Does homeschooling violate Vatican II?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you are aware of the meteoric rise in homeschooling during that time. What was formally the reserve of a few fundamentalists and hippies has now gone mainstream. Just this week it was reported that over 2 million children are homeschooled, which constitutes approximately one in every 25 children currently in school today.
Catholics have not missed this bandwagon, as many Catholic families (including my own) have decided that homeschooling is the best way to educate their children. But what does the Church have to say in her magisterial documents about homeschooling? Is it allowed or prohibited? If no definitive word has been pronounced, is it encouraged or discouraged?
The first place to look to answer this question is Gravissimum Educationis (GE), Vatican II’s “Declaration on Christian Education.” In this document the Council Fathers address the importance of education and the need for every child to be educated. At first glance, it appears that homeschooling is clearly approved:
Parents who have the primary and inalienable right and duty to educate their children must enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools (GE 6).
If parents have the “primary and inalienable right and duty to education their children” and they must “enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools,” then surely they should be able to educate their own children in the home, correct? However, another passage should be examined as well:
The Council also reminds Catholic parents of the duty of entrusting their children to Catholic schools wherever and whenever it is possible and of supporting these schools to the best of their ability and of cooperating with them for the education of their children (GE 8 emphasis added).
In the context of GE and other contemporary Church documents related to education, it is clear the Council is thinking of traditional Catholic schools here; in other words, it is not thinking of a Catholic family homeschooling as a “Catholic school.” So what does this mean? Are homeschoolers violating Vatican II by not “entrusting their children to Catholic schools wherever and whenever it is possible” and not “supporting these schools to the best of their ability and of cooperating with them for the education of their children”? Should all Catholics send their children to Catholic schools if they are available to them?
To answer this question we must first consider what the Church considers proper education. According to GE,
a true education aims at the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the societies of which, as man, he is a member, and in whose obligations, as an adult, he will share (GE 1).
But this is not the only objective of education. All the baptized also have the right to a Christian education, which
does not merely strive for the maturing of a human person as just now described, but has as its principal purpose this goal: that the baptized, while they are gradually introduced the knowledge of the mystery of salvation, become ever more aware of the gift of Faith they have received, and that they learn in addition how to worship God the Father in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23) (GE 2)
So parents, who have a “primary and inalienable right and duty to education their children,” must take into consideration both of these aspects when determining their choice of schools – they must both consider a child’s formation as a human person as well as his formation as a Christian. But this also means that Catholic schools need to fulfill these two aspects of a Christian education – if they do not, then they are not truly “Catholic schools,” thus making it impossible for parents in their area to send their child to an outside Catholic school, as GE hopes every parent will do.
But I think we can go a step further than just saying that homeschooling is an option when the local Catholic schools are failing in their mission to offer a Christian education. To do this, we must consider the context in which Vatican II occurred. At that time, there was, for all intents and purposes, no such thing as Catholic homeschoolers as we would define them today. Homeschooling as a movement didn’t really start until the 1970′s and it didn’t become “mainstream” until this century. So the Council Fathers had no way to consider homeschooling as even an option. It should be remembered that ecumenical councils are protected by the Holy Spirit from error, but they are not given the gift of precognition. Faced between the choice of public, government schools and Catholic schools, it is no surprise that they urged that Catholic parents send their children to Catholic schools “wherever and whenever it is possible.” That was the only possible way for a child to receive a true Christian education as the Council Fathers envisioned it.
However, since the time of Vatican II, it has become clear that Catholic homeschooling has become a viable type of “Catholic school”, offering a fully Christian education as defined by the Council Fathers. Thus, I would argue that homeschooling can be a legitimate response to Vatican II’s call that Catholics entrust their children to “Catholic schools wherever and whenever it is possible” – even if there are good Catholic schools in the area. In today’s world, this fulfills the Council’s wishes that children receive a Christian education and that parents enjoy “true liberty” when choosing a school for their children.
It should be clear that I am not saying that all Catholics should homeschool their children. Each family is different and every child unique – what works for one situation might not work for others. But I do believe that Catholics who choose to homeschool their children – even if there is a good Catholic school available – are not violating the intention of the Council Fathers behind their desire that parents entrust their children “to Catholic schools wherever and whenever it is possible.”
Update: Esteemed Catholic canon lawyer Dr. Edward Peters alerts us to an informative article he wrote about 10 years ago addressing this issue from a canon law perspective.
Your post is a useful one for Catholic parents thinking about homeschooling. Of course you are charitable, but it might be worth considering not only a parents rights and responsibilities to support this or that, but the child’s rights.
The child has a right to a truly Christian education, and many, many Catholic schools simply cannot or will not provide that today. Homeschooling really might be the only option in many cases in order not to violate the child’s basic right to be taught the Faith.
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Pingback by Tweets that mention Does homeschooling violate Vatican II? « Divine Life – A Blog by Eric Sammons -- Topsy.com — January 6, 2011 @ 12:24 pmA related (but slightly different) question: How am I as a homeschooling parent doing on the “support catholic schools” mandate.
Within the limits of our means, are we actively involved our parish (and its school, if there is one and we are invited to be involved)? Do we financially support catholic schools? Are we encouraging and positive in our comments about catholic schools? Do we openly respect parents who make the financial sacrifice required to send their children to a catholic school? When we describe our reasons for homeschooling, can we do so without criticizing catholic schools and making those schools sound like a poor choice for other parents?
When homeschooling is an outright rejection of anything that has to do with parochial schools, I think we are in violation of at least the spirit (hehe) of the council documents. But there are numerous reasons that a particular family may choose to homeschool because, well, it is the catholic school that best fits the family’s needs. Doing so is not neccasarily a rejection of catholic schools any more than, for example, a man who does not join the KoC is necessarily condemning that (excellent, in my experience) organization. The attitude and reasons speak volumes.
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Pingback by THURSDAY AFTERNOON EDITION | ThePulp.it — January 6, 2011 @ 1:10 pmAmen, Jennifer.
If we can find the means, we have a duty to support our Catholic Schools. If they fall short of our expectations we should not “bolt” but do our best to teach, admonish, help, pray, etc.
If homeschooling is our choice we must be careful to not fall into the pride that you explain above.
The devil will get us wherever we are.
I will have to do more research on this topic before I give a more complete response. I remember reading the Declaration on Christian Education when it was published around 1966. I was then a college student in a Catholic University preparing for a career in teaching. So, of course, this was relevant to me. And, yes, the concept of homeschooling was not on anyone’s radar screen then.
One question I will ask is this. Have you also studied other postconciliar documents on this subject? If so, was there any mention of homeschooling?
I noticed that you did not highlight/emphasize this part of GE8:”…and of supporting these schools to the best of their ability and of cooperating with them for the education of their children (GE 8). How do you propose to do this in the context of homeschooling?
I don’t doubt your freedom to choose the kind of schooling you wish for your children. I would not say you or others are violating Church teaching in so doing. Yet, there is nothing in Catholic education tradition that I have found meshes with the homeschooling movement in modern times.
SuzieQuzie,
I agree of course that no one – whether a homeschooler or Catholic-schooler – should look down on the choices other families have made. As I mentioned, every family is different and each child is unique.
But I challenge the implication that homeschoolers have “bolted” from schools and should stay to “teach, admonish, help, pray”. The issue is that poor Catholic schools are an immense, long-term problem, but schooling one’s own children is a precise, short-term situation. I only have my children for a few years and then they are out in the world. Shouldn’t I send them to the school that I think is best for them (even if it is my home)? Or should I make a “stand” by sending them to an inferior school with the hope that I can help reform it? I would argue that my children are too precious to risk their education in such a way.
Ruth Ann,
I didn’t address the part about supporting Catholic schools mostly for space reasons – I was already at 1,000 words, so I figured I should shut up!
I have looked at other Church documents from the immediate era after Vatican II and none (that I know of) address homeschooling. Again, the modern homeschooling movement is so recent that this should not be taken as a rejection of homeschooling but rather an ignorance of it.
However, I take exception to your statement, “there is nothing in Catholic education tradition that I have found meshes with the homeschooling movement in modern times”. This may be perhaps true of the modern Catholic education tradition (dating back to the 1800′s), but it is obviously not true for the entirety of Catholic tradition. For the majority of the Church’s life, homeschooling was widely practiced by Catholic parents. It is only with the rise of institutional schools in the 19th century (both government and Catholic) that homeschooling began to wane. Are you suggesting that when Catholic schools began to be formed 200 years ago that the Church intended them as a permanent replacement for homeschooling? That seems to me to go beyond the Church’s support for institutional schools and implies that they also have rejected homeschooling.
Also, I think an argument could be made that some Catholic schools today don’t “mesh” with Catholic education tradition. They have rejected the Church’s guidelines for a true Christian education and have thus invalidated themselves as a legitimate option for the Catholic parent. (Again, I am not speaking of all Catholic schools, but this is true for more than a few).
You really have to look at motivation here. I’d have loved to send my children to Catholic school but none of the schools here have classes for special needs children. They say it is too expensive. So I school them at home.
However, we have many non-Catholic teachers in our parish school. The music teacher told me she couldn’t teach the children chant or do a children’s choir for Mass because she doesn’t know any Catholic music. When I overheard a student ask the principal why they didn’t pray the Angelus at noon, she said that most of the teachers didn’t know it.
We really need to support our Catholic schools, in my opinion, by producing well-educated Catholic teachers, taught in authentically Catholic colleges, who will work in these Catholic schools and improve them from within. Perhaps there should be scholarships set up just for that purpose.
My 2 oldest children went to public school and CCD classes.My husband and I were shocked to find that they weren’t teaching much of anything let alone the basics of their faith(this was the 90s) to the kids preparing for confirmation. It was all warm and fuzzy, when we mentioned transubstatiation the youth leader said ‘we’ve evolved beyond that”. We were stunned; the public schools were getting worse and the CCD teachers were going nuts!
We homeschooled the other 2 children from 5th-12th grade. Not only was the Catholic school out of our budget; they had a waiting list around the block!
None of the kids practice their faith regularly though we went to Mass together, said the rosary together, Advent wreathes, all sacraments received(I supplemented because of the poor catachesis at the parish). It didn’t seem to matter. Though all 4 are upstanding citizens, married with their own kids, (well 2 are.. 2 remain single)the world is very difficult to contend with whether they go to public school or homeschooled.
I did the best I could and now all I can do is pray for their recovery from the world and its allurements. St Monica is great for the parents of wayward children.
Hope is all we have now.
Eric, I am well aware of the long term history of education in general. I did major in education, and I actually had to take a course in the history of education. Yes, prior to what we call universal education or education of all children under the auspices of local governments or churches or some other source, all children were homeschooled or maybe apprenticed to learn a craft or trade, or possibly went to “the school of hard knocks” as my grandmother told me she did.
But in my response I was limiting myself to the rise of schools as we now know them. To date I am not aware of local bishops or of the Holy Father or of any synods that “tip their hats” in favor of homeschooling, except, in the limited way stated in the GE document.
Some more recent documents dealing with Catholic education include, “General Catechetical Directory,” 1971, from Sacred Congregation for Clergy” “Catholic Schools,” 1977, from Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, “Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 1982, also from SCCE. There are many more here: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/index.htm.
With regard to the quality or catholicity of particular Catholic schools, I sometimes hear what you assert, but only on blogs, that certain Catholic schools “have rejected the Church’s guidelines for a true Christian education and have thus invalidated themselves as a legitimate option for the Catholic parent. (Again, I am not speaking of all Catholic schools, but this is true for more than a few.” It’s just that I think this is a general statement, and I’ve never seen where these schools are located, nor have I heard what the local bishops and pastors in these locations are doing to address this. I can understand that you might not wish to name names publicly. But unwillingness to do so leaves people in the dark.
I am now retired, but during my teaching years I taught in several Catholic schools. Each was parish-based. They included inner city and suburban. All were different in one way or another. But the local diocese and, the universal Church, had guidelines which were implemented. None was ever accused of what you are saying, to my knowledge. So, pardon me, if I have some skepticism. Nothing in my entire Catholic experience says that homeschooling is the way to go.
I do know a few Catholic families who home school. I like the parents and the children. My current parish has no school, and we live in a rural area, so I can see where this is a good option under the circumstances.
People might want to track this down: Edward Peters, Home Schooling and the New Code of Canon Law, (Christendom College: Front Royal VA, 1988) 46 pages, ISBN: 0-931888-29-8, and maybe my follow-up article: http://www.canonlaw.info/a_homeschooling.htm
Thanks for letting us know about that article, Dr. Peters. I found it very useful and have linked to it in the main post.
Fairly accurate and balanced. Unfortunately, not all “home schools” are “Catholic schools” either: not all Catholic home dynamics meet the 2 requirements for “Catholic schools.”
Teaching one’s child at home violates nothing; it is a duty of a parent to see that his (the pronoun is gender-neutral) child is raised in the best way possible.
However, please, please, please stop using such an awkward formation at “homeschooling.” One teaches one’s child; one does not “homeschool” him.
I read Dr. Peters’ link. I don’t see the correlation between it and our discussion of the Vatican II document or other Church writings at the SCCE, for example. Maybe he could elaborate on that.
The family hearth is a Catholic school. So when we consider that Catholic schools are a perilous to the faith and that it in violation of the subsidiary principle it is exactly what the council calls for….. Ghettos of the Faith holding-out until all is clear, one-hundred years from now, after the great coming persecution.
the problem with most catholic schools is the same as public schools, you have for the most part teachers that I wouldnt let take care of my hamsters, let alone my children
One does not have to think twice about how horrible the nations government schools are. If you doubt that statement then I challenge you to spend a day at the government school of your choice observing what is being taught. In particular the sex education classes for elementry children where they are taught in minute detail about homosexuality. In one state in particular the schools opted for more sex education and completly did away with drivers education. Home schooled is by far the finest education today. By the way colleges are actively recruiting home schooled students because of their superior knowledge and their dicipline and self control.
The link, Ruth Ann, is just to a follow-up article on the booklet I wrote. That makes the point that there is nothing whatsoever in consistent in homeschooling and Church teaching, whetehr in VC2 or anywhere else.
We have been homeschooling our 8 children for 9 years now. One of our children was in DoD schools and then we were blessed to have been in a Nashville Dominican school for 3 years prior to us moving due to military change of station.
After that, we changed Catholic schools 3 times in the matter of 4 years because they were NOT teaching the faith. They used secular books rented from the state and their religion texts were sooo poor that we had to supplement them at home. their faith was cafeteria at best and we were in a constant battle in our hearts about what to do. that is, until God brought us out of the dessert and we followed his call to homeschool.
the factors that led us to homeschool are not indifferent to other Catholic parents:
Lack of teaching/living the faith in the school-
Non-Catholic teachers, no daily Mass, No daily prayers, no Eucharistic adoration, failure to prepare the children for the Sacraments, use of secular books,inconsistency in discipline, contraceptive mentality, the pick and choose what doctrine you will follow, the dissing of the parish priest, local bishop etc..
After going to a homeschooling conference and reading various catholic books on it, we prayed and God led the way.
My children have a true Catholic education now. They use CATHOLIC books for every subject that were written specifically FOR Catholic schools. Matter of fact, all Catholic Schools at one time actually USED Catholic books and not secular books in the classroom. The turning point was in the late 60′s and early 70′s when schools began to rec’v grant money. the govts on the state levels required that the texts be secular and NOT religious based. So, the great texts like Lepanto press English, how american Began history series by CUA and even Loyola press books all went away except for the religious texts of course. And we ALL know
what occured with the watering down of the religious texts and the lack of catechisis that happened in the 70′s with my generation.
bishops can only do so much, the schools are there to assist us, as parents in the education of our children. But as parents become more educated- and we had to re-learn the faith or revert back to the faith- we realize that we dont want our children to have to constantly fight an internal battle about living that faith.
It will be “written in their hearts”- and THAT in a nutshell is what Catholic schools have failed to achieve.
I think the booklet is out of print, so I’ll see about a pdf of my discsusion of GE 8 and c. 798 at my website. Best, edp.
I’m glad this discussion is continuing. I was approaching the matter of whether or not schooling children at home is a violation of Vatican Council II’s document concerning education. And, I think it has been established from the get-go that schooling children at home is NOT violating Church teaching of any sort—assuming that the parents truly are providing a Catholic education and not a mediocre or poor substitute.
Thank you, Dr. Peters, for responding to my request for clarification. I conclude that you are saying Catholic schooling children at home is not a violation of Canon Law. So, as I would expect, Canon Law does not violate Church teaching.
Surely in such an important matter as deciding whether or not a parish school is a GOOD Catholic school—or a good enough Catholic school—where both secular and religious subjects are taught well, and where practical Catholic living is supported, some objective criteria ought to be applied, rather than merely subjective impressions or little anecdotes. And how GOOD must it be? On a scale of say 1 to 10 is there room for anything but 10?
Having dedicated myself to teaching in Catholic schools at great financial sacrifice, it is disheartening to find remarks like “the problem with most catholic schools is the same as public schools, you have for the most part teachers that I wouldnt let take care of my hamsters, let alone my children.” I must confess that Joe would probably do well to find someone other than me to care for his hamsters. But I do not think he would find my teaching and practice of the faith wanting.
Here’s a little about me. I graduated from a Catholic University in 1970. My student teaching was in a public school of a large city. When that was completed, the principal approached me and asked me to apply to the city schools and she would be able to pull strings to get me on her staff. I thanked her but stated that I intended to be a Catholic school teacher to pass on to others what I had received. I stuck with being a Catholic School teacher until we moved to a place with few Catholic schools and no teaching positions at the time.
Ruth Ann, I so wish more teachers had your dedication and commitment to our Holy Faith. You also mention your personal financial sacrifice – I am assuming that means a substantially lower salary – and I know many dedicated teachers in Catholic schools who have taught for the same reasons and under the same conditions you describe. In fact, I sent my own children to just such a school.
Two things happened to change our educational plans. First, we received orders to an overseas military base where a Catholic education in English was not possible (and my 5th grade son was shy, not the type of boy you toss into a school where he knows no one and can’t talk to anyone) and the base (public) school was terrible (great teachers, but not-so-great principal). I co-taught CCD once a week to a bunch of kids who were either running out of the classroom into a deserted military office building or who were falling asleep each class session. We had no viable choice except Catholic homeschooling. And it worked. This was a good thing, because our next duty station was at a remote location in the U.S. where the local school still had a world map with the U.S.S.R. on it. In 2004. The nearest Catholic school was over an hour away by car over seven mountains, and winters were snowy. We kept homeschooling.
Second, our diocese instituted “salary parity” to ensure that teachers were paid close to the same amount as they would have earned in the public schools. The corresponding increase in tuition rates made Catholic education unaffordable on many people’s salaries, including ours. When we finally made it back to our “home” state, we could not afford to pay out $17,000 per year to educate our two children.
We have done our level best to keep our children involved in our parish and active in the Faith, and so far we have been blessed with success. We study religion every school day (unless we are on a field trip or at our Catholic co-op) and I am secretly dreading my daughter’s Confirmation classes next year, because she already knows the material. (How do I know? She’s my second child. I already have the book.) I’m trusting that her true desire to receive the sacrament will help her ask for the grace to sit through the classes.
For us, homeschooling is the only way to ensure that our children receive a true Catholic education. When you move every two years (to places with no Catholic schools – to places where one single tiny parish serves two counties in two different states – to places with huge waiting lists for Catholic schools – to places with tuition priced beyond a middle class salary – and military salaries are public information, so you can see for yourself what everyone makes), what choice do you have?
We homeschooled our two oldest daughters for eight years. For health reasons, we couldn’t continue. We put our oldest daughter in the local Catholic High School, paying just over $8000 for everything. We removed her for several reasons. In no particular order: First, there was no orchestra, and her violin skills are her best shot at scholarships. We concluded it was ridiculous for her academic career for her to attend a high school that didn’t have an orchestra. Second, the teachers at the Catholic HS were unresponsive to our academic concerns. When our girl was struggling with a subject and we contacted them, there was usually no response, despite repeated efforts to contact them. Third, we were disappointed in her Religion class. The teacher is a friend, so we know he is orthodox. We were looking forward to our daughter being in his class. Sadly, it turned out that he just isn’t a very good teacher. Fourth, even our daughter, who liked the school generally, reported that there was not much of a Catholic atmosphere, at least among the students. Though I did give credit to the faculty for trying, I think this was largely a problem with the parents whose children attended. Finally, the cost was just overwhelming, and please don’t tell me that the Church promises a Catholic education to every child, regardless of ability to pay. Not here! We concluded that we were not getting what we were paying for.
All three of our daughters now attend local public schools, and they receive their religious education from our parish CCD program and from me. In fact, we teach the class our middle daughter attends. I have been pleasantly surprised with the cooperation of the public schools, the dedication of the teachers, their responsiveness when we contact them, and the reports from my daughters on how they enjoy the schools. Do I wish I could still homeschool? Yes! But my health doesn’t allow it, anymore. This is the best solution for our family. The key is: what works for your family? Whatever works, that’s what you do.
I have been down this road before and I thank you and others like Dr. Peters for bringing it to everyone’s attention that it is OK to teach your children at home.
One area that still needs to be addressed is point 2 in Dr. Peters opinion: 2) the high compliance of home schooling material and content with approved Church teaching.
As of right now, it is not uncommon for parishes and dioceses to default to material that is approved by USCCB only attitude. Some material that is listed is OK but most is deficient. If I were to add to my curriculum the new edition of the Baltimore Catechism because I find it is a nice supplement, that book is not on the approved list and so the frustrating Round Robin of Stupidity begins. It matters not, in some diocese if the child can demonstrate that they are properly formed or know the material however or whatever their parents chose: if it aint on the list, you can’t use it for formation in the reception of sacraments. Which brings up another sore area which I think Dr. Peters has discussed as well as others, is wanting to prepare your children at home for the sacraments. I was really hoping this would be discussed at maybe one of their conferences to at least high light the parents responsibility and right – and maybe bring to light those Bishops who do not know nor understand this – and to bring about in the very least, an atmosphere of acceptance and acknowledgment that the parents can and should be allowed to do this. Praise God that some Diocese do this. That is not the case where I am and people get tired and weary of trying to explain that we are doing nothing wrong…
I do recall several years ago (obviously) several leaders in Seton Home Study School met with Pope John Paul II and discussed Catholic homeschooling with him. He was very impressed and encouraged parents to homeschool their children.
We too, are a military family that has moved 4 times so far in our children’s academic career. Several times we have contemplated sending them to the local Catholic school, but have found that the academics were not as high as what they were receiving at home or the cost was prohibitive ($20,000+ for 4 children). The logistics of ferrying the older children back and forth twice a day plus all their regular extra curricular activities would certainly be detrimental to the youngest 2.
Homeschooling is certainly the best option in terms of knowing exactly what the child is being taught, where they are in learning that material, controlling content to make sure it is wholesome and edifying, and creating a tightly knit family unit. There are several things I’m not so crazy about in homeschooling, but for the most part I know my children are receiving a well-rounded, academic, Catholic education.
I know that there are strident voices that will tell us that homeschooling is a violation of Catholic teaching, but I’ve never managed to comprehend the argument.
I’m in Ontario, Canada. The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association seems to be paying no mind at all to Catholic teaching. What’s comes out of that organization is utter trash so much of the time. The “Family Life” program, “Born in the Spirit” is not good at all.
Fortunately, the local diocese is fairly orthodox and individual teachers can be very good.
Our son is attending Catholic school at this point because of a convergence of particular factors. Should things change, we’d take him out in a minute.
Eric,
I know you know this, but Ecumenical Councils are only infallible in matters of faith and morals. Thus, pastoral letters such as GE (and unlike Lumen gentium or Dei verbum) are not infallible. This is not to say that we don’t listen to them nor are they magesterial, but we cannot say that the teachings they contain are error free, nor can we assume that such teachings will not/cannot change.
What I find interesting is the attitude that is inherent within this thread: we homeschool because either a) the Catholic school isn’t affordable or b) the Catholic school isn’t really Catholic. I find that to be a refreshing attitude. This is opposed to a comment my wife’s aunt made concerning my choice to become a Catholic school administrator: “So you’re gonna homeschool your kids right, so they get a good education?” This was despite the fact that the local Catholic school’s standardized test scores were heads and tales better than the area public schools’ scores. In her eyes, no Catholic school could even come close to the awesome might of tax-payer funded and union backed education.