Homeschooling: Ideal or Necessity
In the Traditional Catholic world, there are still many parents convinced that home schooling is the ideal form of education. This is actually quite understandable. For the past five decades, the “home school movement” has been sweeping across conservative America, and it’s still growing every year. Today in the U.S., 3.7 million children are home schooled, which is almost 7% of the youth population.1
It is also understandable that many parents are apprehensive about schools in general. Often, they themselves have had bad experiences in public schools or even Novus Ordo Catholic schools. This is precisely how home schooling began in the 1960’s; the public schools were becoming increasingly Godless and undisciplined. In the 70’s, Catholic parents were pulling their children out of parochial schools because they were being taught heresy.
But is homeschooling really the best form of education? Why does the Society of St. Pius X believe so strongly in Catholic schools?
Sentire cum Ecclesia
As Catholics, we should always have this question in the forefront of our minds: What is the mind of the Church? Archbishop Lefebvre learned this spirit of “Sentire cum Ecclesia” (to think with the Church) when he was a seminarian in Rome, and it was his desire to pass on this spirit to his priests and to the SSPX faithful. So, what does the Church say regarding education? Her most comprehensive treatise on this question comes from the encyclical Divini Illius Magistri of Pius XI (1931). In answering the question “to whom does education belong,” he says: “Education is essentially a social and not a mere individual activity. Now there are three necessary societies distinct from another and yet harmoniously combined by God, into which man is born: two, namely the family and civil society, belong to the natural order; the third, the Church, to the supernatural order.”2 The Pope goes on to explain that education of course begins in the home, that parents have a sacred duty and therefore special rights over the formation of their children. But he continues: “Nevertheless, the family is an imperfect society, since it has not in itself all the means for its own complete development.”3 In other words, the family needs the State to look after the common good of society in the natural order, and it obviously needs the Church in the supernatural order.
Because the Church has a supernatural end (the salvation of souls), education is firstly and foremost her prerogative. “Education belongs pre-eminently to the Church, by reason of a double title in the supernatural order, conferred exclusively upon her by God Himself; absolutely superior therefore to any other title in the natural order.”4 The first of this “double title” is founded upon the well-known words of Our Lord Himself, which were the last words He spoke on this earth: “All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations…teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.”5
The second reason, according to Pius XI, why education belongs to the Church is very beautiful. It is what he calls supernatural motherhood, “…in virtue of which the Church, spotless spouse of Christ, generates, nurtures and educates souls in the divine life of grace, with her sacraments and her doctrine.”6 Later in the encyclical, we are given the ultimate purpose of Christian education: “…to co-operate with divine grace in forming the true and perfect Christian, that is, to form Christ Himself in those regenerated by Baptism.”7
What does all this mean? It means that a Catholic school is a work of the Church. It means that a Catholic school is a channel of grace, of that grace merited by Our Lord Himself two-thousand years ago. This is why priests are directors of schools, because they have the grace of state; they have received this mission from Our Lord through His Church. When priests or nuns teach in schools, children receive special graces which parents cannot provide. Or even when lay men or women teach children in a Catholic school run by priests, these children will receive special graces that they could not receive at home.8 This is the primary and most essential reason why homeschooling is not ideal when a Catholic school is available.
History of the Church
After considering the Church’s Magisterium regarding education, it would be helpful to glance over her history and see the solicitude with which she labored in this realm. There is a long line of great saints whom God raised up to spend their lives for the cause of education. Again, we can quote Pius XI who, in a discourse to the students of Mondragone College, points out the rich heritage of Catholic education: “Right back in the far-off Middle Ages when there were so many monasteries, convents, churches, collegiate-churches, cathedral chapters, etc., there was attached to each a house of study, of teaching, of Christian education. To these we must add all the universities, spread over every country and always by the initiative and under the protection of the Holy See and the Church.”9
Building on the great work of Dominicans such as St. Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Jesuit giants of the 16th century continued the tradition of Catholic education, forming young men like Francis de Sales and Louis de Montfort. Teaching Orders continued to spring up all over the Church. In France, St. John Baptist de La Salle (1651–1719) founded the Christian Brothers and St. Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779–1865) established the Society of the Sacred Heart for girls. In Italy, St. John Bosco (1815–1888) gave the Church the Salesians and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917) the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. In the United Saints, we have our own St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774–1821) who founded the Sisters of Charity for the education of young women.10 By 1965, there were 104,000 teaching sisters in our country.11
A Common Objection
The most common objection of parents who choose homeschooling over SSPX schools is that their children may be badly influenced by other children. Again, this concern is understandable because most of these parents had bad experiences in school as was mentioned above. Certainly, if a school is filled with occasions of sin (like many public or even novus ordo institutions), then of course the prudent thing is to avoid it. However, schools of the Society of St. Pius X are good schools with good environments. They may not be perfect, but good schools have never been perfect. Are there some bad kids in our schools? Probably. But if they are bad enough, they will be expelled, just as St. John Bosco had to expel many of his beloved boys for the sake of the common good. St. Dominic Savio became a saint even though he was not surrounded by saints.
There is a common misunderstanding about the development of virtue. Parents think that if they shelter their children, they will automatically become virtuous. But this is not how virtue works. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that, “Virtue, from the very nature of the word, implies some perfection of a power.”12 To grow in a virtue, one must have opportunities to practice the virtue. (For example, one knows that he has the virtue of meekness if he can deal calmly with difficult people.) The great medieval Cistercian, Baldwin of Forde, has this to say about the question of tolerating vicious monks in a monastery: “For it often happens that when good and wicked are living together communally, the wicked are reformed, and the good become better and purer. The lily springs up among thorns, and the just man grows up among the wicked like a lily.”13 We see this in the life of St. Francis de Sales. After finishing boarding school (which he began at the age of seven!), he set out for Paris at the age of fifteen to attend the Jesuit College of Clermont. Reflecting on this time, he said, “I do not know what God will do with France, for its sins are very great.”14 Later, while attending the University of Padua, he had to live with a roommate who was anything but a saint. “He lived dissolutely. I did not. I used to give him some good scoldings and he took them in very good part.”15
The development of virtue works very much like the immune system: inoculation allows for a stronger constitution. The little contact with evil is far outweighed by the good which a child receives in a Catholic school. If you were to put in one scale all the spiritual benefits (being taught by priests and religious, access to the sacraments, spiritual conferences and retreats, etc.), and in the other scale the fact that your child might learn a bad word or hear a dirty joke, it is easy to see how the balance is tipped.
But there are also many positive opportunities for the practice of virtue in a school (it is not just a question of fighting bad influences) which are not afforded to the home schooler. There is the discipline of getting up early; of making sure the uniform is ready, that homework is finished. The child learns self-mastery in the classroom: when to speak and when to listen; how to take notes; how to finish assignments on time, and how to take tests in the space of a class period; how to follow bells all day long and sit in a stuffy classroom when it is beautiful outside! At the age of fifteen, Francis de Sales had to get up at four in the morning for the first lecture which began at 5am! Those Jesuits were tough. That’s how you make a Doctor of the Church.
Some Deficiencies in Home Schooling
The first and most obvious difficulty facing parents who homeschool is assuring the quality of education. To return to the encyclical, Divini Illius Magistri, Pius XI states: “Since however the younger generation must be trained in the arts and sciences for the advantage and prosperity of civil society, and since the family of itself is unequal to this task, it was necessary to create that social institution, the school.” Experience also confirms this. When children enter our schools after homeschooling, they are usually behind and need to be placed back a grade or two. Mothers feel guilty, though they shouldn’t. Being a mother is a full-time job, especially in large Traditional Catholic families! (In our opinion, the ones who suffer the most from homeschooling are babies and toddlers. The first five years of a child’s life are the most important; they need so much attention and affection from their mothers to develop in a healthy, strong and happy way. But if mom is preoccupied all the time with school, and especially overwhelmed…) Certainly there are some exceptions to this general rule. For example, at St. Mary’s College, there have been many homeschoolers who have done very well academically. It was observed that these exceptions were students who came from smaller families where the mothers (many of whom were extremely well-educated) obviously had more time.
Another deficiency concerns the formation of the judgment. Since man is essentially social by nature, a large part of the formation of his judgment comes from his own experiences. He learns prudence from the good example and mistakes of others, and from his own. He comes to understand his place and the place of all things in the grand scheme. He gradually becomes mature; maturity is the recognition of reality. But since a homeschooler does not have as many of these social experiences, his perception of reality is going to be restricted. It is much easier for him to live in his own head, so to speak. And since he does not have as many “data points” to work with, it is harder for him to form proper judgments. This is one reason why scruples are prevalent among homeschoolers: they are not able to judge what is big and what is small. Tied to this question of scruples is the notion of trust. A homeschooler, whose only authority is dad or mom, does not learn to trust other authority figures, even perhaps the priest. Now, the only remedy for scruples is obedience. The scrupulous soul must obey the priest when he says, “do this” and “don’t do that.” If he obeys, the scruples go away. But to obey takes a lot of trust! This same lack of trust can also manifest itself in seminary or religious life if a homeschooler pursues a vocation.
Conclusion
Schools take a lot of work. They demand many sacrifices from the priests, nuns, and teachers who run them. The graces given to these children were hard-earned by Our Lord, and those who would be the channels of those graces must also earn them by prayer and suffering. Parents, too, will have to make many sacrifices to put their children in one of our schools. But it is all worth it. Pope Leo XIII, in his encyclical Spectata Fides, and the first on Christian education, gives these inspiring words: “For it is in and by these schools that the Catholic Faith, our greatest and best inheritance, is preserved whole and entire.”
And so, our advice to the reader is this: if you live near an SSPX school, enroll your children today! If you don’t live near a priory, then move to one if you can. Again, the precious grace of a Catholic school is worth any sacrifice. If it is impossible to move to one of our priories, then at least send your children to board at one of our high schools. Also, if you have no choice but homeschool, do not despair! Do your best, and trust that God will give your family special graces because of the crisis in His Church. Here is some practical advice: 1) Make home schooling as formal as possible (a dedicated classroom, a regular schedule for the day, a strict quarterly schedule, etc.). 2) Try to co-op with other traditional families, so that your children are socialized and have other teachers besides yourself. 3) Have the children be active in the parish. 4) Get them involved in as many social activities as possible (e.g. 4-H, sports for the boys, camps, etc.). This question of socializing your children is so important, especially if you live in the country. Grace builds on nature. They need to be fully human before they can become holy.
There could be no better way to conclude this article than by sharing some words from that great man to whom we owe so much, to whom the Church owes so much. Archbishop Lefebvre believed in Catholic education, as was proven throughout his heroic life. He wanted to pass on this conviction to his priests, and so he left us these words in our statutes: “The Society’s members will support and eventually establish schools that are truly free from any hindrance, so as to be able to give a thoroughly Christian education to the young. It is from these schools that vocations and Christian families will come.”
TITLE IMAGE: Saying Grace, Karl Gebhardt (1860–1917).
Endnotes
1 National Home Education Research Institute.
2 Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri (Angelus Press), p. 10.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid., p. 11.
5 Mt. 28:18-20.
6 Divini Illius Magistri, p.12
7 Ibid., p. 53.
8 It is also true that if Catholic laymen, with all the best intentions in the world, were to start a school, it would still not be a work of the Church and therefore could not expect the same supernatural efficacy.
9 Divini Illius Magistri, p. 17.
10 Considering the U.S., it is interesting to note that the first thing which Catholic immigrants of various nationalities did when they arrived, was not to build the church but the school.
11 Kenneth C. Jones, Index of Leading Catholic Indicators (2002). Today, that number is down to 2,470 per the USCCB.
12 ST I-II, q. 55, a. 3.
13 Robert Thomas, Passing From Self to God, p. 44.
14 Michael de la Bedoyere, Francois de Sales, p. 23.
15 Ibid., p. 21.
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