Homeschool Myths: Does Your Church Resist Home Schoolers?
By Mimi Rothschild
Home school parents who are practicing Catholics sometimes experience difficulty integrating themselves and their children with their local parish. There are many reasons for this potential hurdle. Home school is a relatively new phenomenon, and the Catholic Church is a long-established institution with set rules that are notoriously slow to embrace change. The introduction of the home school factor has been met with a range of reactions from the Church: from instant acceptance to wariness and reluctance. However, Catholic parents who have chosen to home school often base part of their decision on the freedom of the home school environment to incorporate God into their children's daily lives without fear of public recrimination or political stifling.
The most important thing home school parents should realize is that the Catholic Church holds certain responsibilities when it comes to the religious education and inclusion of children. Often, parishes that are reluctant to deal with home school parents and children do so not out of dislike, but out of regard for the established rules for the diocese. Home school parents have an established right to teach their children, but only the Church can administer the sacraments and perform religious rites. Many parishes take their religious responsibilities quite seriously, and are therefore reluctant to deal with the unknown element home school represents.
If you are experiencing resistance as a home school parent when it comes to matters of catechesis, there are several steps you can take to help ease your family's assimilation into the parish. Parents who home school should make a concerted effort to become familiar with and be on good terms with their priests. There are a number of commonly held myths associated with home school, and once your priest understands the reality of the home school environment, he will be more likely to put forth cooperation in response to your children's religious needs. Some parishes will allow parents to perform catechetical work in a home group setting, while others require private appointments with the priest. If you have difficulty receiving such appointments, a good strategy is to write a polite, formal note requesting an appointment with your priest.
Catholic parents who choose the home school route are often concerned with their children's religious education, and make every effort to incorporate sacramental teachings in their daily lessons. Though the Catholic Church is governed by long-existing regulations, there is nothing that specifically bans the participation of home school families from parish life. Many home school parents are working to overcome barriers by seeking audiences with local bishops to expose the realities of home school and dispel the myths. In the meantime, parents who home school are satisfied that their children are learning in God's light.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, children's rights activist, author, and Founder and C.E.O. of online education company Learning by Grace, Inc. Rothschild and her husband of twenty-eight years reside in suburban Philadelphia with their eight children.
Feeling that “our current system of education has broken its promise,” Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. to provide families with Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children all over the world.
In addition to her twenty years of experience as a homeschool mother, Rothschild has written a number of books dealing with education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Home Education Websites Blog consists of helpful online content and activities for Christian homeschooling families.
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