The Domestic Monastery

 

I think, in a certain way, it would be easier to form a domestic monastery if I had a house full of young children. There would be so much less time for distractions, as I would have very little time to myself. Busy mothers have extremely limited space in their days for prayer and contemplation, but they have much more motivation for developing regular routines and sticking to them. 

So I begin the discussion of my third blog theme for the year, the domestic monastery, at something of a loss. My spirit is restless, and I feel anxious for the future of my country, with Joe Biden's presidential inauguration just a day away. I have a vague vision of the life that I long for, but turning away from the world seems so difficult right now. The urge to stay informed is strong. 

The idea of the domestic monastery, or domestic church, in Catholic tradition is simply the practice of putting God at the center of family life. Like life in a monastery, domestic life is ordered around regular times of prayer, work, meals, study, and rest; always keeping the focus on growing in faith and virtue, with an eye toward Heaven, our final destination. It is the raising of saints and the cultivation of an inner life of contemplation. 

I'm beginning today with re-reading Ronald Rolheiser's slim volume, Domestic Monastery. I'm also listening to Marsha Sinetar's series of recordings on YouTube, "Marsha Sinetar - A Casual Contemplative's Archive."

I am feeling like I need to get back to basics, move toward taking a sabbatical from the internet, and refocus my energy on simplicity and minimalism. My plan right now is to substantially reduce time spent on social media, the news, and YouTube videos, and to only check my email once daily. This will be a jumpstart on making plans for Lent, which begins Feb. 17. I will also, of course, keep blogging here as I am so inspired by the Holy Spirit, but I can't say how often that might be. My prayer is to have insights to offer to others, but I must fill my own well first. If you have any experience to share, I hope to receive your comments! 

Godspeed, Rita Michele 

Detaching from Charlotte Mason and Returning with Renewed Vigor

view from my upstairs balcony

I have decided to continue my reading of Charlotte Mason's original homeschooling series. Having read volumes 1, 3, and 6, I have moved on to volume 2, Parents and Children. I find that having taken some time to detach myself from Miss Mason's tutelage, I can visit her again with a renewed perspective and fresh vigor. I've been exploring the key to a relaxed approach to her philosophy and method. What does this mean, a relaxed CM home education?

Today is the Feast of All Saints, a fitting time to remind ourselves of our primary goal and responsibility as parents in the education of our children. That is, we must be about raising saints. Everything we do will ideally be oriented toward faith formation and getting our children to heaven, and the academics do play an important role in this endeavor. 

I have gotten over my regret that Charlotte Mason was not a Catholic. Yet we can be consoled in the fact that she clearly had certain Catholic sensibilities. She was an Anglican Christian, which in many ways puts her closer to the Catholic Faith than it does to modern forms of Protestant evangelicalism. 

I gave the concerns voiced at the Keeping It Catholic website a fair hearing. I am able to see some of the potential problems with CM for Catholics that Marianna Bartold brought to light. Charlotte Mason was an educational trailblazer, and she was also a product of her times, an era in Europe ripe with ideas of socialism and evolution. Being very well read, she was aware of the scientific and pedagogical philosophies of her day, and these did influence her thinking. But often she was a critic of the failures of those popular ideas and held to traditional Christianity and a reverence for the Bible. A flaming heretic she was not. 

Rather than attempting to "catholicize" Charlotte Mason, we can take her as she is. We can rest in the Lord and thus teach from a state of rest, putting the Catholic Faith always in first place in our considerations. Then we can proceed with what we will to CM. 

Her motto reads, "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life."  We make the atmosphere of our homes and lives distinctly Catholic. We form in our children habits (a discipline) which conform to the teachings of the Church. And we open them to a life of living ideas, of the things of God and of Nature. In this, we provide a curriculum permeated with the Faith. In her understanding that education is the science of relations, CM puts relationship with our Creator in the primary position. 

So we see that faith formation is the cornerstone and foundation of the building, and that Charlotte Mason can provide certain necessary tools and blocks for building it up. The roof is the domestic church, encompassing the particular lifestyle of each family and the unique personalities and needs of its members. 

Though we can use living books and vintage methods without necessarily following Miss Mason, I come back to her because she has been instrumental in getting my child and family to where we are today. Because her writings are repetitive, steeping oneself in them allows for continued inspiration and the deeper assimilation of her ideas. 

Rather than focusing upon how to label your homeschooling, think in terms of establishing a philosophical methodology filled with wisdom and a concrete way for proceeding toward your goals. Do not become overly scrupulous in designing a replica of what CM did in her schools. Use her as a springboard, taking what works in your homeschool and leaving the rest.

It's okay to relax the parameters. For instance, you may wish to teach less subjects and use fewer books per term, or per year, than what CM suggested. Or you might use some traditional text/workbooks as spines for history from a Catholic perspective, or for whatever might serve your individual children's needs best. Let Charlotte Mason be a model for planning your curriculum, choosing the books you will use, and above all, to assist you in raising your young saints!

The "Why" of Homeschooling

When the idea of homeschooling first came up, my daughter was still a baby. My husband seemed to think it would be a good idea, but I shot it down. When he asked why I wouldn't want to homeschool, I said with vim and verve, "Because when she's five, I want my life back!"

I've told this story before, and also the part about how my mom tried to tell me, "This is your life now," but it took a long time for that truth to sink in. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy being a mother. It was simply that I was 35 years old and used to a certain freedom, and this radical new path of motherhood took some getting used to.

By the time Beezy was three, my husband and I were definitely leaning toward homeschooling. I can't for the life of me remember what caused this change of heart, but surely it was a God thing. And books by John Holt and John Taylor Gatto were influential. Despite the belief that we were following the Divine Will, I was not Catholic at the time that my child's home education began in earnest, and religion wasn't at the top of the list of reasons for this choice.

Since then I have become profoundly aware of the Church's assurance that parents have received the responsibility and solemn authority to be the primary educators of their children. Parenthood is truly a divinely decreed vocation. That does not mean that Christian parents must homeschool. But the Church says that a true education must be a Christian one, with the purpose of all study being directed toward the supreme end of getting one's children to heaven. A Catholic school could certainly be a valid choice, if it faithfully adheres to the teachings of the Church on education. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. But even if one's parish school is excellent in the realms of both religion and academics, some of the same concerns that parents have about government schools also apply here.

The secular humanism that indoctrinates children in public schools has also crept into parochial ones. The Common Core standards of the federal government that have recently been adopted by most states in the U.S. bring with them a mediocre and morally questionable curriculum that requires increased hours spent in testing and preparation for the tests. Funding is withheld from schools that do not adopt Common Core. And while it is only the subjects of math and English that are currently being hijacked, the long-term plan is to infiltrate all subjects and to establish an invasive tracking program that follows people from the cradle to the grave. I fear that Catholic schools which have adopted Common Core put their traditional aims, purpose, and freedom at risk.

There are also those intangible but crucial considerations of the well-being of the family that come into play in the question of education. Sarah MacKenzie, in her book Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace, explains this perspective so eloquently:

"Our children are not projects. If, by the grace of God, we can manage to remember that our children are all made in his image--and more importantly, if we can treat them as such despite the mess and the chaos--then we will really be able to teach from rest. Therein lies the reason we've taken on this arduous task of home education at all--because a government school would not see our children as the image bearers that they are. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, there would be no Morning Offering, no Nicene Creed. They would miss countless opportunities to love on their siblings and form deep, meaningful encounters with each other, with us, and with material chosen specifically to nurture their souls. We want all else to pale in comparison to our quest toward honor, virtue, and wisdom."

Though I have not completely ruled out the possibility of a Catholic parochial school for my child, I have serious reservations. The school day and year have grown increasingly longer over the course of American history. In addition to the standard school day plus transportation time, homework and extracurricular activities leave little space for families to spend time--of either quantity or quality--together.

Since its advent, government schooling has sought to weaken the authority of parents. Teachers and the peer group exert undue influence. One benefit of the Catholic schools is that there may be lesser issues with negative socialization, and the prevalence of a religious atmosphere is surely preferable to the obliteration of anything to do with God in the public system. 

At a Catholic school there will, or at least should be, the due support given to parents as the primary educators of their children. Yet at any school, siblings are separated from one another for long hours every day, and family bonds in general may be strained (not to mention the pocketbook in the case of private schooling!). Cacophonous bells interrupt a child's concentration and short-circuit his ability to go deeply into any course of study. Children are shuffled from one room to another, and conformity is mandatory. Problems of bullying persist, and the personality of the child is encroached upon. I am not convinced, even in the best of circumstances, that giving so much of the care and education of one's children over to others is the wisest course or is in the best interest of families. Homeschooling may not be the best option for every family, but it is worthy of prayerful discernment and consideration.

In our fast-paced, busyness idolizing world, a homeschooling atmosphere can be a haven for the family. The fulfillment of God's design for the domestic church has a better chance for successfully coming to fruition. There is a control over one's time and a freedom that I would be hard-pressed to give up. If my daughter went to school, she would miss out on the benefits of a Charlotte Mason lifestyle of learning. Because of her unique learning style, she thrives best in a one-on-one teaching situation. We need not fear being "behind", though I know that such worries do intimidate many home educating parents. If we keep our eyes and hearts tuned to pleasing the Savior, faithfully and consistently tending to the work we have been given, then we will enjoy the true measure of our success.