In a recent talk, I discussed how teachers and parents can avoid becoming weary in their work. In that talk, I explained that those involved in teaching and parenting must understand what the proper goal of that work is–and what the goal is not.
The duties of Catholic parenting can be summed up as a duty to initiate children into the Catholic life. The word “initiate” is important because it signifies an introduction, not an end. We cannot “raise saints” as some foolishly say in homeschool circles. Any attempt to do such will lead to a perversion of the Catholic faith, the violation of the children’s free will, and all other kinds of trouble.
We cannot make our children faithful Catholics–only they can decide to do that. We can, and must, introduce them to the Catholic faith–which includes not only instruction in the content of the teaching of the Church, but also active initiation into the sacramental, moral and prayer life of the Church. All of this is in our power as parents and teachers–and we must do our best.Having said that, however, we must make a distinction, for the success of children in formal schooling is largely dependent on the work of parents and teachers.
We cannot make our children saints, but we can make our children successful school students.
Let’s be honest: success in schooling is superficial. Many criticize schooling because it’s “just paperwork” and “doesn’t prepare you for real life”. No one in education denies this and the criticism is useless. The work of formal schooling is not said to be more than paperwork, nor is it said to provide everything needed for success in adult life. Nevertheless, it is a part of preparation for such and, being relatively easy to accomplish, should be fulfilled. This work is largely dependent on parents and teachers.
In schools, the rule of success is very simple: children with involved parents succeed, and children without involved parents struggle.
Everyone working in schools knows this. This reality is one of the reasons I supported homeschooling when I was a school teacher: I knew that the work of parents was actually more important than the work of schools and if parents could afford to manage their children’s education at home, they could accomplish far more than schools can. Great amounts of time and money were being wasted on day school enrollment. (I’d argue that boarding school is a different.)
Many parents, however, homeschool badly. They do not work to provide their children, at home, with the best formal schooling possible, but set the minimum school requirements as the goal and take it easy. Rather than working at home to accomplish more, they accomplish less. All of the negative criticism of homeschooling is caused by these parents–and it’s deserved. The low academic achievement, the lazy homeschool culture, the socially awkward behavior–it’s all justly criticized because it’s the result of laziness.
Children are not going to power their own academic achievement, nor do the goals of formal education require them to do so. My wife and I, as homeschooling parents, can, literally, put our children into their desired colleges and career paths, with just a little help from them. That’s how the modern education works. We, the parents, power their academic work and gain for them “the paperwork” needed to hit the ground running as young adults. It’s primarily the work of parents and teachers.
Formal academic achievement during the K-12 years is powered by parents and teachers. This is why smart parents invest in preparatory schooling. This is why cultural groups that do not make parenting and education a priority complain of “systemic racism” in American society. Children with diligent parents are given advantages that children with negligent parents cannot obtain. No political effort to eliminate this inequality can ever succeed. They complain because the advantage of diligent parents and teachers is real. Parents with money spend it on preparatory schooling and tutoring because it works.
Homeschool parents with a lazy approach to homeschooling are raising their children the way the bad parents raise theirs in schools. Homeschool parents who do not order the children’s daily activities, direct their daily studies, assist them in their work, communicate with their teachers, etc., are doing what the bad parents in schools do. They are leaving their children to manage their own schooling, which does not work. They are not preparing their children for a successful entry into adult life, but pretending that children are supposed to do this for themselves.
No, they’re not.
Yes, it’s true that parents cannot make their children saints. Yes, it’s true that parents cannot make their children wise. Yes, it’s true that parents cannot make their children successful in business. Yes, it’s true that parents cannot make their children happy in life. That’s all true. However, it’s false to say that parents cannot make their children successful in school. They can–and must.
Let’s consider what children actually need for college admission and how parents provide for most of it:
- High School Diploma
The diploma certifies the completion of minimum high school study requirements. There is no reward for doing more for a high school diploma. Students in the lowest level public school classes, earning the lowest passing grades get high school diplomas. It’s just a matter of covering the basic content in English Laguage Arts, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Modern Science and Social Studies. Homeschool parents can easily lead students (directly or indirectly) through the completion of these requirements and provide them with a high school diploma. - High School Transcript
The transcript shows what courses have been studied and what grades were earned for the courses. Homeschool parents determine the courses and the grades on the homeschool student transcript. The sources of these courses is not included on the transcript and is, therefore, irrelevant. Homeschool parents produce the high school transcript. - Standardized Test Scores
For the past few years, standardized testing has not been required for college admission because of the COVID lockdown. This will be ending over the next few years, so homeschool parents must provide their children with preparation for the SAT and/or ACT tests. Diligent preparation determines success on these tests and parents can provide it (indirectly if not directly). Admission to the most selective universities will require high scores and, while parents can’t take the tests for their children, they can make the tests easiee and help them earn the highest score possible. - Reference Letters
This is where teachers employed by homeschool parents can make a great difference. By having children work with professional teachers, children can gain the advantage of adding impressive reference letters to their applications. Most homeschool families neglect this and put their children at great disadvantages, since school students can easily obtain reference letters from teachers (though not necessarily impressive references). - Extracurricular Activities
Colleges ask about extracurricular activity for one very simple reason: these activities can reveal whether the student’s plans are supported by actual experience in the student’s life. No college is looking to see that a student was on ten different sports teams, and volunteered for twenty different organizations. That’s a common error. Colleges are looking for activities that relate to student plans and show promise of success in those fields. For example, if a student wants to major in political science, being involved in a local political party office helping with campaign activities, and being elected vice-president of a group he participated in, shows a promising interest in politics. Taking tap dance lessons and being the backup goalkeeper on the rec league soccer team are not significant extracurricular activities for a political science major. Homechool parents can make significant participation in strategic extracurricular activities possible. - Student Essay
College applications normally require an essay from the student that discusses their interests or answers a question proposed by the university. Parents cannot write these essays for their children, but they can certainly discuss the topics, help them think through the essay, proofread and help make corrections, etc.
No students are expected to provide these for themselves and college/career prep is not a test for children. All of these things can–and should–be provided by diligent homeschool parents.
Mr. William C. Michael, O.P.
Headmaster
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
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