Love2Learn Moments

#60 No Conflict Between Religion and Science

2009-06-06T18:16:00.002-05:00

God is the author of ALL truth. The same God who is the God of our Faith, the God of the Bible, is the creator of the universe and everything in it. Because of this, there can be no true conflict between faith and reason or between science and religion.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: "Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth... because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God." (#159)

Pope John Paul II had this to say about the relationship between science and religion:

"Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes."

#59 Dangerous vs. Offensive

2009-06-06T18:13:00.002-05:00

Responding to our complex and often problematic culture can be a tough thing for parents! In judging movies, for example, we're often tempted to think that a "clean" movie - one that's free of sex, violence and bad language - is a good movie. Period.

The problem with this is that it's a superficial way of judging something's value. By all means, cleanness can be a good thing, but it's not everything, and we Christians are seriously interested in the "heart of the matter".

I find it helpful to distinguish between "dangerous" and "offensive".

Some things are dangerous AND offensive. These are easy and obvious for us to avoid.

Some things can be offensive, but not dangerous, and will require further discernment to determine whether they're worthwhile.

The most dangerous thing in the end, though, is the thing which is dangerous, but not offensive. It's the sort of thing that can sneak in because we don't even recognize our vulnerability. So don't forget to look below the surface.

#58 Become a Learner

2009-06-06T18:09:00.002-05:00

One of the most valuable things you can do for your children's education is to become a learner yourself, even if it means spending a little less time directly educating your children. This will offer many benefits to you and your family:

Your children will learn from what you learn - even in the casual format of dinner table conversations about what you're learning.

You'll show them how much you value education and help them see that it's not just something for school age kids.

It will help you become more enthusiastic about learning in general and their learning in particular. Enthusiasm is contagious! And they will enjoy learning more if they do it with you.

It helps to build a learning environment. For example, if you're reading instead of watching the news or listening to the radio, your house will be quieter and more inviting for others to study in.

The Catechism says: "One is entitled to think that the future of humanity is in the hands of those who are capable of providing the generations to come with reasons for life and optimism." (1917)

#57 Be Not Afraid!

2009-06-06T18:06:00.001-05:00

Confidence in the faith is a joyful and contagious thing. It helps us get through tough times in which we are overcome by fear of the world and its evils. We need to prepare our children to go out and reclaim our culture. But how can we do this in the face of the threats that face us and them?

Cardinal Ratzinger suggests that we need to cultivate the virtue of hope...

To have Christian hope means to know about evil and yet to go out to meet the future with confidence. The core of faith rests upon accepting being loved by God, and therefore to believe is to say Yes, not only to him, but to creation, to creatures, above all, to men, to try to see the image of God in each person and thereby to become a lover. That's not easy, but the basic Yes, the conviction that God has created men, that he stands behind them, that they aren't simply negative, gives love a reference point that enables it to ground hope on the basis of faith.

(Salt of the Earth)

#56 Unleashing the Christmas Spirit

2008-12-18T09:50:00.002-06:00

Christmas is a perfect time to "unleash" the joy of Christianity and to share it with others who can't help but be affected by it. We can share this joy with our children and others even through the simplest traditions of Christmas.

Cardinal Ratzinger said:

Even a custom like Christmas baking ... has its roots in the Church's Advent liturgy, which makes its own the glorious words of the Old Testament... 'In that day, the mountains will drip with sweetness, and the rivers will flow with milk and honey.' People of old found in such words the embodiment of their hopes for a world redeemed....

Perhaps the right way to celebrate Advent is to let the signs of God's love that we receive in this period penetrate our soul, without resistance, without questions and quibbling. Warmed by these signs, we can then receive in full confidence the immeasurable kindess of this child.

...

(Quoted from The Blessing of Christmas by Cardinal Ratzinger, Ignatius Press)

#55 Curriculum Overload

2008-12-18T09:46:00.003-06:00

One aspect of homeschooling that many seasoned mothers will caution you about is getting carried away in purchasing curriculum for your children. It's easy to overestimate the importance of the books themselves in your children's education and spend too much money and waste too much time and energy trying to find the perfect fit. The fact is that there won't be a perfect fit.

I thought this quote from Gretchen Rubin, writing in Real Simple magazine, made a useful distinction about how we choose things...

There are two types of decision makers. Satisficers... make a decision once their criteria are met. Maximizers want to make the best possible decision. Even if they see a bicycle of a backpack that meets their requirements, they can't make a decision until they've examined every option. Satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers. Maximizers expend more time and energy reaching decisions, and they're often anxious about their choices. Sometimes good enough is good enough.

#54 Go Out and Teach All Nations

2008-12-18T09:41:00.002-06:00

As Christians, we are called to do our (albeit generally small) part in going out to teach all nations and Catholic education is very much concerned with preparing children to go out and do just that!

Archbishop Chaput had this to say:

'Go, make disciples of all nations' was the last command Jesus gave to us before returning to His Father. It's a big one. How can simple people like us convert the world? That brings us back to Mary, and to the apostles at Pentecost. They changed the world by letting God change them and work through them. We don't need to be afraid. We need to be confident in the promise made by Christ Himself: 'I am with you always, to the close of the age.'

Don't be afraid of the world. The Holy Spirit is on your side. Charles Spurgeon once said, 'The way you defend the Bible is the same way you defend a lion. You just let it loose.'

Quoted from Living the Catholic Faith: Discovering the Basics by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver.

#53 Challenges of the Teacher

2008-12-18T09:38:00.003-06:00

In education, the role of the teacher in guiding children and helping them draw out ideas and connect them with other ideas is generally more important than the materials used. A good teacher can help her students learn the truth even from a messy or problematic book. My mom once taught a CCD class in which she was "required" to teach with some problematic materials. Apparently it didn't phase her at all. She simply explained the materials in that book and followed it up with what the Church actually teaches.

Teaching is always going to require a certain amount of creativity and making distinctions on the fly. After all, even with the most ideal curricula, children will ask difficult and challenging questions. While this challenge may seem intimidating, humility and faithfulness will get you through. Work on learning how to learn and developing the Christian attitudes necessary for leading your children to the truth. With God's grace, these little things will go a long way.

Cultivation (#52)

2008-08-11T20:48:00.001-05:00

There are certain aspects of education, like initiative, diligence, enthusiasm, humility, self-motivation and a love of learning, that need to be cultivated rather than taught. Keep in mind that cultivating often means simply preserving by not disrupting or losing patience with good things.

Here are some ways to be a good cultivator - to be used in the right season; and within reason, of course:

Foster initiative, even though it can be messy or disruptive.

Model good attitudes and virtues.

Allow small children to help you when they ask – even if they aren’t *very* helpful.

Provide children with opportunities for success - especially if they are struggling with something.

Beware of unreasonable expectations.

Avoid condescending materials and attitudes.

Remember that patience is a key virtue in this regard and, finally, don't forget to ask for God’s grace!

The Balance Between Formation and Information (#51)

2008-08-11T20:46:00.002-05:00

Though a solid educational philosophy requires an appropriate balance between formation - or who we become through education - and information - or what we actually learn, it is sometimes tempting to abandon one for the sake of the other. This is a serious mistake! Cardinal Ratzinger explains how this error led to the collapse of religious education in recent years:

“What is our catechesis doing? What is our school system doing at a time when religious instruction is widespread? I think that it was an error not to pass on more content. Our religion instructors rightly repudiated the idea that religious instruction is only information, and they rightly said that it is something else, that it is more, that the point is to learn life itself, that more has to be conveyed. But that led to the attempt to make people like this style of life, while information and content were neglected.” (Cardinal Ratzinger, Salt of the Earth)

Docility (#50)

2008-08-11T20:44:00.001-05:00

In his book Authenticity, Fr. Thomas Dubay explains the traditional intellectual virtue of docility: “We are to welcome instruction, yes. But this is not enough. We are to welcome correction as well, being told that we are wrong. This is living the virtue of docility.

As the word indicates, docility is the capacity to learn, a willingness to be taught. One is docile when he recognizes his own lack of information and expertise, on the one hand, and the superior knowledge and skills of his teacher, on the other. In this context a synonym more acceptable to modern ears is receptivity…

Like other moral virtues, docility lies in a mean between two extremes. One extreme is the more or less arrogant refusal to accept the thoughts of another. The other is an exaggerated credulity that has lost a sense of proper discrimination and healthy criticism.”

What Students Need (#49)

2008-08-11T20:42:00.001-05:00

Fr. James Schall had the following to say about what qualities are necessary in a student in order to learn…

“...To be a student requires a certain modicum of humility.

Yet to be a student also requires a certain amount of faith in oneself, a certain self-insight that makes a person realize that he can learn something that seems unlearnable in the beginning. This trust in the teacher also implies that the student, if he has trouble understanding, makes this known to the teacher… A student does a teacher a favor by saying, "I do not understand this". But the student should first really try to understand before speaking. To quote Augustine again, students should ‘consider within themselves whether what has been explained has been said truly.’

The student ought to have the virtue of docility. He owes the teacher his capacity of being taught. We must allow ourselves to be taught. We can actually refuse this openness of our own free wills.” (Fr. James Schall, Another Sort of Learning)

One Who Has Hope Lives Differently (#48)

2008-04-28T17:03:00.003-05:00

As Catholics, our lives and priorities will be ordered in a different way than if we had no faith. This is a defining difference when it comes to education because, not only does it give a good example to our children, but it also prepares us to make everyday decisions about our children's education.

Here's what our Holy Father had to say in his encyclical on hope:

Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well. So now we can say: Christianity was not only "good news" - the communication of a hitherto unknown content. In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only "informative" but "performative." That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known - it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.

Suffering and Hope (#47)

2008-04-28T16:59:00.002-05:00

It's natural to want to avoid pain, but there's a good reason why we say, "No pain, no gain." In the same way that we don't ban bicycles because children might get hurt, we don't shelter ourselves from love and friendship just because they involve the risk of hurt and disappointment. Pope Benedict XVI said:

We can try to limit suffering, to fight against it, but we cannot eliminate it. It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love and goodness, that we drift into a life of emptiness, in which there may be almost no pain, but the dark sensation of meaninglessness and abandonment is all the greater. It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it, and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love. (Spe Salvi)

The Strength of Beauty (#46)

2008-04-28T16:55:00.001-05:00

I love finding wisdom that helps illuminate the positive ways in which we can counter-act the problems in our culture today. Here's what Cardinal Ratzinger had to say about the power that beauty has in drawing us away from what is opposed to God:

Thomas says that through the praise of God man ascends to God. Praise itself is a movement, a path; it is more than understanding, knowing and doing - it is an "ascent", a way of reaching him who dwells amid the praises of the angels. Thomas mentioned another factor: this ascent draws man away from what is opposed to God. Anyone who has ever experienced the transforming power of great liturgy, great art, great music, will know this. Thomas adds that the sound of musical praise leads us and others to a sense of reverence. It awakens the inner man... (Feast of Faith: Approaches to a Theology of the Liturgy)

Certitude and the Saints (#45)

2008-04-28T16:50:00.004-05:00

In his recent encyclical on hope, Pope Benedict XVI explained that:

...in truly great trials, where I must make a definitive decision to place the truth before my own welfare, career, and possessions, I need the certitude of that true, great hope of which we have spoken here. For this too we need witnesses - martyrs - who have given themselves totally, so as to show us the way - day after day. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day - know that this is how we live life to the full;... the capacity to suffer for the sake of truth is the measure of humanity. Yet this capacity to suffer depends on the type and extent of the hope that we bear within us and build upon. The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done before them, because they were brimming with great hope.

God's Saving Pedagogy (#44)

2008-04-28T16:46:00.002-05:00

Pope John Paul II explained in his Letter to Families that:

...experience shows what an important role is played by a family living in accordance with the moral norm, so that the individual born and raised in it will be able to set out without hesitation on the road of the good, which is always written in his heart.

This is another great reminder of what a powerful impact that "Who we are" has upon the education of our children - especially in the long term. The Holy Father further elaborated:

Through Christ all education, within the family and outside of it, becomes part of God's own saving pedagogy, which is addressed to individuals and families and culminates in the paschal mystery of the Lord's death and resurrection. The "heart" of our redemption is the starting point of every process of Christian education, which is likewise always an education to a full humanity.

Lent for Families (#43)

2008-02-22T07:44:00.002-06:00

The season of Lent can be a wonderful time for families to grow closer to each other and to Christ. Here are a few simple ideas that we use in our own family.

Place pictures of the Stations of the Cross around your house. Show your children how to walk their wayu around and identify each station, followed by a prayer or a song verse.

When your child makes a sacrifice or does a good deed, have them place a dry bean in a jar. This can be a great way to encourage them to help out a younger sibling or volunteer to do a chore. At Easter, you can replace the dry beans with colorful jelly beans to symbolize how Jesus takes our small sacrifices and makes them into something much better.

Finally, work on a spirit of generosity and simplicity. Eat simpler and donate the money saved to the needy. It's also a great time to donate toys, books and clothing to those in need.

It's All in the Presentation (#42)

2008-02-22T07:42:00.001-06:00

It’s amazing how different children are from each other – even siblings being raised and educated by the same parents are astoundingly different. This fact is particularly obvious when they learn a subject like Math.

Some children take to a Math book like a duck to water. Just give them a quiet space, answer their questions, and they’re doing great. Others do much better when a new topic is presented for them out loud, like in a classroom setting.

Some simply find math to be tedious and work better when they are allowed to reward themselves with a little break after so many problems.

Some have to work their way carefully through every single problem math problem before they grasp a concept, while others get bogged down by problems that are too easy – they’re happier when they have something they can sink their teeth into.

Younger children sometimes have a hard time working on math in only an abstract way and absorb the material easier when they can “play” their way through the problems and then go back to working on them in a written format.

The Delight of Simplicity (#41)

2008-02-22T07:40:00.003-06:00

One night, my six year old daughter was playing with a wooden tower toy that had a ramp for little cars to roll down. Though she couldn’t find the cars, she did find a handful of dice and discovered that they slid down the ramp in a satisfying way.

Trouble soon came in the form of her four year old brother, who wanted to play too. They were soon squabbling quite loudly over who had how many dice and who took whose dice from whom. The chaos was rather aggravating and I promptly took away all of the dice except one for each of them and braced myself for the protests that were sure to follow.

But they never came. The change was like a light switch – all they really needed was just one each and the room was suddenly filled with giggles and squeals of delight as they took turns with the toy.

Not all of our family squabbles end so easily, but it was a great illustration for me of the beauty and delight of simplicity.

Colorful Learning for All Ages (#40)

2008-02-22T07:39:00.003-06:00

When the Vatican Collection went on display a few years ago, we visited the exhibit with a wonderful docent who knew all kinds of stories and symbolism behind the artifacts and really made the exhibit come alive. She was obviously well-read and when she started explaining a piece, she generally captured the attention of all those in the room. I was amazed and delighted to discover that when people asked her where to learn more about these things, she suggested that they turn to children's books.

What a wonderful idea! There are loads of beautiful picture books, simple biographies and even coloring books available today that adults and children can learn from together. If you're just starting out homeschooling your very young children, this is a great place to start. Children have a great capacity to enjoy such stories which gently introduce them to the realms of history, science, religion and much more.

For those with a broad age range, match some of these fun books up with your older children’s school studies and let everyone get involved!

Break the Conventions, Keep the Commandments (#39)

2008-02-22T07:37:00.003-06:00

I find that in balancing my obligations as a homeschool mother, I need to make distinctions between what I can be flexible and open about and what is non-negotiable.

Not only do such distinctions relieve stress when things don't go as planned (and in a family this is a common occurrence!), but they also free me to give my children the chance to make some choices in their day and in their education - which can be a good thing for both of us!

G. K. Chesterton offers a helpful and humorous perspective:

"A man's minor actions and arrangements ought to be free, flexible, creative; the things that should be unchangeable are his principles, his ideals. But with us, the reverse is true; our views change constantly, but our lunch does not change. Now, I should like men to have strong and rooted conceptions, but as for their lunch, let them have it sometimes in the garden, sometimes in bed, sometimes on the roof, sometimes in the top of a tree. Let them argue from the same first principles, but let them do it in a bed, or a boat or a balloon."

Helping Your Children Love Learning (#38)

2008-02-22T07:37:00.001-06:00

There's nothing quite like the interest and involvement of parents to help motivate children to WANT to learn. Here are a few ideas to try out with your own families.

Go outside and look at the stars together. Learn the names of a few of the constellations.

Children love "real" things. Let them help you with real jobs and house projects.

Take them to the beach, forest, pond or desert and have everyone draw pictures of what they find.

Spend time with other families who love learning.

Pop a batch of popcorn and sit down to a family read-aloud.

Plan ahead for an art museum trip by introducing each child to a beautiful painting they can search for once you arrive.

Go on an adventure walk in your own neighborhood. Bring water bottles and magnifying glasses!

Choose a country and find recipes native to that place. Invite several friends to do the same, and get together for a day of ethnic cooking.

Most importantly, let your children see that you love learning too.

History and Hope (#37)

2007-12-10T16:32:00.000-06:00

We know that life experience tends to develop wisdom. History allows us to tap into the "life experience" of humanity even as we would listen to and learn from the wisdom of a grandparent or older friend.

Studying history provides perspective in understanding the world today. Those who don't study history can conclude that things used to be great but that it's all a hopeless mess now. This overly-pessimistic attitude often leads to a sense of complacency rather than a willingness to cooperate in our own small way with God's plan. The truth is that mankind has battled with (and sometimes lost to) great evil since the Fall.

History helps us to avoid the mistakes of others, to recognize errors in thinking that are not-at-all-new and to have real hope that God raises up ordinary men and women in every generation to be saints and heroes who work to counteract evil and help bring God's love to the world.

Old and New (#36)

2007-12-10T16:28:00.000-06:00

Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical On Christian Education, helps us connect our studies of today with what we have received from our Catholic heritage:

These noble traditions of the past require that the youth committed to Catholic schools be fully instructed in the letters and sciences in accordance with the exigencies of the times. They also demand that the doctrine imparted be deep and solid, especially in sound philosophy, avoiding the muddled superficiality of those "who perhaps would have found the necessary, had they not gone in search of the superfluous." In this connection Christian teachers should keep in mind what Leo XIII says...:
"Greater stress must be laid on the employment of apt and solid methods of teaching, and... on bringing into full conformity with the Catholic faith, what is taught in literature, in the sciences, and above all in philosophy, on which depends in great part the right orientation of the other branches of knowledge."

Some Qualities of a Good Catholic School (#35)

2007-12-10T16:24:00.000-06:00

Pope Pius XI speaks to us across the ages in his 1939 encyclical On Christian Education in which he describes some of the qualities of a good Catholic school:

In such a school... the study of the vernacular and of classical literature will do no damage to moral virtue. There the Christian teacher will imitate the bee, which takes the choicest part of the flower and leaves the rest, as St. Basil teaches in his discourse to youths on the study of the classics. Nor will this necessary caution... in any way hinder the Christian teacher from gathering and turning to profit, whatever there is of real worth in the systems and methods of our modern times, mindful of the Apostle's advice: "Prove all things: hold fast that which is good." Hence in accepting the new, he will not hastily abandon the old, which the experience of the centuries has found expedient and profitable.

Education and the Faith (#34)

2007-12-10T16:21:00.000-06:00

This powerful quote from Orestes Brownson is particularly poignant in recognizing the value of the whole of education in relation to our Faith. It also challenges us to not simply isolate ourselves from the world in fear, but allow for a reasonable amount of exposure in order to challenge and strengthen our children for the difficulties they will face some day.

"No amount of pious training or pious culture will protect the faithful, or preserve them from contamination of the age, if they are left inferior to non-Catholics in secular learning and intellectual development. The faithful must be guarded and protected by being trained and disciplined to grapple with the false systems of the age... They must be better armed than their opponents - surpass them in the strength and vigor of their minds, and in the extent and variety of their knowledge. They must, on all occasions, and against all adversaries, be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them."

Love of Learning (#33)

2007-12-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

One thing I've discovered in homeschooling my own children is that there are many things that children love to learn about when they are introduced to it in a gentle way, without pressure or expectations and at a surprisingly young age.

A great example of this is poetry. Poetry with beautiful, expressive language has a great power to delight children years before they will understand it - particularly when it's read aloud.

Andrew Pudewa has explained that appreciation for and even memorization of poetry helps children develop a sense of language that is an excellent preparation for writing later on.

Here are a few authors to get your started: Robert Louis Stevenson, G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Longer poems - like Longfellow's Evangeline - are fun to read aloud as a family. Shorter ones - like those in A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson - are great choices for children to memorize for a special recitation.

Developing Your Skeptometer (#32)

2007-12-10T16:14:00.000-06:00

One of the most important things our children will need when they leave home and go off into the world is what I like to call a "skeptometer"* - the ability to filter and weigh information without automatically accepting and absorbing it.

It is a task uniquely suited to parents - and a particularly good task for fathers - to help their children develop this skill. It's not hard to find material to consider and discuss. With young children, we talk about commercials and advertising and what the company is trying to sell us. Great literature, newspaper articles, popular movies and televised political debates are all good opportunities for discussion with older children. This generally doesn't require extra planning - often just including your children in things that you're already interested in.

These discussions can also inspire parents to learn more in order to help their children find the answers without arrogance or presumption.

Related Quote:

To train a citizen is to train a critic. The whole point of education is that it should give a man abstract and eternal standards, by which he can judge material and fugitive conditions.

-G.K. Chesterton (All is Grist)

* Note: I have to give credit to my brother-in-law John for introducing me to this term in the first place.

We've Interrupted...

2007-12-06T15:59:00.001-06:00

the somewhat regular flow of posts and new radio spots to finish working on the new love2learn.net site, which should be up by the end of the year. Prayers for amazing all-volunteer team would be most appreciated! Hope to get some new posts up in the next week or so.

UPDATE: Thanks for the prayers! I was able to get *SIX* new moments recorded today - generally I'm only able to pull together two or three at a time. Many thanks!

Love and Education (#31)

2007-10-19T08:23:00.000-05:00

Pope John Paul II said:

The gospel of love is the inexhaustible source of all that nourishes the human family as a "communion of persons." In love the whole educational process finds its support and definitive meaning as the mature fruit of the parents' mutual gift. Through the efforts, sufferings and disappointments which are part of every person's education, love is constantly being put to the test. To pass the test, a source of spiritual strength is necessary. This is only found in the One who "loved to the end". Thus education is fully a part of the "civilization of love." It depends on the civilization of love and, in great measure, contributes to its upbuilding.

The Church's constant prayer... is for the education of man, so that families will persevere in their task of education with courage, trust and hope, in spite of difficulties occasionally so serious as to appear insuperable.

Teaching and Learning (#30)

2007-10-19T08:17:00.000-05:00

One of the most unique aspects of homeschooling, and even parenting in general, is how much parents learn and grow in the process. Pope John Paul II explained this quite succinctly in his 1994 Letter to Families:

Every individual born and raised in a family constitutes a potential treasure which must be responsibly accepted, so that it will not be diminished or lost, but will rather come to an ever more mature humanity. This too, is a process of exchange in which the parents-educators are in turn to a certain degree educated themselves. While they are teachers of humanity for their own children, they learn humanity from them. All this clearly brings out the organic structure of the family, and reveals the fundamental meaning of the fourth commandment.

This implies that humility and docility are needed by both teacher and student because they are, in reality, seeking the truth together.

Attitudes and Actions (#29)

2007-10-01T07:38:00.000-05:00

We live in a society that tends to value people according to how much money they earn. Society tends to devalue people and vocations that fall outside their narrow formula. This can include... the disabled, stay-at-home moms, the poor, priests and religious, the sick, the elderly, and even ... children.

Because our attitudes tend to be shaped by society and our own attitudes in turn play a major role in the formation of our children, it's important to examine and consider how our words and actions reflect what we value most.

For example, being pro-Life includes not only opposing abortion, but also supporting the disabled and seeing Christ in them. Being pro-child and pro-family includes exercising patience with little ones we come across in church or in a restaurant.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

"Parents must regard their children as children of God and respect them as human persons."

Maturity and Protecting Innocence (#28)

2007-09-24T07:35:00.000-05:00

Society has a tendency to frown upon the idea of "sheltering" our children from negative influences. And yet, most people, at least when pressed, would agree that some lines need to be drawn. After all, most would accept that watching a frightening movie, like Jurassic Park, would be detrimental to a two year old!

Maturity is one of the most important factors we need to consider in choosing books and movies for our children. The church distinguishes the first seven years of life as a time in which the child's innocence needs to be protected. After that, distinctions need to be made by parents based on the child's understanding and maturity and the influence a particular book or movie is likely to have on the child.

It is right that teens and adults will read and watch more mature things. Many great films and works of literature wrestle with important and complex concepts like the consequences of sin.

Gratitude (#27)

2007-09-17T07:32:00.000-05:00

Fr. Ronald Knox said: "If ever you have felt, in the contemplation of a sunset or any perfect work of nature or art ... in the thrill of good news or in the passion of first love, that it was really worthwhile being alive - then that moment was a revelation to you, if you had the heart to understand, of what you owe to the Almighty for having created you."

Gratitude is an important part of what we want to cultivate in our families and pass on to our children. We do this by remembering to thank each other, by sharing with those in need, by valuing people over things, by counting our blessings and by worshipping and being thankful to God - particularly at Holy Mass and in saying grace before we eat.

Fostering an environment of gratitude and appreciation within the family also tends to lead to peacefulness and contentment.

Old Books (#26)

2007-09-10T07:29:00.000-05:00

C.S. Lewis said: "Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books."

What does this mean for the education of our own children? Instead of just textbooks - written by modern writers, make room for some of the old greats - and these are great for parents too!

So make room for Shakespeare, for G.K. Chesterton and for Charles Dickens. Make it a priority to read C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien with your children. Hilda Van Stockum and J. Henri Fabre are terrific, and don't neglect the old fairy tales and the old myths.

C.S. Lewis also said: "Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction."

Friendship with the Saints (#25)

2007-09-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

Among the saints children will find friends of every personality, description and race - warriors, princesses, scholars, entertainers and much more. Some had amazing adventures and earned renown through the whole world, others lived quiet lives but handed down great works to future generations. And perhaps the greatest thing is that their help is available just for the asking.

Bishop Robert Finn said:

"Ask God to give you the fervor of St. Albert the Great for science, the joy of St. Cecilia in your music, the diligence of Jerome for translating, and the clarity of St. John in writing. Run and play with St. Don Bosco, debate and persuade with St. Catherine, and fish with Peter himself.

Holy Mary, who taught our Lord...in the school of Nazareth, accompany us on our new school year. St. Joseph, headmaster and guide for the boy Jesus, lead us on a sure and safe path to Him."

Cultivating a Love of the Good (#24)

2007-08-27T20:17:00.000-05:00

Knowledge of the faith is an essential part of a child's education, but knowledge alone does not guarantee virtue or good behavior.

A love of "the good" can be cultivated in numerous ways, such as providing the grace of the sacraments and reading inspiring stories of saints and heroes.

In addition to these, we are powerful role models in our children's lives. We manifest God's love to our children when we provide them with a safe and loving home AND we are compelling models of Christian virtue when we strive to follow Christ in our own lives. This two-fold witness is a beautiful aspect of Christian education. Pope Benedict XVI said:

Especially when it is a matter of educating in faith, the figure of the witness and the role of witnessing is central. A witness of Christ does not merely transmit information but is personally involved with the truth Christ proposes and, through the coherency of his own life, becomes a dependable reference point.

Conversation (#23)

2007-08-20T20:14:00.000-05:00

In her book Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum, Laura Berquist said: "Talk to your children about their academic work. Conversation with you is the most formative part of their intellectual life."

Conversation happens quite naturally within a family setting and has a huge impact on a child's formation. The thinking skills involved in collecting one's thoughts, choosing key points from a story, answering questions or defending a position are well-worth the effort AND they provide excellent preparation for writing.

When we talk with our children about what they're learning, we increase their interest in the subject, we show them in a powerful way that we value their studies, we help them make connections and we often spread interest to other members of the family as well. The dinner table, car rides, special parent-child outings and shared chore times are all great occasions for informal conversation and discussion.

More Isn't Always Better (#22)

2007-08-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

If a child finishes an entire school book on schedule, but remembers little or none of what is studied, he has accomplished very little. It's much better to study less and learn it well.

Here are a few possibilities for adjusting your studies accordingly:

Measure a day's or a week's progress according to effort and time expended upon a subject rather than the number of pages completed.

Don't latch onto formal work at the expense of the informal learning that fills in the cracks and makes formal learning easier and more delightful. For example, a child is read to and talked to and given an initial and very important grasp on the language before he learns formal reading skills.

For a subject like Science or History, split a textbook up into two or three years and study the material in greater depth. Supplement with excellent books and videos, visits to a museum and hands-on projects and experiments.

It's About the Family... (#21)

2007-08-06T19:41:00.000-05:00

Success in homeschooling is intimately tied with a healthy family culture. This doesn't require financial success or parents who are highly educated. Success is truly in reach of everyone. It doesn't require perfection and when we despair over our imperfections we close the path to God. Instead, keep striving for the good even when you make mistakes. The grace of God is essential here!

Here are a few suggestions for parents and families:

Cultivate and model good attitudes, virtues, joy, diligence and enthusiasm.

Learn, pray, work and play together each day.

Help each other discover and develop each other's gifts and talents.

Avoid extremes.

Keep your priorities straight.

Work through challenges and problems together.

Keep on trying and loving even when you make mistakes.

Age Quod Agis (#20)

2007-07-30T19:37:00.000-05:00

Age Quod Agis is an old Latin proverb that means "Do What You Are Doing". I think this concept is both helpful and encouraging to homeschool moms who are trying to move 15 different ways at once - often at the expense of being effective at accomplishing what truly needs to be done.

Fr. Thomas Dubay explained this concept quite beautifully:

Little children live intensely in the present moment, neither in the past nor in the future. As the French writer La Bruyre once put it, 'Children have neither past nor future, but they have something we seldom have - they rejoice in the present.'

This is the child-like trait which the New Testament would have us imitate. Age quod agis - literally, 'do what you are doing' ... The future does not yet exist and the past is gone forever. What we have is the present moment. By it we are fashioning our eternity.

The Importance of Joy (#19)

2007-07-23T19:27:00.000-05:00

According to Cardinal Ratzinger, joy is an important thing in our lives and is often lacking in today's world. He said...

Something I constantly notice is that unembarrassed joy has become rarer. Joy today is increasingly saddled with moral and ideological burdens, so to speak. When someone rejoices, he is afraid of offending against solidarity with the many people who suffer. I don't have any right to rejoice, people think, in a world where there is so much misery, so much injustice...

There is a moral attitude at work here. But this attitude is nonetheless wrong. The loss of joy does not make the world better - and, conversely, refusing joy for the sake of suffering does not help those who suffer. The contrary is true. The world needs people who discover the good, who rejoice in it and thereby derive the impetus and courage to do good.

How Do You Do It All? (#18)

2007-07-16T19:23:00.000-05:00

As an experienced homeschool mom, the question I hear most from people is "How Do you do it all?" The answer, quite simply, is "I don't!" I have taken as my own motto this quote from St. Francis of Assisi: "Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible." There's a certain simplicity in this idea that keeps me from being completely overwhelmed with the demands of family life and home education.

It also connects with a helpful quote from Stephen Covey: "You [should] think effectiveness with people and efficiency with things... I see many parents...frustrated in their desire to accomplish a lot because all they seem to do is meet the needs of little children all day. Remember, frustration is a function of our expectations, and our expectations are often a reflection of the social mirror rather than our own values and priorities."

Diversity of the Saints (#17)

2007-07-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

One of the most beautiful and encouraging sources of reading for me as a mother has been the lives of the saints. Not only do the saints inspire me and show me how God works through people in every age of history, but they help me understand my children better. In the saints we find great diversity of background, personality and accomplishments. My child might drive me crazy at times, but St. Augustine and St. Maximilian Kolbe drove their mothers crazy too! A good reason to hope! Some saints were great scholars, like St. Dominic de Guzman and St. Ignatius of Loyola. Others lived simply to love God and others, and through God accomplished great things, such as St. Therese of Lisieux and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. When we love our children and teach them what is good - even at great sacrifice to ourselves (and parenting does require sacrifice!) we help prepare them to follow the great and unique plans that God has in mind for them.

Prayer and Family Life (#16)

2007-07-02T20:22:00.000-05:00

In his encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, the Holy Father says, "Faith, hope and charity go together. Hope is practiced through the virtue of patience, which continues to do good even in the face of apparent failure, and through the virtue of humility, which accepts God's mystery and trusts him even at times of darkness."

How do we cultivate humility and patience in ourselves and in our families? Through prayer. In an address to children and families, the Pope explains why this is an essential aspect of family life...

Please, also pray together at home: at meals, before going to sleep. Praying not only leads us to God but also to one another. It is a force of peace and of joy. Life within the family becomes more special and of greater importance when God is there and His presence is experienced, lived in prayer. (read the rest here)

Service (#15)

2007-06-25T19:59:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we're too busy with the nuts and bolts of formal education to remember that volunteer work can have a huge impact on education and is even considered in the college application process.

A wealth of opportunities are available and children can be introduced while they are quite young by first serving others in their own family.

Pope Benedict had this to say about works of service:

I wish here to offer a special word of gratitude and appreciation to all those who take part in these activities... For young people, this widespread involvement constitutes a school of life which offers them a formation in solidarity and in readiness to offer others not simply material aid but their very selves. The anti-culture of death...is thus countered by unselfish love which shows itself to be a culture of life by the very willingness to "lose itself" for others. (Deus Caritas Est)

"Know What You Know..." (#14)

2007-06-18T19:14:00.000-05:00

According to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, "some of the great geniuses of the past never read half as much as the mediocre geniuses today, but what they read they understood and incorporated into a deeper dimension of knowledge."

Cardinal Newman provides the antidote...

...know what you say you know: know what you know and what you do not know; get one thing well before you go on to a second; try to ascertain what your words mean; when you read a sentence, picture it before your mind as a whole, take in the truth or information contained in it, express it in your own words, and, if it be important, commit it to the faithful memory... This is the way to make progress; this is the way to arrive at results; not to swallow knowledge, but to masticate and digest it. (from The Idea of a University)

Beauty in Education (# 13)

2007-06-11T19:09:00.000-05:00

One important, though often overlooked, aspect of education is beauty.

Pope Benedict XVI said,

"Children exposed to what is aesthetically and morally excellent are helped to develop appreciation, prudence and the skills of discernment. Here it is important to recognize the fundamental value of parents' example and the benefits of introducing young people to children's classics in literature, to the fine arts and to uplifting music. While popular literature will always have its place in culture, the temptation to sensationalize should not be passively accepted in places of learning. Beauty, a kind of mirror of the divine, inspires and vivifies young hearts and minds, while ugliness and coarseness have a depressing impact on attitudes and behaviour."

Read his entire message, from the 41st World Communications Day here.

An Environment of Love and Learning (#12)

2007-06-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

Education isn't just about what children know; perhaps more importantly, it's about what they love. Successful home education relies on a healthy family life where love of goodness and truth is modeled and cultivated.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a beautiful explanation of this concept: "Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well-suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery - the preconditions of true freedom... Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them."

Further Information:

The above quote is from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2223

Pope Benedict XVI has recently written on the subject of beauty in education.

Play Time is Essential (#11)

2007-05-28T19:26:00.000-05:00

A recent American Academy of Pediatrics study tell us that children's development and important family time are being compromised by today's hectic lifestyle. Modern society tells us that we need to put more and more formal lessons and activities into our children's lives in order for them to succeed. Though it's hard to break from convention, reality tells us otherwise. Family time and unstructured, old-fashioned playtime shouldn't be replaced with the latest educational craze. Give yourself permission to slow down as a family and keep that desire for efficiency in check when it comes to your children. Playtime is essential. Important connections to nature, family and God are made through the informal and natural learning that comes from skipping rope, building sand castles, playing checkers, helping bake muffins, catching fireflies or voluntarily snuggling up with a good story.

Further Information:
"New AAP Report Stresses play for Healthy Development"

The Myth of Perfection (#9)

2007-05-21T19:19:00.000-05:00

Insecurities stemming from the plague of perfectionism run rampant in modern society and homeschool parents tend to be hit particularly hard. They are trying to juggle so any things and life is a struggle, so when they hear something positive about another homeschool family, they can easily spin it into an idealistic image of perfection that is impossible to attain. The reality is that everyone struggles. Experienced homeschool families learn to accept that they can't "do it all." They know they can't control everything and willingly place their trust in God. They pray for patience and serenity and develop priorities and enough balance to bring a sense of peace.

Efficiency is a good thing in cars and for washing dishes and getting through a grocery shopping trip. There's no such thing as efficiently raising children. They require plenty of affection, patience and a lot of time.

Don't Take Faith for Granted (#10)

2007-05-14T19:22:00.000-05:00

In a messy and sometimes frightening world, it's easy to fall into a mode of reaction in which we recognize what is wrong "out there" but lose a sense of what is good. We fall into thinking that having our children avoid "the world" will automatically turn them into good people. But the faith is a living thing that needs to be actively cultivated.

Faith is a gift from God, but it is cultivated by His grace made accessible through prayer and the sacraments and also through education. Parents should provide their children with solid religious teaching, they should help make the teaching accessible according to the child's needs and abilities and they should strive to live their own life in accordance with God's will.

Cardinal Ratzinger said: "Faith is not maintained automatically. It is not 'finished business' that we can simply take for granted. The life of faith has to be constantly renewed.'

Further Information:

The above quote is from Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism (Ignatius Press)

Children and Nature (#8)

2007-05-07T19:11:00.000-05:00

The Catechism says "The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God...who made them what they are."

God reveals himself to us in a special way through nature. This is part of why we study science and why connections with the natural world are so essential in introducing our children to the world of science, long before any formal studies are necessary. Explore the wonders of your neighborhood and your own backyard. Let them observe in simplicity and awe the beauty of a starry night and the song of birds. Cultivate and encourage their enthusiasm for bugs, flowers and beautiful sunsets.

Cardinal Ratzinger explains: "Man can touch the eternal only in sensible realities, but the things of this world are also intrinsically designed to mediate contact with God."

Further Information:

The quote from the Cathechism of the Catholic Church is from paragraph#159. Here is the paragraph in its entirety:

Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth. Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made then what they are.

The quote from Cardinal Ratzinger can be found in Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism (Ignatius Press).

Related Thoughts:

Saint Paul says in his Letter to the Romans: "what can be known about God is plain...because God has shown it...Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made."

"The reason for the crisis and its consequences have been described often and extensively. In the technological world, which is a self-made world of man, one does not immediatley encounter the Creator; rather, initially, it is only himself that man always encounters." (Cardinal Ratzinger, Handing on the Faith in an Age of Disbelief - Ignatius Press)

The "Lens of Faith" (#7)

2007-04-30T19:08:00.000-05:00

Our children need to develop a "lens of faith" through which they can view the world and make judgments and decisions. Developing this lens requires a well-formed conscience, an appreciation and conviction for what is good and true and a "skeptometer" to recognize and filter out what is wrong. A "lens of faith" requires both knowledge and application. One of the exciting things about homeschooling, though it can be true for all parents, is that we get to learn with our children all the time. Pray for God's guidance in making these important connections as a family. Reading and conversation are particularly helpful.

The Declaration on Christian Education from Vatican II said: "The Church is bound as a mother to give to these children of hers an education by which their whole life can be imbued with the spirit of Christ.

Why Long Division? (#6)

2007-04-23T19:02:00.000-05:00

"Why do I need to learn long division? I'll never use it. I can just use a calculator."

"Well, your calculator might run out of batteries."

"But I'd get a solar-powered calculator."

"What if it broke?"

"I'd buy a new one."

"What if it broke when you were stuck in the middle of the desert?"

"Why would I need to do long division if I was in the middle of a desert????"

Don't get stuck in this trap.

Studying long division is exercise for your brain: it helps to develop strength, endurance, coordination and flexibility. It's an exercise in complex thinking and develops problem-solving strategies. Understanding how it works is essential for later math studies. Learning long division develops real life skills that will apply to other studies and decisions. Don't let a calculator get in the way!

Further Information:

Ditch the Calculators by Diane Hunsaker

Streaming Audio Now Available on Relevant Radio Homepage

2007-04-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

Love2learn Moments on Relevant Radio

What is Education? (#5)

2007-04-16T18:59:00.000-05:00

We can understand the concept of education better when we look at it from different angles because it's multi-faceted. It involves knowledge, development and cultivation on two levels - practical and spiritual - and has both immediate and long-term results.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913: "Education includes all those experiences by which intelligence is developed, knowledge acquired, and character formed... The child is born with latent capacities which must be developed so as to fit him for the activities and duties of life. The meaning of life, therefore, of its purposes and value as understood by the educator, primarily determines the nature of his work. Education aims at an ideal, and this in turn depends on the view that is taken of man and his destiny, of his relations to God, to his fellowmen, and to the physical world."

Fairy Tales (#3)

2007-04-09T23:49:00.000-05:00

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1917), "One is entitled to think that the future of humanity is in the hands of those who are capable of providing the generations to come with reasons for life and optimism."

It may surprise you that reading classic fairy tales is recommended to cultivate a child's sense of hope. The world has, to some extent, long recognized the value of fairy tales. Albert Einstein said that: "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

G.K. Chesterton reveals something much deeper: "The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides him is a St. George to kill the dragon."

Further Information:

G.K. Chesterton recommends The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang in Heretics.

Here is a larger portion of the quote from Chesterton on fairy tales. It comes from "The Red Angel" in Tremendous Trifles (pg. 86):

I find that there really are human beings who think fairy tales bad for children. I do not speak of the man in the green tie, for him I can never count truly human. But a lady has written me an earnest letter saying that fairy tales ought not to be taught to children even if they are true. She says that it is cruel to tell children fairy tales, because it frightens them. You might just as well say that it is cruel to give girls sentimental novels because it makes them cry. All this kind of talk is based on that complete forgetting of what a child is like which has been the firm foundation of so many educational schemes. If you kept bogies and goblins away from children they would make them up for themselves. One small child in the dark can invent more hells than Swedenborg. One small child can imagine monsters too big and black to get into any picture, and give them names too unearthly and cacophonous to have occurred in the cries of any lunatic. The child, to begin with, commonly likes horrors, and he continues to indulge in them even when he does not like them. There is just as much difficulty in saying exactly where pure pain begins in his case, as there is in ours when we walk of our own free will into the torture-chamber of a great tragedy. The fear does not come from fairy tales; the fear comes from the universe of the soul.

The timidity of the child or the savage is entirely reasonable; they are alarmed at this world, because this world is a very alarming place. They dislike being alone because it is verily and indeed an awful idea to be alone. Barbarians fear the unknown for the same reason that Agnostics worship it - because it is a fact. Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give a child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.

Exactly what the fairy tale does is this: it accustoms him for a series of clear pictures to the idea that these limitless terrors had a limit, that these shapeless enemies have enemies, that these strong enemiesof man have enemies in the knights of God, that there is something in the universe more mystical than darkness, and stronger than strong fear.

Reading Aloud to Your Children (#4)

2007-04-07T23:33:00.000-05:00

Reading aloud to your children is one of the very best things you can do for them - especially after they already know how to read for themselves. Reading is quality time spent together; it fosters conversation and interest in learning. It can draw parents away from night-time television and internet habits and add to their own education as well.

Studies show that reading aloud to children motivates them to read on their own and significantly improves their vocabulary and comprehension. Choose from a variety of book types: classics, fairy tales, saint stories, poetry, humorous family stories, fantasy and historical fiction. Negotiating read-alouds with younger siblings can be a major challenge. Try starting with a favorite picture book for the younger crowd and follow it up with a few chapters from a full-length story Even a short amount of time - perhaps 20 minutes a day - can be an invaluable part of your child's education.

Further Information:

Negotiating Read-Alouds
A Study on the Value of Read-Alouds

Me do! Me do! (#2)

2007-04-02T23:30:00.000-05:00

It can drive parents crazy when their young children constantly beg to do things for themselves. "Me do! Me do!" is their constant cry. While giving in to temper tantrums over such an issue is not recommended, allowing children to do these things and more for themselves is. Giving children a reasonable amount of responsibility builds confidence, competency and their sense of self-worth. In the long run, at least, it makes a parent's job easier as well.

Maria Montessori explains this concept beautifully: "To teach a child to feed himself, to wash and dress himself, is a much more tedious and difficult work, calling for infinitely greater patience than feeding, washing and dressing the child one's self. The former is the work of an educator, the latter is the easy and inferior work of a servant. Not only is it easier for the mother, but it is very dangerous for the child, since it closes the way and puts obstacles in the path of the life which is developing."

Further Information:

This concept of not taking initiative away from the child is related to the Church's "Principle of Subsidiarity". You can read more about that here.

Math and Science (#1)

2007-03-26T23:12:00.000-05:00

All education is for the sake of knowing Christ. That can be a shocking statement in a culture that judges an education by how much money the student earns once he graduates. As Catholics, we want our children to go to Heaven, and we judge education by how it contributes, directly or indirectly, to that goal. Religion is not the only subject that matters. Math and Science, besides providing for intermediate goals like being able to support a family, can have a profound effect on reinforcing the child's faith. Math, for example, develops and disciplines the mind, provides a sense of order and presents an opportunity to practice virtues such as patience, neatness and perseverance.

Pope Pius XI says: "Since education consists essentially in preparing man for what he must be and for what he must do here below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was created, it is clear that there can be no true education which is not wholly directed to man's last end."

Further Information:

Read Pope Pius XI's entire encyclical On Christian Education (1929)