Me to my 7th grade daughter: “You can go to the school dance, but you can’t slow dance with any boys.” My 7th grade daughter: “The principal said we’re not allowed to say no.” This conversation, naturally, almost shocked me into a full-blown panic attack. Then it got worse. Me: “Are you sure that’s what the […]
The lives of women have been so severely impacted by the dark side of contemporary culture that it’s hard to know where to begin to dig out of the lies. As with a ball of knotted twine, one needs to see the threads distinctly in order to separate and untangle them. Likewise, we need to […]
Every once in a while, educational fads turn toward “back to basics.” Schools emphasize necessary and useful subjects–meaning, useful for getting a job. Math, reading, and science take center stage. Other subjects get cut. In fact, one of the biggest criticisms of the new Common Core Standards is its utilitarian, vocational perspective on education. In […]
We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. We want a religion that is right where we are wrong. We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world. –G.K. Chesterton With the start […]
In 2003 my beautiful daughter Chloe was born with a diagnosis of Down syndrome, and I must admit my family was filled with fear, anxiety and uncertainty about Chloe’s future. At the time I was in my 20th year as a Police Officer, and I had no knowledge of supports for children like Chloe. When […]
At 8:00 a.m. last Thursday, a team of 20 social workers, police officers, and special agents stormed a homeschooling family’s residence near Darmstadt, Germany, forcibly removing all four of the family’s children (ages 7–14). The sole grounds for removal were that the parents, Dirk and Petra Wunderlich, continued to homeschool their children in defiance of […]
Have you decided to homeschool but are super scared to do so? Here are a few thoughts and tips to help you overcome your doubts and launch into the amazing, one-of-a-kind experience known as homeschooling: 1- You are doing the BEST thing ever for your family! If you feel called to homeschool, want to homeschool, […]
Suppose your son is a sixth grader and his male teacher just married another man. If it happens at a Catholic school, the teacher would be fired as has happened at schools in Ohio and California. If it is at a public school, it is likely a non-issue to administrators. In the latter case, you […]
I’ll admit it’s work, but I love it. I love camping…. the dust clouds and the cicadas’ rhythmic swell and the sun leaking into the thin tent nylon in the early morning, insistent. Our rusty old camp grill and the Coleman torch that scatters just a bit of an ethereal Hey-summer-we-survived-this-year’s-algebra-and-ancient-history-and-disappointments-and-triumphs-and-we’re-back-to-settle-in-your-scheduleless -rustic-August glow. The whispers […]
Selecting a curriculum can be a truly overwhelming task each year for homeschooling mothers. So many times I have said to myself, “if I could see that book, I’d know if I want it!” Right? Then you hop online look through blogs of perfect homes, with perfect mom teachers, that have the perfect school rooms, […]
Some families are already gearing up to start school on Monday. We don’t start back until September 8, just after our parish festival. But no matter when you begin, here are some ideas to take your religious education to the next level. If you are doing all this already, kudos to you. Pray every day […]
Dear Facebook, You keep asking me: “where did you go to College?” and you are making suggestions based on where some of my friends studied. If you must know, I went to the Université du Sud Toulon-Var, France (it was called Université de Toulon et du Var or UTV twenty years ago). I don’t give […]
The Common Core State Standards are raising tremendous controversy as politicians, educators, and parents analyze their accuracy and effectiveness; however, any analysis of the content of the Common Core State Standards necessarily ignores the main objection to these, or any federal standards, imposed on American schools. The fact is that any federally imposed standard violates […]
I awoke before dawn and was assaulted by the knowledge that today the President of the United States was coming to our little neck of the world. From the moment I heard about his little visit I had been torn, frustrated and angered. Why here, why come to a high school in a remote southern […]
It’s daunting to think about schooling many children, all different age ranges, in a busy house. It takes a bit of creative thinking but it can be done. Each summer before the year starts, I start praying about our schedule, and I ask my husband to pray about it too. I have some tips and […]
“Why do we homeschool?” Often when we begin homeschooling there is something that prompted us to begin. It may have been a child struggling with school, a negative socializing experience, or any number of issues. Once the mom begins, she may feel conflicted that her children will miss out on some great academic experience. She […]
The corruption of innocence is a deadly sin, because it corrupts the innocents. Better a millstone be tied around the necks of those who corrupt the innocent and they be flung into the sea, said Jesus. He really never pointed out too many particular sins attaching to them a ‘woe betide’. About the only other […]
The current question of racism is a red herring. It’s easier to focus on a single word uttered by a single celebrity than it is to address the real issue and tragedy of racism. The “N” word is an abomination to me. Thirty-eight years ago, I lived briefly as a Yankee in the heart of […]
I don’t know what President Obama was thinking. Speaking in Northern Ireland last week, he said Catholic schools are divisive: “If towns remain divided — if Catholics have their schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we can’t see ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to harden —that too encourages […]
I have been hesitant to write about our first year of home schooling because I don’t know if my insights offer anything new, but nonetheless, we’ve done it and as anything else goes in life, it was a learning experience for us all. We are not home schooling zealots; we have public-schooled, parochial-schooled, and even […]
When American parents send their children off to college, the deluge of emotion can be overwhelming. No matter how much time and money you spent preparing yourself for this most pivotal transition in the life of your child, you always feel as though you could have done more. Will they succeed? Will they be safe? […]
We homeschooled our two daughters for 8 years from kindergarten/2nd grade until 7/9th grade. They didn’t have a boatload of friends during those years, but the friends they did have were special, kindred spirits, and we got together as often as we could. When we took the kids out of the Catholic school to home-school […]
To: Marybeth From: Annoyed by Unhealthy Questions I’m a freshman in high school. Our health teacher has a policy that there is no such thing as a stupid question about health, or no topic that is off limits. She makes a point to stress that she is willing to answer any question about sex and […]
Students, faculty, family members and friends, it is my great honor to deliver your commencement speech today. It is my opinion that our society must take every opportunity to praise our young people for their hard work and accomplishment, and that is why ceremonies such as this are so important to our country’s future. It […]
