Most of the country has heard of the decision by one public school system in Rhode Island to amend its policy towards “gendered” activities for its students. Cranston hosts the typical middle school events — father-daughter dances and mother-son sports outings — which facilitate family and community bonding. Such light-hearted group activities provide memories and […]
The mission statement of Philadelphia’s Charles Carroll High School, displayed prominently on its website, offers a hopeful vision of an educational institution: “Providing all students with the academic, technological & social skills needed to be productive & contributing citizens in our society.” This week, the specific mention of “social skills” and citizenship likely sounds like […]
The Twitter exchange between my son and me captures the frustration of college students (and parents) all across America: Jimmy: “Teacher just suggested that we read The People’s History of America. Who doesn’t love biased liberal opinions to start the mornin #shootme” Me: “Howard Zinn!? Awesome! Your indoctrination has begun. #soproud #occupyyourliberalcollegeeducation” From the elite, […]
For awhile my teens were fans of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? They loved the fact that the contestant was earning money for charity, the increasing difficulty of the questions, and the drama of the contest. But I didn’t like the questions which had little educational content. So aside from Jeopardy, which they find […]
I don’t often reread books. As a book reviewer, I always seem to have more good books in my “to be read” pile than I could ever have time for. Therefore, for me to read a book twice, it really needs to be something extraordinary and helpful to my life. A Little Way of Homeschooling […]
It’s that time of year again in New England – the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler and the kids are getting ready to go back to school. College kids are packing boxes, suitcases and car trunks to move their necessities anywhere from 25 miles to 2,500 miles away. But this is […]
Students at Boston College who learn solid proofs for the existence of God have an atheist professor to thank. A little over 20 years ago, a history professor at the Jesuit college was advocating atheism in one of his classes. When Jesuit Father Ronald Tacelli, a professor of philosophy, learned of the class, he thought […]
The world of academia during the Seventies opened our minds so wide that our brains seemed to fall out. False teachings often undermined faith and morals. Yet, we came away believing we were more highly evolved than when we went in. I recall one professor warning a class of seniors: “You will be surprised that […]
It’s August, and while most of us have our school or homeschooling plans all neatly lined up and ready to go, I know there are a few parents out there scrambling to get a homeschool up and running at the last minute. If you’re in the pinch right now, I’d like to offer four thoughts […]
Every parent worth his or her salt at one time or another has done what the NCAA did this week when sanctioning Penn State University. Confronted with the misdeeds of our children, we parents often are forced to act in a manner that quickly and emphatically sends a message: Your actions have consequences, not only […]
Yesterday, I noted a sure sign that summer is nearly over: There were commercials on TV for ingredients to make school lunches. Already, the folks at Oscar Mayer are offering suggestions for how to make a lunch that kids will find nutritious and delicious, though they don’t offer any advice in the ads on how […]
Perhaps it was the rash of sexual-abuse cases on the part of public school teachers discovered during the 2011-2012 school year. Or maybe it was the poor impression of educators left by Wisconsin teachers union members in the wake of protests against Gov. Scott Walker. Or maybe parents finally took the time to go through […]
We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders which he has wrought. He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children; that the next […]
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education presaged “a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.” Looks like the tide has rolled in. This week, proving just how accurate a predication that was, kindergartners in Brooklyn, N.Y., were forbidden from singing the patriotic […]
In some ways I was fortunate. We received the diagnosis that my son has Asperger’s Syndrome, a high-functioning form of Autism, after we had already been homeschooling for two years. Therefore, I never had to wonder if I could homeschool a child on the autism spectrum – I was already doing it! A diagnosis merely […]
When historians one day look back on the rise and fall of the American republic, it won’t only be our habitual deficit spending and lack of financial discipline they blame for our demise, but the deficit of faith and lack of religion in our children’s generation. The beliefs and values that once served as the […]
The question of religious education and the formation in the faith of the next generation of Catholics in the United States was the theme of the Holy Father’s remarks to prelates from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Regions X-XIII), who have just completed their five-yearly “ad limina” visit: Speaking to the group in […]
When I was a Sophomore in high school, I was assigned a research paper that was to make up a percentage of my overall English grade. I purchased a sizable stack of index cards per instructions and immediately set to work filling them in. As I sat surveying the small mountain of ridiculous index cards […]
There’s an old joke that talks about the angels questioning Jesus about the worldwide evangelization plan after his return to heaven following the Ascension: Angel: So, Jesus, you’ve just returned to heaven as the victorious Lord of Glory, King of Heaven and Earth, what’s your plan for spreading the news of salvation to the whole […]
Notre Dame is still struggling with its mission as Our Lady’s university. On August 15, 1990, Pope John Paul II promulgated the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae (English: From the Heart of the Church). The document marked the first step in the systematic effort to renew and reform Catholic higher education around the world. One […]
Imagine someone coming up to you and without hesitation telling you: “I desire to save your soul.” This is exactly what St. John Bosco would do in his attempt to rescue the kids of Turin, Italy from the depths of despair. He would make his point very clear to the youths he would encounter in the […]
A new homeschooler recently asked me, “How do you homeschool a preschooler?” Time was, keeping a child home for his or her preschool years was a perfectly normal thing to do. Children went to school when they were five (or even six!) and somehow still managed to learn to read and write and maintain friendships. […]
One of the issues of this presidential campaign as well as of the recent Occupy movement is the cost of higher education and the burden of student loans. I’ve heard some people remark that people who complain about the cost of student loans are “whiners” and that they should have realized what they were getting […]
That rumbling sound you hear isn’t a snow-removal truck, a low-flying plane or a train inadvertently chugging through your backyard. No, it’s the low, slow churning of civic discontent, fomenting thanks to the decades-long trend toward educational mediocrity and resulting in a grass-roots movement that will — with any luck at all — restore our […]
