Newsletter Sept 97 - Seton Home Study School

Seton Home
Study School
Volume XIV, Number 9
u ìUnder the Magisterium of the Catholic Churchî
The Truth
As we Catholic home schooling
families begin a new school year,
we turn to our Blessed Mother,
certainly the Mother of Mothers,
and the perfect Mother of the
Perfect Son, to help us teach our
children the truths of the Catholic
Faith.
Long before Jesus told His
apostles, ìI am the Truth,î the
Blessed Mother knew that her Son
Jesus is The Truth, as pointed out
by Father Pablo Straub in a speech
given to parents at the Apostolate
for Family Consecration.
The Blessed Mother took Jesus
out of the manger in Bethlehem,
and she turned the face of The Truth
to the shepherds so they could see
The Truth and adore Him.
We home schooling mothers
must ask the Blessed Mother to
help us to understand and to see
The Truth, not only because we
want to adore Him ourselves, but
because we are responsible for
encouraging our children to know
and adore The Truth.
Truth does not come from within
us, Father Pablo said. It is not
something within our own minds with
no correspondence to reality. Truth is
not subjective. Truth does not change
with the times or culture. Truth is not
relative. Too many people ask the
same question Pilate asked, ìWhat is
Truth?î They ask it in a cynical way as
if Truth does not exist in reality, or if
it does, we could not know it anyway.
Everyone has an opportunity to
discover The Truth, but like Pilate,
many reject Him even as they stand
before Him. It is easier to wash
oneís hands and dismiss the personal
obligation to seek The Truth. It is
politically correct to prefer the
popularity of the society than to
have zeal for the difficulty of
promoting Truth.
We Catholic home schooling
families must stand up for Absolute
Truth, God Himself. We must insist
to our children and to the society,
that God exists, that He is Absolute
Truth, and that only by seeing and
understanding Absolute Truth,
Jesus Christ, can we ever be happy
or know objective reality.
Even among Catholics, we find
people who believe that one personís
opinion or ìtruthî is as good as
anotherís. It is all relative, they
believe. Thus there can be no right
or wrong, no objective standards of
morality or even reality.
In our home schooling families,
as we teach about Jesus and the fact
that He exists, we need to teach that
Truth exists in every subject they
are learning. In the newspapers and
on television, we see objective facts
mixed with subjective opinions as if
there were no difference, or if there
were, it is not important.
The human mind is not to invent
u
September 1997
the Truth; instead, the human mind
is to discover and acquire the Truth,
Father Pablo pointed out. We are
made in the image and likeness of
God, in regards to our having an
intellect and free will. Using our
intellects to know the Truth, and using
our free wills to live according to the
Truth, will bring us closer to Him,
the Absolute Truth.
Let us pray and receive the
Sacraments regularly and fervently,
thereby increase Sanctifying Grace
in our souls, and move closer and
closer to Him.
Let us ask the Blessed Virgin
Mary to turn the face of Jesus to us
as she did to the shepherds, to help
us more and more see, understand,
and adore Him. If we do these
things, we will become the loving
sons and daughters of God, vibrant
temples of the Holy Spirit, and lively
members of the Mystical Body of
Christ. As a result, according to
Father Straub, Jesus will say to His
angels, ìLook, angels! Look at my
children. See how I have filled them
with Grace and Truth. See how My
sons and daughters look like Me.î
Inside . . .
Questions ...................... 2
Breaking News .............. 4
Home School Regs ....... 5
Seton on the Internet ... 6
Notes and News ........... 7
Family Education .......... 8
Seton Home Study School - 2
September 1997
Questions We Are Asked
by Dr. Mary Kay Clark
Director,
Seton Home Study School
I am overwhelmed at all the
materials I have received. I wonder
if I can do this home schooling.
Like everything else in life, if you
take just one step at a time, you can
accomplish a great deal. After all,
what you see in the box of materials is
a whole yearís worth of work, for 180
days. You will be surprised how much
children can accomplish, and want to
accomplish, when they are at home.
Children like learning. Learning is
fun at home. Younger children can
move rather rapidly through the
program. Students who start later may
need to spend more time in review.
If the day seems too short for
what needs to be done, take time with
the necessary subjects of religion,
math, and the language arts subjects.
Except for high school, let the history
and science, art, music, and P.E. go
for a while.
The book you were sent,Catholic
Home Schooling, will help answer
many questions, especially the
chapters on ìHow to Begin,î and
ìHome Schooling in the Large
Family.î These chapters have many
tips. If you did not receive a copy, let
us know.
Sometimes the frustrations
mothers feel are because the children
are not obedient. They would rather
play or dawdle or day-dream. The
chapter on ìDiscipline in the Catholic
Home School Familyî should help
with this.
Some mothers become concerned
because they are afraid they cannot
keep their home looking clean and
neat. Ginny Seuffert, mother of twelve
children and a home schooling mother
for many years, wrote the chapter
ìHome Management in the Catholic
Home Schooling Family.î
Mothers are often emotionally
stressed if husbands are not supportive.
The chapter on ìThe Fatherís Roleî
may be helpful in getting fathers more
involved in the education or at least
in support of the childrenís home
schooling.
We encourage you to join a local
Catholic home schooling support
group, where tips and ideas for dayto-day home schooling are often
discussed.
We have home schooling parents
on our Seton staff, so if you call or
write or fax or e mail, ask one of our
parents to help you.
I want to use the Baltimore
Catechism but my pastor says I must
use the new Catechism of the Catholic
Church if I want to teach my children
at home. How should I respond?
I donít know of any parish school
or CCD classes that are using the 800
page small print new Catechism with
children. They are using childrenís
catechism series published by four
main publishers, which were
evaluated and criticized by Msgr.
Wrenn, of the religious education
department
under
Cardinal
OíConnor, in his book Catechisms
and Controversies. A recent report by
Bishop Buechlein and Bishop Schulte
to the Bishopís conference is
questioning
the
doctrinal
presentations in these mainline
catechism series.
It is important to know your
rights as a parent in educating your
children [see the next question]. You
have the right to use any means that
is in keeping with the doctrine of the
Church, the moral law, and your
particular situation. The Baltimore
Catechism and the materials associated
with it all have been approved by
bishops in the past. How could such
materials suddenly no longer be
acceptable?
Tell your pastor that you have no
quarrel with the new Catechism, but
it is not meant, as he also knows, as an
elementary textbook or catechism.
Explain that you do not want to use
new materials from mainline
catechetical publishers, even if they
are allegedly based on the new
Catechism, because you cannot trust
them to give solid doctrine and an
accurate interpretation of the new
Catechism. Not only are these recent
catechetical
materials
being
questioned by Bishop Buechlein and
Bishop Schulte, but these materials
have been used for the past thirty
years and, according to Msgr. Wrenn
in Catechisms and Controversies,
Catholic children donít even know
the vocabulary of the Faith much less
the doctrines.
Explain to your pastor that you
cannot understand why parents
cannot use a time-tested catechism
that had been approved by the bishops
of the United States and used widely
for almost 100 years. Tell your pastor
that many Catholics fondly remember
the Baltimore Catechism. When the
Baltimore Catechism was used in a
Catholic school and a student came
from a devout family, it almost always
had a positive effect. Where parents
do not pray daily and do not show
that faith is more than a social routine,
where parents do not talk positively
about Catholic things in the home,
no program or text is going to work in
producing a knowledgeable practicing
Catholic.
September 1997
The Catholic Faith is not like
teaching medicine or science. Those
fields have continual advances in
knowledge and skills; therefore,
medical and scientific texts must be
subject to continual updating.
However, the doctrines of the
Catholic Faith do not change like that
at all. At most, there are
ìdevelopmentsî of doctrine, but they
occur very slowly, and they have little
to do with the basics of the Faith: the
Creed, the Sacraments, the
Commandments, and Prayer, which
is the concern of the Baltimore
Catechism. While there are issues in
the new Catechism which are not
treated in the Baltimore Catechism,
most if not all of them would not be
taught on the elementary level of
catechesis anyway.
Donít forget that the Church
teaching is that the pastor has the
responsibility and the right to ask the
children questions to see if the child is
learning Catholic teachings. But the
parents have the right and
responsibility to choose the materials
and to do the actual teaching.
By the way, new Catechism
references will be used in the lesson
plans for our new series for parents to
incorporate as appropriate, and it is the
text in our college program. We also
recommend the catechism in use for the
past 500 years,Catechism of the Council
of Trent. Cardinal Arinze from the
Vatican has produced the Apostolate
for Family Consecrationís excellent new
catechism, and of course Father John
Hardon wrote superior catechism.
What do I do when the local
bishop has ìmandatedî that my
children attend the parish CCD classes
or he will not allow them to receive
their First Communion or
Confirmation?
It is most important to be
informed. Understand your rights as
well as your responsibilities. Once
you understand that it is your right to
educate your children as you think is
Seton Home Study School - 3
best, and that the pastor has the right
to evaluate your children to make
sure that they are properly prepared
for the sacrament, then you may choose
to fulfill your rights and obligations
yourself, or you may choose to send
your child to the CCD classes. You may
want to find out however, if the classes
contain sex education or ìfamily lifeî or
ìchastityî programs. This is the main
objection home schoolers have about
the CCD classes.
For specific details about the
church teachings on parentsí rights
and responsibilities in the area of
education, please read chapters three
and four inCatholic Home Schooling.
For further information, read the
booklet by canon lawyer Edward N.
Peters titled Home Schooling and the
New Code of Canon Law.
The sections of the Code of Canon
Law are 835.4 [parents and the role of
parents in the sanctifying mission of the
church]; 1136 [parentsí rights and duty
in religious education; all encompassing
nature, including moral and religious];
226.1 [the marriage vocation to educate
and the mission of the church]; 226.2
[ parentsí obligations and rights
regarding Christian education]; 793.1
[parentís rights to select those means
by which they can better provide a
Catholic education].
Other canon law sections: 1366
[penalty & censure if educated in
non-Catholic religion]; 774.2
[catechetical instruction; the
importance of forming a child by
word and example]; 804.1 [bishopís
responsibility to provide religious
education; parentsí role follows
natural law, yet ecclesial, that is,
parentsí role in educating their children
is part of the mission of the church;
parentsí role is a canonically-recognized
right, though content can be subject
to legitimate church supervision].
Further sections: 827.2 [texts in
schools must be approved; Since it is a
canon law policy to strictly interpret
meaning when restricting fundamental
natural-law rights, this cannot be
applied to parentsí texts; parental
religious education is by right, schools
religious education is by deputation];
914 [duty of parents to see that their
child is properly prepared to receive
the Holy Eucharist; pastors also but
parents educate, pastors evaluate];
774.2 [pastors are to promote parentsí
to take the responsibility]; 779 [ìall
involved in religious educationî are
to make use of any method they
consider appropriate]; 529.1: church
officials should support parents in
their proper role].
The Canon laws are based on the
following sections in the Second
Vatican Council: Declaration on
Christian Education; Pastoral
Constitution on the Church;
Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church; Declaration on Religious
Liberty; and Decree on the Apostolate
of the Laity.
And also check out the Introduction
to the Rite of Confirmation. And Pope
Paul VIís Decalogue of Prayer, in which
he says that parents are religion teachers.
Also read Letter to Families by Pope
John Paul II in which he declares that
parents are educators because they are
parents [parentsí fundamental role as
parents is to educate their children in
moral and religious life]. Also read
ìAddress to a group of American Bishops
in AD LIMINA visitî by Pope Paul VI
[[which can be downloaded from the
Holy See Website]]. This pope
proclaimed very strongly about the
importance of the family in transforming
the world and building up the kingdom
of God specifically because of its role in
educating the children.
And last but not least read The
Truth and Meaning of Human
Sexuality (Guidelines for Education
within the Family), paragraph 23
[principle of subsidiarity]; Chapter
IV: Father & Mother as Educators;
Chapter V: Paths of Formation within
the Family; Chapter VI: Learning
Stages [ìthe family is the best
environment to accomplish the
obligation of securing a gradual
education in sexual life]. Chapter VII:
Practical Guidelines.
Seton Home Study School - 4
DC Schools Again
The troubles with the DC public
schools simply will not go away. For
the third time in four years, the date
of the beginning of the school year
had to be pushed back due to safety
violations. This time the entire system
has been shut down until September
22nd in order to fix fire code violations
and roof problems.
Just last year, the Washington Post
detailed many of the problems that are
endemic in the DC schools. Many of
these problems have been around for
years and years and show few if any
signs of improvement. One might
question whether there is any real
possibility that a system as far in decay
as the DC schools can be saved at all.
Against this backdrop, Sen. Dan
Coats and Rep. Dick Armey are
promoting a bill in Congress which
would permit low-income District
parents to send their children to
schools of their own choice. School
choice in the District of Columbia is
favored by just about everybody in
DC, including Sterling Tucker, the
head of the D.C. City Council.
However, Bill Clinton is opposed, so
the plan is probably dead.
Mr.
Clinton may believe that it takes a
village to raise a child, but apparently
the wishes of the childís parents are
irrelevant to the equation.
September 1997
for $320.00 and 2 grams to Billy for
$85.00 per gram. What is the street
value of the balance of the cocaine it
he doesnít cut it?î Another problem
asks, ìJohnny has an AK47 with an
80 round clip. If he misses 6 out of 10
shots and shoots 13 times at each
drive-by shooting, how many driveby shootings can he attempt before
he has to reload?î
The Dallas Morning News (8/20/
97) reports that such word problems
have been making their way around the
country and have been reported in
Illinois, Indiana, California and other
states. Some of the teachers apparently
thought that the problems were funny,
but several students and their parents
were not amused.
Modern Math
In math books,word problems
can promote good or bad ideas. At
Seton, in some grades, we have written
word problems reflecting our Catholic
home schooling family life.
Transpose this to the public
schools, where teachers try to make
math relevant to students who may
come from less than wonderful
backgrounds. When this happens,
you donít get strange math problems,
you get downright bizarre problems.
Six math teachers in Lancaster, Texas,
were recently suspended when they
gave math problems to their students
that dealt with such topics as sex,
violence, and drugs.
A sample drug-based problem
goes like this, ìJose has two ounces of
cocaine and he sells an 8 ball to Jackson
Marriage Laws
There has been some talk lately
about whether states ought to do away
with no-fault divorce and go back to a
system where one party must prove
fault. The question is really two part.
One question is whether a state should
revert to a fault system for everyone.
The other is whether a state should
allow people to choose what type of
marriage they want: a (reasonably)
permanent marriage that can be
dissolved only for specific reasons, or a
no-fault divorce that can be terminated
by either party for any reason at any time.
Louisiana has decided that they
will offer two types of marriage
licenses. The old no-fault system will
still be available. However, for those
who wish to have a more permanent
marriage, the ìcovenantî marriage will
be available as well. The idea of
covenant marriage seems popular, at
least in the legislature, where it passed
by a vote of 98-0.
According to the new law in
Louisiana, ìA covenant marriage is a
marriage entered into by one male and
one female who understand and agree
that the marriage between them is a
lifelong relationship. Parties to a
covenant marriage have received
counseling emphasizing the nature and
purposes of marriage and the
responsibilities thereto. Only when
there has been a complete and total
breach of the marital covenant
commitment may the non-breaching
party seek a declaration that the marriage
is no longer legally recognized.î
The parties to the covenant
marriage take the following oath, ìWe
do solemnly declare that marriage is a
covenant between a man and a woman
who agree to live together as husband
and wife for so long as they both may
live. We have chosen each other
carefully and disclosed to one another
everything which could adversely
affect the decision to enter into this
marriage. We have received premarital
counseling on the nature, purposes,
and responsibilities of marriage. We
have read the Covenant Marriage Act,
and we understand that a Covenant
Marriage is for life. If we experience
martial difficulties, we commit
ourselves to take all reasonable efforts
to preserve our marriage, including
marital counseling.
With full
knowledge of what this commitment
means, we do hereby declare that our
marriage will be bound by Louisiana
law on Covenant Marriages and we
promise to love, honor, and care for
one another as husband and wife for
the rest of our lives.î
This is an attempt to hold couples
together without reference to God. It
takes three to make a marriage, and
without God, no promises to a secular
state will guarantee fidelity.
Seton Home Study School - 6
September 1997
Seton on the Internet
Some parents have asked if we
have a Web Site, what does it have to
offer, and should they invest in getting
an Internet Connection to visit Setonís
Web Site and other Web Sites.
First, children need to learn about
the advanced technology that they will
need in their future careers. Whatever
vocation or profession they enter,
computers, the internet, and web sites
are an integral part of skills needed for
future careers.
relation to methods of education, so we
need to think about alternatives in ways
to locate information. The Internet
makes it possible to find exactly what
you are looking for in literally seconds
or minutes at the longest, from sources
anywhere in the world.
The Seton Web Site provides an
abundance of information about Seton,
equivalent to several hundred pages of
information. Pages include not only
introductory information, but a history
We recommend that you
invest in whatever technology
you can afford to give your
children the information they
will need to be competitive with
future careers.
The Web Site includes
photos of our new Setonpublished books, and soon
will include sample pages.
A ìHot Newsî section is
meant to give information
about Seton as well as current
news about the Catholic home
schooling movement. At the
moment, we have reprinted
the article on reception of the
sacraments, and soon will have
the specific ìguidelinesî for
each diocese as we receive
them from parents. In
addition, we plan to add a
variety of references to help
parents regarding their rights
and responsibilities for the education of
their children. References will be from
the Scripture, Canon Law, Second
Vatican Council, and other Church
documents.
Secondly, the advanced
technology can help you and your
family immediately. The use of
computers help students to do
their work not only more
accurately but with more quality
of appearance which gives
students pride in their work and
helps them to be motivated to do
longer and more creative and
complex assignments.
The Internet can provide information
which is not only updated but of a variety
of resources that are not available in local
public libraries. The facilities of the
New York public library, the Cleveland
Public Library, and private libraries such
as the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library are
available on the Internet. From this last
Web Site, I was able to print out a chart
of the major conferences of World War
II showing the places, dates, code names,
main participants, and major decisions.
catalog with prices, a resources section
which lists Catholic and Protestant home
schooling state organizations & Catholic
home schooling newsletters. In fact, our
Seton newsletters for the past two years are
available for reading and downloading.
The resources section also provides links
to The Catholic League for Religious and
Civil Rights, Home School Legal Defense
Association, Catholic City, The Holy See,
and Christus Rex, as well as our favorite
apostolates here in Front Royal:
Christendom College, Human Life
International, and Guardian Investments
[pro-life investing].
It is important that students learn to
use the normal book reference materials
found in the local library, but with the
incredible amount of knowledge and
information now available throughout
the world, no one library building can
contain it all.
of Seton, a tour of the Seton departments,
curriculum information, complete list
of our textbooks for grade school and
high school, information about enrolling
from the Admission Department, our
counselors and their
specialties [we hope to
add their photos soon],
Direct Dial Numbers to Seton
information on our LD
department. We include
We have direct phone numbers available
information about our
for the counseling and admissions
conferences including the
schedule of talks within
departments:
the conferences, and
information about nonHigh school English: Mark Gallagher: 540-636-2342
Seton Catholic home
High School Math: Don Valaike: 540-636-1846
schooling conferences, or
History: Bruce Clark: 540-636-6870, Extension 122
conferences which might
Grade school English: Charlie Bak: 540-636-1755
be of interest to home
Motivation, discipline: Janet Hartley: 540-636-1946
schoolers.
Just as we need to think about
alternatives, such as home schooling in
Also included is our
whole educational media
Testing; SAT & ACT; College: Bob Wiesner: 540-636-2238
Admissions, Enrolling: 540-636-2039
September 1997
Seton
Notes
and
News
Conferences
Information about Seton
conferences is sent by mail to home
schoolers on our mailing list in the
state, and usually to surrounding
states as well. Information also
appears on our Web Site.
Conferences include talks as well as
the sale of Seton textbooks. If your
support group is interested in a Seton
conference, either a half-day or a full
day, or if you are interested in having
Dr. Clark at your own conference,
please call Mary Lou Warren at Seton
to make arrangements.
Seton Conferences:
San Antonio, TX, Jan. 31, 1998;
St. John Neumann Church.
San Jose, CA, Feb. 28, 1998;
location to be announced.
Columbus, OH, March 28, 1998;
St. Patrickís Church.
The Seton Home Study
Newsletter
is published monthly by
Seton Home Study School
1350 Progress Dr.
Front Royal, VA 22630
Phone: (540) 636-9990
Fax Machine: (540) 636-1602
Internet: www.setonhome.org
E-Mail: info@SetonHome.org
Subscription price for non-enrolled
families is $15 per year.
Executive Editor:
Dr. Mary Kay Clark, Ph.D.
Editor:
Kevin Clark
Seton Home Study School - 7
Other Conferences:
Boston, MA: Oct. 9 to 13,
Christian Home School Leadership Conf.
Tampa, FL: Nov. 7 to 9,
Catholic Home Educators Leadership Conf.
Orlando, FL: April 25:
Florida Catholic Home Educators Conf.
Harrisburg, PA: April 25:
Catholic Home Schoolers of PA Conf.;
Home Name of Jesus Church.
Short Takes
Sending tests or student work:
Please send these separately from books
being returned. Papers may not get to
the grading department in a timely
manner if they are mixed in with books.
Pastors have the primary
responsibility for evaluating childrenís
preparation for the sacraments,Parents
have the primary responsibility for
educating for the sacraments.
Perfect SAT Score by Seton Student
Raymond F. Hain. Raymond earned the
Eagle Scout Award and is recognized as a
member in good standing by the National
Eagle Scout Association. He received a
Certificate of Merit in recognition of
outstanding achievement as an Eagle Scout,
and received letters of congratulations from
members of the legislature of Alabama and of
the U. S. Sentate.
Raymond
has written
numerous
articles,
especially
book reviews,
in his local
newspaper,
The Decatur
Daily. He
wrote
a
review for The
Retreatant
magazine on the purpose of the Spiritual
Exercises of St. Ignatius.
We congratulate Raymond Hain
again, and are proud he has been a
student at Seton Home Study School.
Home School Legal Defense
Association Discount for Seton families.
Call Seton with your family enrollment
number to obtain the discount price of
$85 for a yearís coverage with HSLDA.
Homeschooling Today is a
Christian, not Catholic, magazine which
has been published for Protestants for
the past several years. Advertising
literature has recently been sent to Catholic
home schoolers. While a few Catholic
names are scattered in the literature,
most are Protestant.
Is Religious Education in America
Catholic Enough? This is the title of an
article appearing in Our Sunday Visitor
on July 27. ìSome of the nationís bishops
are concerned over a report that many
new catechetical materials are doctrinally
deficient.î Archbishop Daniel M.
Buechlein of Indianapolis reported to
his fellow bishops at the spring meeting
of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops that ìwe have discovered [sic] a
number of doctrinal deficiencies
common to manyî catechisms. He
reported ten areas in which there are
deficiencies. 1) Insufficient attention to
the Trinity. 2) Insufficient emphasis on
the divinity of Christ. 3) Indistinct
treatment of Catholic beliefs and
magisterial teachings. 4) The impression
that man is the first principle and final
end of his own existence. 5) God appears
subordinate to human experience and
human action. 6) Insufficient recognition
of grace. 7) Inadequate presentation of
the sacraments. 8) Deficient teaching
on Original Sin and sin in general. 9)
Meager exposition of Christian moral
life. 10) Negative lack of emphasis on
eternal kingdom of God, positive
emphasis on this world.
Archbishop Schulte of New Orleans
said that the deficiencies are ìextensive
and very serious.î
The Custer Legacy, a clean fun
book of adventure and Americana, of
mystery and Catholic heroes, of real
cowboys and Indians, written by our
Seton historian Bruce T. Clark, 600
pages selling for $25 from Seton. Buy
one for a birthday present!
Seton Home Study School - 8
September 1997
Family Education
As it is the parents who have given life to their
children, on them lies the gravest obligation of
educating their family. They must therefore be
recognized as being primarily and principally
responsible for their education. The role of parents
in education is of such importance that it is almost
impossible to provide an adequate substitute. It is
therefore the duty of parents to create a family
atmosphere inspired by love and devotion to God
and their fellow-men which will promote an
integrated, personal, and social education of their
children.
The family is therefore the principal school of
the social virtues which are necessary to every society.
It is therefore above all in the Christian family,
inspired by the grace and the responsibility of the
sacrament of matrimony, that children should be
taught to know and worship God and to love their
neighbor, in accordance with the faith which they
have received in earliest infancy in the sacrament of
Baptism. In it, also, they will have their first experience
of a well-balanced human society and of the Church.
Finally, it is through the family that they are
gradually initiated into association with their fellowmen in civil life and as members of the people of
God. Parents, should, therefore, appreciate how
important a role the truly Christian family plays in
the life and progress of the whole people of God.
Vatican Council II
Declaration on Christian Education