Home-Schooling Contact Group – Sign Up Here!
Editor writes…
Yesterday, I received the following message from a home-schooling mother in the central belt of Scotland:
I came across your website this evening when I was looking for Catholic home-schooling groups in Scotland. I took my children out of our local school last year and so far our home-schooling journey is going well. However, it would be great to find some other Catholic families in the same situation. Do you know of any groups who meet up?
My home-educator niece is now in contact with this mother, and invited her to a a home-school summer garden party which she is in the process of planning to help home-schoolers to connect, for children to play etc. It’s a social for home-schoolers, so If you would like to add your name to that list with a view to attending the summer party with your children, contact my niece and namesake Patricia on her mobile at 07747075095, preferably by texting as a first point of contact in order to make arrangements to chat on the phone. Alternatively, call between 4pm and 6pm but no later than 7pm.
Feel free to use this thread to ask questions about the practicalities of home-education or to offer reasons why it is becoming more important than ever to take this step.
For one thing, schools in the UK are now pushing gender ideology, with pupils changing sex without their parents’ knowledge – click here to read more. This entire “trans” campaign is diabolically driven – it is straight from Hell. Unless the politicians act swiftly to ban it, it can only be described as State-sanctioned child abuse.
Perhaps this discussion will help parents to look seriously at the question of protecting children, their purity of body and soul, from the Satanic assaults now par for the course in our schools, by making whatever sacrifices are necessary to educate them at home.
Your thoughts…
Comments (18)
I read this report about children being allowed to self-delare their gender in around half the schools. It’s shocking.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/30/secondary-schools-allow-children-self-declare-gender/
Fidelis,
It really is shocking but when you see some video film on e.g. GB News where there are drag queens in schools acting for the pupils, often really young kids, and they are scantily dressed, horrible actually, there are actually parents there as well. We have to understand that not all parents have a good moral compass these days and when their priority is to make life enjoyable for their kids and not have them stand out in a crowd and so on, they don’t actually see anything wrong with these shocking shows.
Politicians are not going to ban it. Yousaf was elected on the basis that he would continue the arrangement whereby the Greens get to set the entire social template for Scotland, for all ages and those as yet born (including those who won’t be). Expect more of the same. Not because it is right or because Scots want it, but only to protect the SNP majority at Holyrood.
The Adversary has a good grip on Scotland. For those who are orthodox Christians, or old fashioned in mores and manners, for the right-thinking, for those who believe that islam is an instrument of Satan, for the decent ordinary people, this is all bad news.
A hundred and something years ago the Catholics in Scotland set up, at their own expense, Catholic schools. They paid for the schools out of hard -earned wages, and also paid taxes to support State schools. The Catholic schools were adopted by the State and thereafter were financed by the State.
Since then the Catholicism of Catholic schools has been eroded. In Edinburgh, Holy Cross, a school established to prepare pupils to become teachers in Catholic schools, was closed. Only “comprehensive” schools remain.
A look at the handbook of Notre Dame High School, reveals that the school specifies the colour of hijab that is acceptable.
The only sensible route forward for Catholic, and all right-thinking parents, is home-schooling where at all possible. (Working mums make it difficult. The notion of “working mums” is an insidious intervention of the Adversary.)
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/gc/public/ndhs/uploads/sites/7012/2021/11/17111400/NDHS-Handbook-2021-22.pdf
The values listed at the Notre Dame link are not specifically Catholic – anybody could sign up to them. Catholic schools are just a joke now, and I think it is a challenge for parents to work out how to keep their children from being mis-taught.
I think it’s too late for home-schooling because the economics don’t fit. It takes two working parents to afford a mortgage these days, so much as I am sure many mothers would like to be home with their children, it’s just not possible financially.
Good luck with the summer party, though! It’s a great idea because it is important for home-schooled kids to socialist with others, outside their own families.
That’s a first class point – it does take two salaries to keep up even basic living standards these days, so for most parents, home-schooling is out of the question. It’s a pity because even just looking at the photo at the top of this page, I think it must be great to have your kids around the kitchen table like that to learn first hand with their parents teaching them.
Bernie (and Margaret Mary),
Although I do agree that it’s financially difficult, and the government has made it essential to have both parents out working, and pay a fortune in childcare, ironically, I would argue, that your kids souls are worth it. Go for it, would be my advice and trust God about the two salaries!
Margaret Mary,
It is possible. It’s about priorities. We manage it, although I, admittedly, have a good salary. However, it’s not megabucks. We have a vey modest home and don’t drive or take foreign holidays. It can be done.
Petrus,
I think you’ve nailed it there, it’s about priorities and although parents talk a good talk about their children coming first, they don’t usually mean their eternal salvation, they mean giving them a comfortable lifestyle, all the mod cons etc.
This is interesting – it’s Jordan Peterson on home-schooling and he has a different way of looking at it in some ways.
Michaela,
There was an uncomfortable moment in that video when Peterson suggested there could be bad motives for parents to home-school. I think that is the line the government takes to put people off doing home-schooling.
The main reaction from parents when the question of home-schooling comes up is one of shock-horror, they couldn’t do that.
Maybe if someone who does home-school could come on and explain how they do the basics – how do they know which books to buy for the various subjects etc. That’s important, not to mention how much they cost!
In the end, though, I agree with Petrus that it’s about priorities. If their child’s religious and moral education is more important to them than a lot of material goodies, they’ll find a way.
There’s one detail which seems to get forgotten in these discussions about home-schooling and it is if one of the parents is not a Catholic, either no religion at all or belongs to another religion or denomination. That can make it difficult for the Catholic parent, especially if it is the mother who is not a Catholic. How can she be expected to teach a Catholic RE programme to her kids when she’s not a Catholic herself? That would be unfair and probably unworkable. I also think such a scenario is probably more common than we might think.
Nicky,
That is a very fair point about non-Catholic spouses – I agree, it would be very difficult, to say the least, for a non-Catholic mother to teach the Faith to her children; in non-denominational schools, however, non-Catholics do teach “about” religious faith(s) so it is possible up to a point. The missing link would be the example of a fully believing teacher (parent) passing on the Faith with conviction – that would be virtually impossible. Within limits, though, with a parent of goodwill, it could be done in a certain – albeit limited – way.
And who knows, it is often through teaching others that we learn ourselves, so perhaps said mother would respond to the grace of conversion at some point. Then, problem solved 😀
Josephine.
We are in the fortunate position that I am a teacher. However, it is not at all necessary to be a teacher in order to home school.
We use a variety of resources, including Seton Homeschool programme. We don’t pay for the tutoring but we buy the resources. Prices are available on the website.
We also pay for National 5 and Highers. The tuition is provided online. This costs along the lines of £300 per subject per year.
I’m not a huge fan of children doing American qualifications , but this can be done through Seton.
Petrus,
I don’t think it matters that there are students here doing American qualifications. In fact, when members of interviewing panels (whether in universities or businesses) are selecting candidates for interview, they are likely to be intrigued by those with some distinctive aspect to their education and so that student(s) may be selected for interview for that reason. Or so I tell my nephews and nieces to make them work hard(er) 😀
Certainly, I find the Seton resources impressive. And on the odd occasion when I’ve contacted the tutors, again I’ve been impressed. They have a chat facility on their website and chat facilities are my favourite form of communication these days. Beats the phone, hanging on and pressing 1 for this, 2 for that and 30 for something else, any day 😀
Editor,
No, it certainly doesn’t matter one jot if American qualifications are taken. I’m just not a fan but only because I’ve never taken the time to learn about how they work.
Petrus,
I say the same thing about my toaster. Some day, I’ll find out how it works and I might even buy some marmalade to celebrate 😀
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