On the Home (School) Front: Forming the Battle Lines

Saturday, June 12, 2021

On the Home (School) Front: Forming the Battle Lines

By: Margaret Walsh

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On the Home (School) Front: Forming the Battle Lines

Abortion, it is the greatest outrage of our time, the slaughter of innocent children in their mother’s womb! So many Catholics are fighting that front and trying to preserve the lives of those in danger, help the mothers in need, and crush the abortion cult. But what about the other front in the education of the next generation? The corruption of youth, the betrayal of truth and the mental and emotional abuse that ensues from the modern agenda!

I have thought about this a lot in my journey to help students with special education needs, where the study of the learning process is hyper-focused for me. Many times, parents will tell me that they “aren’t qualified” to teach their children or that the public school is the only place to receive services for their student. But what is happening when they end up sending their children to the public school (with the exception of very few schools/teachers)? Corruption of their mind, distortion of morals, fallacies being taught right and left. The only thing that might still be intact is math, 2+2=4, and even that is subject to “Common Core”, where the correct answer is what the child feels!

If the modernists can’t kill the next generation, they will enslave either the bodies or the minds of the next generation.

As I’ve thought about this, I’ve realized more and more that if the modernists (in future to be referred to as “they”) can’t kill the next generation, they will enslave either the bodies or the minds of the next generation. It is a sinister thought, but the more I see of what the schools are doing with students, the more I am convinced of this fact. We have slowly seen the corruption of the schools and the ugliness of their plan is starting to reveal itself. I remember when it was a shock that they took the name of God out of the classroom, couldn’t have imagined the current state of affairs, though not surprising once God is gone.

Parents have the God-given right to educate their own children.

“The fecundity of conjugal love cannot be reduced solely to the procreation of children, but must extend to their moral education and their spiritual formation. The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute. The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.”^{^[1]}

Parental rights, as the primary educators of their children, is often ignored now. I’m sure most of us have seen the zoom videos where the teachers joke about parents.^{^[2]} Recently some principles were told to give parents a fake curriculum to hide the actual one.^{^[3]} Students are told they can make choices and that their parents don’t need to be involved, even when it comes to sex changes and hormone therapy.^{^[4]}

Currently, the schools are pushing the critical race theory as well as Marxist propaganda.^{^[5]} They are also praising the LGBTQXYZ mental disorder as an enlightened state and that students should choose how they want to be identified and they should “respect” others who identify differently than male or female.^{^[6]} Imagine being a student, either a young student or a student with social/emotional struggles. You may not be able to read social cues very well, understand personal boundaries, the proper form of touching. And then your teacher, someone in an authority and trusted position, tells you that immoral behaviors are ok! How confused you must be and vulnerable to the suggestion! And students with learning disabilities are three time more likely to be sexually abused and four times more likely to suffer violence than other students, which makes this new teaching even more devastating.^{^[7]}

It takes a village to raise a child right? Wrong! It takes a mother and a father under God.

The schools are basically taking the children out of the sanctuary of the home, ignoring the rights of the parents to choose how their students are educated, sometimes even accusing parents of educational neglect^{^[8]}, destroying the beauty of the family structure, and these children are being raised by “the village”. It takes a village to raise a child right? Wrong! It takes a mother and a father under God.

We are speaking of the betrayal of truth and reality. This is not only objectively wrong, but for children who are still being formed, in both morals and knowledge, this is mental abuse; it is a form of gaslighting. And for children with special education needs, it is even worse, because they are already struggling to perceive the truth found in reality and they become victims of the system. If the next generation survives abortion, the current school and government will ensure that the soul of the next generation dies. But we can stop this!

So, what does that mean for us? How can we fight against this? Many Catholic speakers have been responding to the overall modernist heresy we find ourselves in by prompting Catholics to have families and to live the Faith, which today is counter-cultural. For Catholics who want to fight against the school problem, take your children home and either homeschool or find a good private school! (In very rare cases, it can sometimes be advisable to put a student in a public school, but this is rare.) Yes, this will be an investment of time and money, only one parent will be able to work (usually), parents might need to brush up on their own education, but it is worth it if you know your children will be formed in virtue, learn the truth and not suffer the mental abuse and perversion being taught in the schools. If you are a grandparent reading this, then see how you might be able to support your children and grandchildren so that they can homeschool or use a private school. If you do not have immediate family, then reach out to see if families who are in your parish need support. I know of a parish where people who tithe have a certain percent goes to the church and another percent goes to parishioners in need, specifically education related. My own parents sacrificed a lot to homeschool and raise me and my siblings in the sanctuary of a Catholic home, without undue outside influences. I am so thankful for what they did!

Those of us at Secret Garden are there to support families with struggling learners, so that you don’t have to turn to the schools for special education services.

“But I’m not qualified,” is something I hear almost constantly when I encourage families to homeschool. And with families struggling with special needs, this can be a concern. However, God gave parents the right and the grace to raise their children to know, love and serve Him.^{^[9]} With this grace comes the wisdom to know what your child needs, which includes education. Being educated by a parent, who may not be hold a degree in education but who teaches the truth, is far better than working with an expert teacher in the schools who is teaching children about the greatness of communism or praising LGBTQ. For parents, this might mean reading up on how to teach, what materials to use, which curriculum to follow, but God will guide you on this path. If more expertise is required, there are more and more resources for homeschool families. Those of us at Secret Garden Educational Pathways are there to support families with struggling learners, so that you don’t have to turn to the schools for special education services. Parents also know when to focus more on Faith and less on academics. In the end, it will not matter if an individual knows algebra, but that he knows and loves God. Are parents qualified to teach their own children? 100%!

Just to be clear, I’m not advocating for “unschooling” or leaving academics behind. Definitely pursue education, because you will be educating the leaders of tomorrow. They will need to have a good foundation in education, knowing what is true, looking back at history, understanding philosophy in order to make an impact in society. Make sure they learn what is real and what is true, starting as a baby with lots of hands on learning and gently showing right and wrong. Make sure that they know the real history of what has influenced humanity through the years, what mistakes we have made before. Make sure they know what triumphs the wise and holy forbearers in Christendom accomplished. Show them true philosophy and reveal to them the errors in modern philosophy.

But most of all, help clothe your children in the holy virtues required to be saints. Form them by your example, by your prayer life. Evaluate the influences that might affect them, including friends, books, movies, etc. Find a good Mass to attend, or if you can’t find a good Mass close by, go to the best option and then watch a Latin Mass online (beauty of technology used well!). I don’t mean going full Benedict Option, but prudently assessing what your students need to be protected from and exposed to. Sometimes this can mean interacting with society and confused people, and then discussing this with your children at home and explaining why certain beliefs and behaviors are wrong. Completely closing yourself off might create a psychological toxic shock syndrome when they become adults, if they aren’t slowly exposed to error before and shown why it is error by their parents.

Saint Teresa of Avila talks about her own childhood and her exposure to a bad influence. Her advice is this:

“If I had to advise parents, I should tell them to take great care about the people with whom their children associate at such an age. Much harm may result from bad company and we are inclined by nature to follow what is worse rather than what is better.”^{^[10]}

This is the other front we need to remember. It can sometimes be forgotten amidst all the battles we are faced with, but it is one of the most important fronts we need to focus on! Keep your children close, educate them in the truth, reach out to community and family if you need help, and know that God intended that parents be the primary educators of their children.^{^[11]}

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Margaret Walsh is the founder and primary specialist at Secret Garden Educational Pathyways. She is a certified instructor of the Equipping Minds therapy program and has a M.S. in Special Education. Margaret works constantly to provide the best help possible to her students. See the services she and her staff provide at: https://www.secretgardenep.com/services/