Laura Sweeney | The Michigan Catholic
Metro area — How do children learn how to talk? Their parents. Who teaches them their ABCs? Their mother and father. Where do they first learn about God and Jesus? Their home.
The Catholic Church believes parents are the first and primary educator of their children. As they grow up in the household they learn about life and religion from their parents and guardians.
In recent years, an increasing number of Catholic families have taken that to a new level by choosing to homeschool – a concept that in the past decade has offered more benefits and options for parents than ever before.
As with other aspects of life, technology helped developed home schooling during the past decade.
“When I started this job 15 years ago, I didn’t need to have home school families in my radar. But in the past 10 years, there has been a noticeable increase,” said Judy Maten, director of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Detroit. “The numbers have gone up in large part due to the access to material because of the Internet.”
According to the U.S. Department of Education, there’s been an increase of home schooling since 1999. In 2007, 1.5 million students received an education in the home. A rapidly growing number of home school families continue to grow throughout the country, including Michigan.
With hundreds of Catholic families in the archdiocese home schooling their children, Maten said it has really blossomed.
“The materials have become more accessible and there seems to be a very good network,” Maten continued.
Shadbush Nature Center in Shelby Township was one of the places Michelle Brock took her children -- (clockwise from top) Rachel, Sarah, Matthew, and Benjamin-- on a field trip when they were home schooled.
Michelle Brock of Grosse Pointe Woods can attest to the large network available. Brock home schooled her children for five years and learned the many different avenues, materials and groups available to help support her family.
For example, she enrolled her children in Mother of Divine Grace, which is an accredited distance learning program that provides a classical approach and curriculum.
“Mother of Divine Grace aims for the students to be independent thinkers, active learners, effective communicators and multifaceted individuals,”said Sandra Sebastian, a metro-Detroit Mother of Divine Grace consultant and mother of four home schooled sons.
These programs bring structure to classrooms in the home and give added support to the parents.
“It does take a full-time commitment,” said Brock, director of religious education at St. Clare of Montefalco Parish in Grosse Pointe Park. “You have to do your lesson plans everyday. There’s standardized tests, essays and a portfolio that needs to be submitted at the end of the year. They have a very rigorous curriculum.”
Like other educators, Brock attended conferences. Every June in Lansing, the Michigan Catholic Home Educators conference provided her time to network with other home educating families and introduced her to new information and materials available.
Parents decide to home school their children for a variety of reasons. Some want to ensure their children receive religious education and for others it’s financial. For Brock’s family, it began in 2005 when the two eldest students weren’t being challenged enough in school.
“They were ahead academically and the teacher couldn’t take the time to challenge them,” explained Brock. “She had about 30 other kids in the classroom. It wasn’t possible. But I didn’t want them to become bored at school.”
Because they were able to move at their own pace at home, the oldest daughter, Rachel, tested a grade higher in math and English. At the age of 14, she enrolled in Regina High School and will start her freshman year in Geometry this fall. The other three children, ages 12, 8 and 6, benefited from learning at a faster pace, too.
In addition to their greater academic achievements, the home schoolers faith grew stronger. Brock explained that many home schooling families attend daily Mass, but the religious education doesn’t stop there.
“Our Catholic faith is infused in all the text books,” said Brock. “We encourage them to pray before tests. And the history and science lessons dovetail nicely into religion. The kids get excited about learning the faith.”
She enrolled her four children back into a Catholic school last school year because she began working at the parish. She’s glad to be working, but admits to missing the rhythm of the daily life at home with her children.
Brock also firmly believes that home schooling isn’t meant for everyone.
“I don’t think one method of teaching is better than the other. You have to choose what’s best for you,” she added.
Brock spoke of many families that exceeded in home schooling, with children receiving full rides to four-year universities and others attending the U.S. Naval Academy after high school.
Jonathan (left) and Justin (right) Masterson caught up on some reading before their lessons, while their younger brother Joshua (middle) works on his illustration for his favorite subject, art.
Joseph Masterson, 17-years-old, enjoys chemistry and looks forward to attending Oakland Community College next year to work towards a career in the culinary arts. His 16-year-old brother Jacob likes to study history and currently wants to attend college to be a teacher.
Their mother, Mary, began home schooling them nine years ago after the family moved from Seattle, Wash. to Michigan. In the beginning, it worked best for the family financially. They were able to travel back to the west coast to see family and still provide a good, Catholic education.
Almost a decade later, Mary and Bob Masterson have eight boys and one girl. With seven of them being school age, she teaches pre-school through 12th grade. Teaching her children keeps her busy, but she sees the benefits and how it’s positively affected her children.
“It’s really nice. They are responsible and it’s nice to see them interact with their siblings,” said Masterson, parishioner of SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish in Sterling Heights. “I enjoy being able to pass down the faith. I want them to know their faith, be able to defend it and understand it. And we’ve be able to witness that happening.”
Although a majority of the learning takes place inside the home, the children do take part in outside activities. Like students enrolled in public and private schools, the Mastersons take field trips, such as to a bee farm. The eldest three sons belong to the Boy Scouts and the entire family participates in celebrations for Christmas and All Saints Day with other home school families in the area.
Masterson pointed out that home schooling isn’t always easy.
“Trying to find the right tool or the right book for each child is a challenge,” Masterson explained. “They each learn very differently. I can’t always pass on books, because it just doesn’t fit; which is a good thing about home schooling. But is also the hardest to find the right fit so they can excel.”
