NATIONAL CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL ASSOC (NCEA) in Washington DC. Make of that what you will.”

My wife having taught for years in Catholic schools notes that there are more than a few Catholic school administrators that are little different from their public school counterparts. Also some that are very good. Looks like Vanders and the NCEA fall in the former category.

R.C.
R.C.
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 11:22am

Homeschooling is a joy sometimes, but also a sacrifice; it is undergone as an act of conviction by parents.

It also is not ideal for every child.

But for those children for whom it is ideal, it produces superior results even to good private schooling (albeit not by particularly large margins) and vastly superior results to typical government-run schooling (though only slightly superior to the best government schools).

I said that it produces superior results, “for those children for whom it is ideal.” I suppose that’s a truism: If another option were able to produce better results, it wouldn’t be the ideal, now would it? But I phrased it that way to indicate that children differ from one another, and also parents differ: There is no one-size-fits-all education.

Still, I suspect that homeschooling is the ideal — that is, the option which is best for the child and even for that child’s family as a whole — for a far larger number children than the number who are actually homeschooled.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if, given some opportunity for making a valid comparisons, we found that a society in which the majority of children were homeschooled for the majority of their childhood was healthier and happier and more productive than an otherwise-identical society in which our current mix of mostly-government, occasionally-private, and rarely-parental schooling was used.

Anyway, prejudice against (or ignorance about) the practice remains common. And when one knows no homeschoolers personally — when one has not seen the thing being successfully done — it takes a great deal of courage and entrepreneurial verve to get going.

It is therefore a good thing — a corrective to the existing prejudices and ignorance — when prominent Catholics (both clergy and laity, in apostolates and diocesan administrative roles and elsewhere) encourage homeschooling. And it is counterproductive when homeschoolers get the cold shoulder and are treated as the proverbial “red-headed stepchild.”

Allow me to add that I have only one child old enough to be in school, and she is not quite home-schooled, nor is she quite private-schooled. For this child, we use University Model Schooling. She is at school two days a week, where she turns in assignments and receives new ones; she is at home the remaining three days, working on the assignments under the supervision of my wife. The result is much like really excellent private schooling (but for only about $1500 a semester), mixed with homeschooling (but in which my wife gets a break two days a week) and we like it quite a lot.

M.Z.
M.Z.
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 11:28am

Seems much ado. Since I’m avoiding real work at the moment, I’ll go to the trouble of a fisk.

Bishop Vásquez received your invitation to celebrate a Eucharistic liturgy for the fall homeschooling blessing Mass. Notes purpose behind letter.

Bishop Vásquez believes Catholic education, and in particular Catholic school education, is an essential part of the life of the Diocese of Austin. States bishop’s opinion. It should be noted that this statement needn’t be taken as a criticism of homeschooling or any schooling. As you know, Catholic schools are at the heart of the mission of the church. Notes purpose of schools. I’m not seeing anything facially for anyone to disagree.

Bishop’s presence at the homeschooling Mass would convey a contradictory message equating the importance of Catholic school education with Catholic homeschooling; I’m not much in the message department, but all this is saying is that a Catholic school education and homeschooling are not coequal. While I wouldn’t go so far as to claim officiating a mass is encouragement of homeschooling, I think it is a legitimate claim to make. I think people are reading between the lines and seeing a claim that homeschooling is illegitimate rather than the more modest claim. therefore, Bishop Vásquez must respectfully decline the invitation. A polite end to the letter.

As far as the claim of parents being the primary educators of children, I think a partisan interpretation is being offered as a normative one. I would hazard to say that there are few if any church officials that see church education programs as being in opposition to parents being primary educators of their children.

John H.
John H.
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 11:42am

What a shame. I do hope an apology is issued, a sincere one, and not an “I’m sorry you misread this” as MZ seems to indicate. I am morally certain that this note did not originate from the Bishop, and it should be brought to his attention.

I was educated in Catholic Schools my entire life, in a total of four different dioceses. My parents sacrificed dearly to pay for our tuition. I can tell you from experience that they are great at times, and at other times they are less-than-ideal. I now homeschool. That should give you an idea of my current opinion.

We have a son with autism. Two years ago he could barely say full sentences. Now he’s reading C.S. Lewis and other childrens’ literature at the age of seven. One school official gave my wife the best insult/compliment ever, when he told her, “There is no way you brought him this far. You had help.” She wasn’t being flattering, she was being accusative.

My children know the faith. They have high academic achievement, AND, they have MANY friends, who are all well-behaved and polite. I don’t have to worry about my children being picked upon. I don’t have to worry about them feeling left-out, or picking up nasty habits. As great as Catholic schools can be, a dedicated homeschooling curriculum will always be superior. A great teacher can never be a substitute for a loving parent.

Chris Burgwald
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 11:44am

“a Catholic school education and homeschooling are not coequal”

What did you have in mind, MZ?

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 11:46am

“As you know, Catholic schools are at the heart of the mission of the church.”

Actually, I disagree. If it is at the heart of the mission of the Church, educating only 5000 students suggests it badly underserves the people of the Diocese in that vital mission.

Perhaps the bishop is going to roll out a massive expansion, opening a lot more schools. If so, then I withdraw my objection.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 12:40pm

I’ll go to the trouble of a fisk.

Why? Your point is contrived.

Jake Tawney
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 1:40pm

I’m with Darwin about the fisk. We can analyze each word, what it says and what it doesn’t say. But at the end of the day, it is hard to see this as anything other than adversarial to Catholic homeschooling.

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Magistra Bona
Magistra Bona
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 1:54pm

Whew! The whole Catholic homeschooling phenomenon is a two-edged sword. Out here in California, land of fruit and nuts, we have been blessed with many energetic and devoted homeschooling parents–mostly moms– and with brick-and-mortar Catholic schools all up and down the State. However, our so-called Catholic schools are mostly populated by non-Catholic children and their parents. Very few schools can boast more than 51-percent Catholic populations. School administrators–lay or religious–have to cave to the demands of the majority of the parents. As a group, most of these parents favour a more secular orientation and do not vigorously stand up for ALL of Catholic teaching on social and moral issues. Like any parents, they want their kids to be well educated and leave these schools able to compete with the best. Yet, our kids are not leading the pack academically. They are barely aware of Church teaching on so many issues which impact our youth, and their liturgical understanding is stunted and ‘Protestant-ized’. Our brick-and-mortar schools are a joke that used to be private, but is now known to all: especially the kids.
Homeschool parents are circling the wagons in the face of this decline. But, with that circling comes a retreat. Instead of staying on the barricades and demanding that Catholic schools be Catholic and strive for excellence, the departure of these families leaves a vacuum which is filled with the same stuff that fills a Hoover. Once their own, and banding together, homeschool families become a church unto themselves only reflecting the needs, desires, and hopes of their own circle. These parents come to see the parish as an annex of their homeschool and their domestic church. The family becomes an idol. That is not healthy, and it’s not Catholic.
It is the unambiguous duty of the Bishop to correct this and bring back balance to our families and our schools. If he does not, he will answer to the top ‘Bishop’: Our Lord, the greatest and best teacher.

Jake Tawney
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 2:08pm

Magistra Bona,

This point keeps coming up in various forms or another … that some homeschoolers see themselves as the church and the parish as an extension. Certainly if such an error exists, then it should be corrected by the Bishop. The question is to what extent is such an attitude prevalent. Further, if it is prevalent, then why is that the case? Before a message such as that from Mr. Vanders comes out, it seems to me that a case should be made the there is a need of correction.

Further, the comment keeps coming up about whether or not a parent should see homeschooling as “better” than the parish school. I think that a blanket statement either way is patently false, but I also think it is false to think that the case can’t be made in specific, individual cases. The very reason one chooses the homeschool should in fact be that the education (academic and moral) is better. Whether or not this is true depends entirely on both the school and the parents.

Tito Edwards
Admin
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 2:21pm

Phillip,

The NCEA, National Catholic Education Association, seems to have a problem with homeschooling.

To be fair, someone within that organization has a personal animus towards practicing Catholic ‘practices’.

If this person is the same one trolling around the Catholic Blogosphere, it may be safe to say that he is what Pope Benedict XVI calls a “professional” Catholic (in name only).

John Henry
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 2:30pm

I would hazard to say that there are few if any church officials that see church education programs as being in opposition to parents being primary educators of their children.

Let’s hope so! But what on earth was Dr. Vickers saying when he wrote the following:

the Bishop’s presence at the homeschooling Mass would convey a contradictory message equating the importance of Catholic school education with Catholic homeschooling

Your ‘fisk’ (deliberate scare quotes) doesn’t really help much here, which is too bad since this was the main point under discussion. Why should homeschooling be considered less important than Catholic schools? Catholic schools exist to help parents educate their children; they are a means to an end, and parents (rather than Dr. Vickers) are tasked with determining the best way to achieve that end.

C.G.
C.G.
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 2:57pm

I work for a Catholic school in the diocese of Austin and, now having attended countless meetings and workshops led by Dr. Vanders, I remain positively baffled as to a) why Archbishop Aymond hired him, b) why he was not fired within his first year of service, and c) why Bishop Vasquez has not fired him yet. The email he sent does not surprise me at all.

Warren
Warren
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 3:18pm

The young folk I’ve met and have taught who have been home-schooled are an impressive lot. They are, typically: virtuous, academically capable, creative, responsible and compassionate toward others. To put it succinctly, they are model Catholics.

By contrast, too many kids I’ve tutored from Catholic schools are not much different than kids educated in the public school system. Typically, they exhibit a strong sense of entitlement, lack focus, excuse their irresponsibility and lack of motivation and routinely put themselves before and above others. They grow up to be Catholics in name only.

If I had children, given what I see on a daily basis, I’d want my kids home-schooled.

CAM
CAM
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 3:25pm

Perhaps Bishop Vasquez was unable to attend due to a schedule conflict, asked Mr. Vanders to send his regrets, and Mr. Vanders embellished the response with his own opinions of Catholic homeschooling. Apparently Mr. Vanders’ feelings about homeschooling are well-known. Is the same true of Bishop Vasquez’s views on the subject?

Tito Edwards
Admin
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 3:44pm

DC,

Your post is very prudent.

I think Dr. Vanders is the one coming around as the one who has a problem with homeschooling.

I normally (try) to wait a year or two before ascribing responsibility to a new bishop so as to give him an opportunity to correct problems within his new diocese.

I think Bishop Vasquez has barely been there a year (For What It’s Worth).

M.Z.
M.Z.
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 4:02pm

To better exemplify, rather than a homeschooling group, take this to be an independent Catholic school. (It could be any private association for that matter.) If a diocesan official were to decline to participate for the reason that the independent school was not part of the diocese’s mission, I imagine there would be a lot of the same complaints and hurt feelings. Declining doesn’t make independent Catholic schools wrong or make them 2nd class schools. Regardless of how laudatory their efforts, they would still not be part of the diocesan goals.

Magistra Bona
Magistra Bona
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 4:09pm

So, are we all agreed that there’s a problem? Since your bishop in Austin hired the problem, let him fix it. You don’t need a homeschool or a parochial school education to figure this one out. Easy A.

RL
RL
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 4:25pm

I plead ignorant to the fact that Catholic schools are at the heart of the mission of the Church. My understanding is that the salvation of souls through the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel were at the heart of the mission. Not sure what that says about me or Mr. Vanders knowledge or worldview, but seeing as the Apostles set out preaching and bringing the sacraments to the faithful rather than setting up K-12 schools, I’m tempted to feel comfortable with my understanding.

CatholicLawyer
CatholicLawyer
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 4:44pm

Our Catholic school has a homeschooling association. (I have no idea what it does.) It would seem that both Catholic schools and homeschoolers could work together to fulfill the Church’s mission.

A good family friend normally homeschooled but was unable to for a few years due to illness so her kids then attend Catholic school until she could again. I am sure there is more of this type of cross-over going on but I cannot cite anything to support my opinion.

I think providing more options to parents is a good thing (as long as it adheres to Catholic teaching and orthodoxy).

Suz
Suz
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 5:05pm

I’m curious as to what specific objections the superintendent has to homeschooling. Is it that homeschoolers are not as well-catechized as Catholic school kids? Surely not. I would assert that the average Catholic homeschooler is much better catechized than a Catholic school student. Is it academic objections? Again, homeschoolers do very well academically as compared to brick-and-mortar students. They also rank higher on social maturity and being psychologically well-adjusted versus their peers. I would love to hear a concrete argument about how the average Catholic homeschooler would be better off in Catholic school than he or she is right now.

So, what is Dr. Vanders’ objection? The only thing I can figure is that either 1) he feels threatened by the homeschoolers excelling over the parochial students in most every area, or 2) he resents the lost revenue. If it’s #1, that’s not very Christian of him, and I would certainly hope that Bishop Vasquez does not agree with, or condone, such an attitude. If it’s #2, I suggest he take a look at your average Catholic homeschooling family. A large majority would never be able to afford tuition for one or two kids, let alone the large families that many have. We’re talking single-income families, most of whom I know scrimp and save as it is. No cash cow here, I’m afraid.

I won’t even get into the many issues of so many of our Catholic schools being Catholic in name only, or only on some issues. But I would suggest to Dr. Vanders not to trouble himself with the supposed specks in the homeschoolers’ eyes, and rather to turn his gaze to the mirror.

As far as the homeschoolers removing themselves from their parish and diocesan community, from what I’ve observed, it tends to be the opposite–that they are highly involved members of the church. Not only the parents, as RE teachers/aides, committee members, etc., but also the children, as altar servers, volunteers, active participants in non-Mass activities, etc. I know that at our parish, our RE classes would be in unbelievably desperate straits, and our VBS would probably not even happen, were it not for the homeschooling moms and teens who volunteer. And at least one or two homeschoolers seem to be altar servers at every Mass, too.

Just daydreaming here, but if Catholic schools would be willing to allow students to take classes on an a la carte basis, now *that* would be awesome.

John H.
John H.
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 5:12pm

Magistra Bona said:

Instead of staying on the barricades and demanding that Catholic schools be Catholic and strive for excellence, the departure of these families leaves a vacuum which is filled with the same stuff that fills a Hoover.

This is a rather haphazard assessment.

Are you suggesting that parents continue to send their children to schools you claim to be inferior, so that by doing so they can make the schools better at the expense of their childrens’ education and Catholic upbringing? Would you also recommend that your child marry a non-Catholic spouse, vs. the Catholic spouse he or she loves, just so your child can make the non-Catholic a Catholic? The idea that we should enroll our children in schools to improve the schools, which are supposed to be about the business of improving our children is the stuff of nonsense.

You then wrote:

Once their own, and banding together, homeschool families become a church unto themselves only reflecting the needs, desires, and hopes of their own circle.

Accusing Faithful Catholics of being a “church unto themselves” is rather ironic coming from a person I suppose is not the Pope. If you are the Pope, then I offer you my sincerest apologies. But if not, then by doing so you have committed the error you accuse homeschoolers of doing. You have made yourself the magisterial authority on who is and who is not a part of the real Church, vs. a church unto themselves.

Big Tex
Big Tex
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 5:32pm

Regarding Catholic schools being the heart of the mission of the Church… I suppose the argument can be made as this is one medium by which the Gospel can be transmitted to the faithful. However, the general rule seems to be that children pick up their parents’ religious practices (or lack thereof) despite the best efforts of the parochial school, youth ministry, or the RE/CCD program. There are exceptions to this generality, but the general trend stands.

This is most likely why homeschoolers as a set, seem to out perform their peers in the public schools, and to a lesser degree, the private schools.

That said, the hostility from Vanders and PDQ are unnecessary. Volumes could be written refuting their specious claims.

Paul-Joseph
Paul-Joseph
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 6:43pm

Doesn’t surprise me at all…they’re afraid that students taught outside their system might actually believe in God or something.

Blake Helgoth
Blake Helgoth
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 6:49pm

Dr. Vanders’ makes an error in his thining that is far too wide spread, that the term ‘Catholic schools’ does not include homeschools. I guarantee that my children attend a Catholic school, it just happens to be run in our home! I would also ask, in Dr. Vander’s opion, what makes a school a Catholic school? Do a few prayers before and after school (and maybe before meals), a religion class thrown in once a day and maybe a Mass once a week or so make a school a Catholic school? We choose to homeschool for many reasons, one being that both the curriculum and enviroment at most parochial schools is not very Catholic.

Steve S.
Steve S.
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 6:52pm

Watch what you say about the Bishop if you are Catholic. As Church Father St. Ignatius of Antioch teaches us, the Bishop is the link the faithful have to our Faith in whatever area we live in:

“Wheresoever the bishop appears, there let the people be, even as wheresoever Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”

With that said, it is clear Austin homeschoolers have too distant a relationship wih the Bishop. You can blame the Bishop all you want (which will get you nowhere), but he is just one man. If you want to improve that relationship, homeschoolers need to be more positively visible to the Bishop. Participate in more diocesan functions that impress the Bishop. And yeah, it is a political game, and politics have always been the scourge of the Church. But it only has to be a scourge if you let it be. This isn’t a humongous campaign I’m talking about. It’s simply letting the Bishop know the homeschoolers in his diocese are a blessing to him. Sorry to put it all on you guys, but that’s just the way it is! By the way, I’m also an Austin homeschooling parent, so I’ve now committed myself to the same cause. 😀 But we can do it if we have a positive attitude and work together!

Emily
Emily
Wednesday, April 20, AD 2011 6:53pm

I don’t know, Magistra Bona, what you say doesn’t square with the homeschoolers I have known. I am not homeschooling. But I am considering it. I don’t know anything about Catholic schools in either Austin or in CA for that matter. I do know that where I am there is no support for homeschoolers from Catholic leadership. But Catholic homeschoolers do quite a lot in the parishes, including teaching religious ed and myriad other things. As well they are active in the wider community. It just isn’t the way it is, this “annex” as you say — I think that they see themselves cooperating with local parish.

Since where I am the Catholic world does not recognize them at all, they do a lot also socially with Protestants. In some places Catholic homeschoolers get together with unschoolers of all faiths or no faiths. All of which, the contribution in the parish, the social interaction with other faith outlooks, well I would say it’s all VERY Catholic. That is what we are all about as Catholics, being in the world.

And then you say that in your Catholic schools in CA that half of the kids are not Catholic, and the ones that are haven’t formation and the schools then refuse to emphasize a basic Catholic formation. That to me, strikes as you say, “not Catholic”.

The Church itself deems the vocation of parents to educate their children in the faith as a domestic church, the Church uses that term, and since it does it certainly does not correlate that people who homeschool “make the family an idol”. Society as well as the Catholic world benefit in innumerable ways from these Catholic families and the fact they are what they are supposed to be, what they are called to be, a family. How one chooses to educate their children in the faith, it could be Catholic school, it could be homeschool, it could be religious education at parish, and it could be all of those depending on the child, the time and the circumstances. But all parents regardless of which option still have the responsibility to educate their children. It is a vocation. All Catholic families are domestic churches and the parishes and dioceses have to recognize and find better ways to support them right now.

I suppose that overall it’s a small drawback that a local diocese treats homeschoolers like dirt. But it’s not everything, to get the nod of the local Bishop. That’s the thing about Catholic homeschooling, you can really do quite a lot, quite creatively, with very little to go on.

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