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Author Topic: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?  (Read 10837 times)

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Offline Geremia

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Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
« on: January 12, 2024, 08:57:41 PM »
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  • Could someone here please recommend a good book defending the superiority of homeschooling over classroom schooling?
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    Offline MaterDominici

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #1 on: January 12, 2024, 09:19:23 PM »
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  • John Taylor Gatto & Maria Montessori both have several books that would fit this description. Gatto is more directed at how bad public school is; Montessori is more about best practices for early childhood education.


    Offline MaterDominici

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #2 on: January 12, 2024, 09:35:07 PM »
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  • If you want to go WAY back, this one is interesting. Most of the book is an argument against public school but the alternative presented is Catholic schooling.
    https://www.google.com/books/edition/Public_School_Education/ywQCAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA7&printsec=frontcover

    Offline Plenus Venter

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #3 on: January 12, 2024, 10:46:36 PM »
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  • If you want to go WAY back, this one is interesting. Most of the book is an argument against public school but the alternative presented is Catholic schooling.
    https://www.google.com/books/edition/Public_School_Education/ywQCAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA7&printsec=frontcover
    Some very inspiring reading there, very good!
    Since it is difficult even to find Traditional Catholic schools nowadays where the spirit of the world and bad influences are absent, it is easy to apply his logic and conclusions to home schooling rather than Catholic schools.

    Offline Plenus Venter

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #4 on: January 12, 2024, 10:56:22 PM »
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  • John Taylor Gatto & Maria Montessori both have several books that would fit this description. Gatto is more directed at how bad public school is; Montessori is more about best practices for early childhood education.
    After reading an article on Maria Montessori in a 2022 edition of The Broken Wheel (starting on p.31), a periodical publication supervised by Fr MacDonald (attached), I wouldn't recommend anything that comes from her. Here is the conclusion of that article:

    In conclusion:
    I strongly recommend, for those who like to watch videos or listen to podcasts, the conference
    entitled “Resistance Podcast 122: The Problems of Maria Montessori Part 1”:
    .
    I only watched the first five minutes before I wrote this article, but I would have saved myself a lot
    of time and research if I had watched it all. A lot of the quotes I put in this article are also found in
    this podcast. However, it is very complete and goes much deeper than I am able to intellectually. Do
    not be discouraged by the first 9 minutes. If you prefer, go straight to minute 9.
    Part 2 is entitled “Resistance Podcast 125: Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: a Wolf in Sheep’s
    Clothing”:


    Offline MaterDominici

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #5 on: January 13, 2024, 03:05:41 AM »
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  • After reading an article on Maria Montessori in a 2022 edition of The Broken Wheel (starting on p.31), a periodical publication supervised by Fr MacDonald (attached), I wouldn't recommend anything that comes from her. Here is the conclusion of that article:
    Thanks. Yes, I've read before about some of her problematic ideas. I certainly wouldn't be recommending her for theological direction. But, I'm not the sort to need something or someone to be 100% perfect to garner some valuable information from it. I think anyone here should be able to survive a paging-through of The Montessori Method. But, it's probably not a good fit for what the OP is looking for as it doesn't point toward home education as the solution to failing public schools.

    Gatto is a homeschooling advocate, but I think he takes it a step further and promotes "unschooling" -- not 100% sure. I also don't believe he addresses religious concerns at all.

    More homeschool-specific books that come to mind are Educating the WholeHearted Child by Sally Clarkson or The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer.

    I'm interested to see if anyone knows of book that is a complete argument for Catholic homeschooling.

    Offline MaterDominici

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #6 on: January 13, 2024, 03:08:32 AM »
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  • This looks like a solid resource:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895554941/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0895554941&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwchanco-20 />
    It's an out-of-print TAN book by Seton Homeschool director Dr. Mary Kay Clark.

    Offline songbird

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #7 on: January 13, 2024, 11:26:01 AM »
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  • Yes, I do remember Seton's book.  At www.Joyfulcatholic,  also known as refuge of sinners, a book titled "public education". This one will go an angle on Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ that brought the public schools in to teach no God. 


    Offline Geremia

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #8 on: January 13, 2024, 08:02:31 PM »
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  • I wouldn't recommend anything that comes from her.
    Supposedly Pope Leo XIII endorsed her, but she certainly is not a homeschooler. She was the founder of maternity schools (where mothers with their young children would both be away from the home and in her classrooms).
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    Offline Geremia

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #9 on: January 13, 2024, 08:12:21 PM »
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  • [Catholic Home Schooling is] an out-of-print TAN book by Seton Homeschool director Dr. Mary Kay Clark.
    Nice credentials! Thank you!

    I wonder if any founders of other homeschool groups (OLV, Kolbe, QoH, etc.) have written books on homeschooling.
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    Offline SimpleMan

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #10 on: January 13, 2024, 10:04:15 PM »
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  • Yes, I do remember Seton's book.  At www.Joyfulcatholic,  also known as refuge of sinners, a book titled "public education". This one will go an angle on Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ that brought the public schools in to teach no God.
    That link doesn't work.  When I typed in .com, I was redirected to this:

    https://www.traditionalcatholicpublishing.com/


    Offline MaterDominici

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #11 on: January 13, 2024, 10:23:21 PM »
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  • That link doesn't work.  When I typed in .com, I was redirected to this:

    https://www.traditionalcatholicpublishing.com/
    I'm pretty sure she's referring to Public School Education by Muller which I linked to above (public domain).

    Offline Geremia

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    defense of homeschooling
    « Reply #12 on: January 15, 2024, 01:47:46 PM »
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  • [Catholic Home Schooling: A Handbook for Parents is an] out-of-print TAN book by Seton Homeschool director Dr. Mary Kay Clark.
    Thanks again for this work. I'm only about ⅛ of the way through it, but right off the bat it covers the advantages of homeschooling:
    Thomas Nelson's preface lists 8 advantages, pp. xvii-xx:
    • "You do not waste the students’ time."
    • "You do not re-teach what the student already knows."
    • "You can give your own children more individualized attention."
    • "You can gear the work to a pace your children can handle and that will keep them interested."
    • "You can (and should) eliminate the option to fail!"
    • "You can build in automatic consequences for failure to perform."
    • "You can emphasize reading."
    • "Home schooling eliminates the silliness and nonsense picked up from peers."
    and Dr. Clark's ch. 1 (pp. 1-22) argues homeschooling's advantages:
    • no sex-ed (indoctrination into ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity; cf. Fr. John F. O'Connor, O.P., "The State of [']Catholic['] Education," who told parents not to send their children to "Catholic" schools)
    • character formation
    • academics
    • public (& "Catholic") schools "the training camps of the enemies of Jesus Christ and His Church." (p. 9)
    • raising "cradle Catholics"
    • benefits for the
      • student: socialization
      • mother
      • father
      • family
      • community
      • Church
      • nation
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    Offline MaterDominici

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    Re: defense of homeschooling
    « Reply #13 on: January 16, 2024, 12:12:49 AM »
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    • "You can (and should) eliminate the option to fail!"
    It takes a long time for many to wrap their heads around the idea that grades are pointless in homeschooling. A grade is a reflection of how well a student does compared to the other students. In homeschooling, there's no point in moving on if the student hasn't learned the material.

    Offline Viva Cristo Rey

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    Re: Best book-length defense of homeschooling?
    « Reply #14 on: January 16, 2024, 08:00:58 AM »
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