Homeschool Connections

You may still be trying to organize your spring semester for your high schooler. If so, consider some of the online course offerings provided by Homeschool Connections, including theology, philosophy, literature, science, and history.

I would especially like to highlight a pair of courses

• An Introduction to Logic, which is a six-week online course (Jan. 13- Feb. 24) I'm teaching using Memoria Press's Traditional Logic text book by Martin Cothran.
• Fallacies and Paradoxes, a follow-up course taught by Prof. Jean Rioux, of Benedictine College (March 23-April 27).

Note: either course can be taken as a stand-alone.

Other courses being offered include:

• Marketing: Jesus and Main Street with Derek Prentice
• History: Roots of the Revolt (1417-1560) with Phillip Campbell
• History: The Age of the Religious Wars (1560-1648) with Phillip Campbell
• Life Skills: Career Search Skills with Derek Prentice
• Literature: Chesterton; Man of Letters with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
• Literature: Homer's Odyssey: The Soul of Pre-Socratic Wisdom with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
• Literature: Virgil's Aeneid: The Founding of Nations in the Will of God with Henry Russell, Ph.D.
• Logic: Introduction to Logic with Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
• Philosophy: Fallacies and Paradoxes with Jean Rioux, Ph.D.
• Science: Immunity: In Sickness and in Health with Kris Correira, PA
• Science: Blood: In Sickness and in Health with Kris Correira, PA
• Theology: Social Ethics with Monica Ashour, MTS

Descriptions and registration information can be found here.

Online Classes: Catholic Spiritual Writers

Although Homeschool Connections is currently scheduling spring courses there is one fall class still open. It's Catholic Spiritual Writers and it starts November 5, 2009. Dr. Gotcher of Love2Learn is the instructor and his classes are terrific for high school students who Love 2 Learn. They are not only academically challenging but also spiritually uplifting. This course is a terrific opportunity for you to give your high school student credit for literature and theology as well help him or her grow in love with all things Catholic.

Course Title:
Catholic Spiritual Writers
(click on the hyperlink to register)

Course Description:
In this course we will look at the basic principles of Catholic spirituality as they are explained by some of the great spiritual writers, such as St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, Thomas a Kempis, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Therese of Lisieux. We will especially emphasize their application to the life of the young laity.

Homework
The assignment will be to pick one of the great spiritual classics, read the entire book over the six weeks of the course, and keep a journal of reflections as you read.

Fee:
Six-week course for $120.

Dates and Time:
Classes will begin Wednesday, November 4, 2009 and meet every Wednesday through December 16, 2009. The time will begin 8:00 PM Eastern (7:00 Central). The class is one hour 15 minutes.

Enrollment Period:
Enrollment is currently open and will close when the class is filled. (Maximum 15 students.)

Course Materials Needed by Students:
The text will be The Classics of Catholic Spirituality by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. (editor of the English language edition of Magnificat magazine). It is very inexpensive ($7). The rest of the texts from the great spiritual writers are available free online.

Equipment requirements:
Because this is a discussion course, students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with a microphone. If you do not own a headset, you can find them for a reasonable price at Amazon.

Course Access:
All Homeschool Connections courses are recorded and available to registered students for up to six months.

Professor's Biography:
Dr. Robert F. Gotcher most recently served as Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kathy, are raising their seven children in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dr. Gotcher has been actively involved in the home schooling of his children, especially in the junior high and high school years. He has taught Latin, literature, physics, astronomy, and religion to homeschooled students. He has a special devotion to the classical trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric, especially as they pertain to the written arts.

Dr. Gotcher graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies. He received his M.A. in Theology of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2002. In his adult life he has done everything from volunteering with the poor in Appalachia, to religious education and youth ministry, to desktop publishing and computer related responsibilities at a law firm. At the seminary he taught introduction to theology, the doctrine of God, one and three, theological anthropology (creation, sin, redemption, grace, four last things), life principles, and human sexuality and has given public presentations on Vatican II, the encyclicals of the pope, social justice, life issues, human sexuality and the theology of the body. His publications focus on family issues, lay spirituality and issues related to the Second Vatican Council. He is involved in the secular Franciscan order, home schooling, and pro-life activities in the Milwaukee area and nationally.

Dr. Gotcher blogs at Heart, Mind & Strength, Classic Catholic and Love2Learn.

Click here to learn about other homeschool online classes.

If you have questions please email Maureen Wittmann.

Teen Advice

There's a new teen blog in town -- written by teens for teens. It's a question and answer format with questions that reflect today's culture and answers that reflect Catholic teaching.

No Question Left Behind.

Review: Catholic Reluctantly

Reviewed by Mary G.

Sophia Institute Press has just published the first in a fascinating new series created by a team of young Catholic authors. This series, John Paul 2 High, is written specifically for Catholic teens and the series purports to tell stories with problems and solutions that Catholic teens may encounter in their high school years. My 16 year-old daughter and I have read the first in the series and are very impressed with the story, the writing and the overall intent of the series.

So here’s the story-line of the first book, Catholic Reluctantly. A Catholic school opened by parents is about to increase their enrollment by 40 percent – two new students are about to join the other five students in the run-down halls of John Paul 2 High School. The students are all quite different: academically, socially and ethnically. In fact, the only thing that links the teens is that they’re all at least nominally Catholic.

First, we meet Allie, a beautiful girl coming from the 10th grade of the nearby public school, whose mother wants to protect her from a scary event that happened at the large public school. Next is George, an athletic, handsome teen who has also been recently removed from a larger 10th grade class at a Catholic high school; his biggest upset as the book starts is that he won’t be able to wrestle at this itty-bitty school. Celia is an almost too-sweet, very Catholic girl who has known George all her life; her dad is the driving force behind the school. J.P. is a joke-cracking, prank-doing 9th grader whose mom is also one of the teachers. Liz, who can’t seem to understand how she ever landed at JP 2 High, is the daughter of the science teacher and a 9th grader who is trying to live a “real” high school life in spite of this minimal enrollment body of students. Brian is a preppy, brilliant 9th grade student who has been homeschooled in the past. The last of the students, and the newest, is James – he’s a rigoristic home-taught 11th grade student who has some socializing issues.

This first book brings these seven students together – with the teachers and parents who want the school to succeed – with clashes of personality and teen-issues throughout the book. The past keeps haunting all the characters and the future looks none too bright as the school building is as shaky as the people involved. By the end of the book, you’re hoping for the lasting success of the school and that it can grow to be self-sufficient.

The book reads very well; it’s a definite page-turner with lots of surprises and events that keep the reader going. Because it’s trying to be realistic, this book doesn’t solve all the problems and mysteries within the 300+ pages. You’re meant to end the book, shaking your head, wondering “but what about...”

By the way, “Christian M. Frank” is a team of young Catholic writers – the penname comes from the fact that some of the authors went to Christendom and some went to Franciscan University (and the M. is for the Blessed Mother). Regina Doman, noted author of Shadow of the Bear and Black as Night, is the overall series editor and part of the team of authors working on these books. Doman’s writing experience shines through; what could become a tangled batch of words ends as a cohesive whole under her editorship.

My daughter and I are looking forward to the next volume in the series, Vengeance, Sort Of due out shortly. Catholic Reluctantly is available directly from Sophia Press, or can be purchased from Amazon and other retail book outlets. For further information about this first book, the series or the team writing the books, please check their website, http://www.johnpaul2high.com/ .

Bloggers' session at MN conference this year!

Yes, that's right! A fireside chat session at the MN Conference just for Catholic Homeschool bloggers... or bloggers wannabes, or blog readers! From the schedule page:

Homeschool Bloggers
Fireside Room, Murray-Herrick Center

Blogging ("web logging," which is described as online journaling) has become a part of many homeschool moms' lives. Catholic homeschool blogs have appeared all over the internet in the past couple of years, with bloggers eagerly sharing their experiences and developing online friendships. If you have a blog, like to visit blogs, or especially if you think it'd be nice to have a blog someday, come to this informal chat session. Meet regional Catholic homeschool bloggers in person, share some of your favorite blogs and ask questions about blogging and its benefits! Blogger and homeschool mom of seven Ana Braga-Henebry will lead the session -- and she promises humor and helpful hints too!

I love this conference and since moving to S. Dakota I haven't missed it! I will lead the blogging session and also be part of the High School panel.

Hope to see Love2Learn friends there!

Read about it here.

Review: A Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life

A Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life by Peter Kreeft
2007, Our Sunday Visitor, 64 pages, paperback.

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M. A.

If any writer today can squeeze the meaning of life into a small 64 page booklet, the popular and prolific author Peter Kreeft can! The book is short, brief, almost laconic. One can throw it into the purse or even the pocket. And yet, the Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life has it all: the truth of who we are, why we are here, where we are going, and how to get there.

The book is laid out in a simple Q&A format (see sample), displaying no more than 2 questions per page. Whenever he is able, Kreeft answers the questions with a single word or short phrase. Once in a while, a relevant, brief passage of the Bible is quoted. Sometimes, he answers the question posed by stating, "this is the way Jesus answered it", and proceeds then to quote from a Gospel writer. Saint Augustine is quoted a couple of times as well, and Saint John of the Cross and Gaudium et Spes once each.

This booklet will make a nice study aid for preparation for the sacrament of confirmation, but also beyond that-it would be helpful reading to just about anyone, in any stage of life!

Available at Adoremus Books

Review: Aquinas 101

Aquinas 101, A Basic Introduction to the Thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Francis Selman
Sept 2007, Ave Maria Press, 224 pages, Quality Paperback
ISBN: 0-87061-243-3

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M. A.

If you, like me, had very little to no Thomistic Philosophy in high school or college, and would love to know more, this book is for you. What a pleasure for me it has been to read Aquinas 101 in preparation for this review. The book brings forth a surprisingly readable and sometimes funny Saint Thomas!

To begin, I quote from the publisher's site, Ave Maria Press:

A brief, engaging, and readable summary of the influential thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the Catholic Church's greatest minds. In this clear, thoughtful and immensely readable book, Francis Selman offers summaries on some of the most complex topics in the writing of St. Thomas Aquinas. Selman deftly draws on the work of contemporary scholars while situating Aquinas in relation to the thinkers and schools of thought he was both confronting and drawing upon. The result provides an overview that places the thought of Aquinas both in his time and in our own.

The author succeeds indeed in both bringing the thought and philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas to students (or the interested reader) and in making it contemporary by referring to recent writings on St. Thomas.

The Prologue is a very nice biography of the saint's life, leaving the reader with admiration for him and interest for his thought. The language is light, down-to-earth, using quotidian anecdotes to shed clarity. Saint Thomas Aquinas comes through the book as a friendly, practical counselor. For instance, on page 114 we read:

For sorrow, St. Thomas Aquinas recommends four remedies: weeping, the company of friends, pleasure, and warm baths.

The paragraph that follows goes into the reasons St. Thomas believes these four remedies will help anyone in sorrow. So true, and so practical! Of course, the book also goes into more meaty philosophy, but it refrains from being too dense for the lay reader.

I also like the fact that Saint Thomas is referred to as Saint Thomas throughout the book.

In the Catholic homeschool, this book would make a very good choice for a High School introductory course on the philosophy of Saint Thomas.

Magdalen College Summer Youth Program in Wisconsin...

Summer Youth Program 2007 at Durward’s Glen

When: July 29-August 11

Where: Durward’s Glen
W11876 Mcleisch Rd.
Baraboo, WI 53913

Who: Youth, ages 15-18

Cost: $800

Contact for additional info:

Email: admissions@magdalen.edu

Phone: 1-877-498-1723

Youth are on a journey of discovery, searching for their place in the world and discerning their goals in life. The first annual Magdalen College Summer Youth Program at Durward’s Glen in Wisconsin will take what young people are seeking: faith, fun, and friendship, and integrate them into a whole summer camp experience.

www.magdalen.edu

High School Summer Programs at Catholic Colleges

High school summer programs at good Catholic colleges can be an excellent experience, especially for homeschooled teens, for several reasons including: motivation to attend college and valuable classroom and group-discussion experience.

Magdalen College gives young people between the ages of 14-18 a two-week experience of living on a Catholic college campus for study, prayer, sports, and recreation. Through the daily activities and close interaction with the counselors, the participants can learn and live the Catholic faith, acquire new skills in music, drama, and sports, and grow in wholesome friendships with others their age. The summer program provides an excellent opportunity for the participants to experience the spirit that animates Magdalen College.

Thomas Aquinas College offers a two-week high school summer program on their beautiful campus in Southern California. It provides an excellent opportunity to get a taste of their Catholic liberal arts program and the seminar style classes. Many summer program participants attend the college after graduation from high school.

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts For thirty-two years the Collegiate Summer Program for High-School Students has introduced participants to the same spirit of liberal arts education that animates the College. Each summer, the college offers two-week sessions that include course in literature, philosophy, the American political tradition, and apologetics. Readings include Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Plato, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, Thomas Aquinas, C.S. Lewis and Guardini.

Note: This is a fairly old list from love2learn (clean-up will be going on for some time), but I did update the links. Please let me know ( in the comment box) of other programs that should be added to the list.

Review: Memorize the Faith!

Memorize the Faith! (and Most Anythting Else): Using the Methods of the Great Catholic medieval Memory Masters by Kevin Vost
2006, Sophia Institute Press, 271 pages, paperback

Reviewed by Ana Braga-Henebry, M. A.

This is neither a textbook nor a homeschool book, yet it could very well serve as basis for a religion curriculum for a year! The author, Kevin Vost Psy. D., teaches not only a time-proved, centuries old method of memorization, he also guides readers step by step through memorizing the major tenets of the Faith.

The book has the usual uncluttered, crisp Sophia Press lay-out, and is divided into 5 major parts. Part 1 introduces the method and explains how it works, in a language accessible to an average reader. Parts 2 and 3 include step-by-step guides to memorizing lists from Sacraments and Commandments to Beatitudes, to works of Mercy, Holy Days of Obligation and even the Six Sins against the Holy Spirit. Part 4 goes further into memorization of important basics of our faith, covering all of the books of Bible, the Twenty-One centuries of Church History, virtues, sins, and the list goes on. Truly impressive! Along with these five major parts, there are twenty-nine Memory Master Tips and Facts gray blurbs throughout the book that are informative and interesting as well.

From the publisher:

" (...) over 700 years ago, St. Thomas Aquinas perfected an easy method for his students to memorize most any information, but especially the truths taught by Christ and His Church. As the years passed, our need for this ancient art of memorization grew, yet somehow our culture largely forgot it . . . which is why today, when you and I try to remember a list of things, we have to repeat their names over and over. (...) Now, thanks to the delightful pages of Memorize the Faith!, you can easily keep all these in mind — and learn the Faith! — by tapping into the power of the classical memory system that helped St. Thomas become the Church’s preeminent theologian, and made it easier for him to become one of its greatest saints. (...) By the time you finish this book, you will have memorized dozens of key teachings of the Church, along with hundreds of precepts, traditions, theological terms, Scripture verses, and other elements of the Faith that every good Catholic needs to know by heart."

The best as far as homeschoolers are concerned is the fifth part, entitled "Application for all ages". Here the author addresses exactly the business of how to use the book for children and young adults, and more. Under specific homeschool use he suggests using the method for test prep--such as SAT, ACT, etc., and as and aid to good public speaking.

This book would also lend itself well, I think, to an extra-curricular club activity of middle/high school students, perhaps under the name "Aquinas Mnemonics Club". As the the author states, the ages that would be best suited to learn and use this method would be upper elementary and High School. If they would meet once weekly with the energy and camaraderie typical of that age, I bet they'd have the content of all of these chapters under their belts (or in their minds) in one year!

Available at Stella Maris and Adoremus Books.

Review: Mother of Divine Grace School British Literature Syllabus

Mother of Divine Grace School British Literature Syllabus by Margaret A. Hayden
2003, Mother of Divine Grace School, 41 pages, Catholic

This syllabus outlines a complete year of study in British Literature intended for 12th graders.

Books used in this course:

Required:

The Harp and Laurel Wreath by Laura Berquist
Beowulf
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Primary Works of Literature:

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Henry V by William Shakespeare
Midsummer-Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Emma by Jane Austen
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

Alternate Works of Literature (for substitution of any titles in the above list that the student has already read):

Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Othello by William Shakespeare
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

This is the author's explanation for the goals of this study:

The goal for this year is for the student to exhibit more subtlety in understanding, more discrimination in interpretation of text, and more attention to language in his papers. The syllabus is designed to help the student in these areas. British Poetry will be studied throughout the year, and great works of literature will also be read and discussed. There will also be 4 required papers.

There are paper topics included at the end of this syllabus. However, students are encouraged to create their own topics for their papers, using the 'General Questions for Works of Literature'. The reason students should be encouraged to create their own paper topics is that the thought that will go into creating a paper topic will help the student organize his thoughts about the work of literature which he has just read. A student in the rhetorical stage should be able to assemble and organize his thoughts, and then should be able to present those thoughts in a well written, well organized paper.

She goes on to explain the "how" and "why" of discussing works of literature with your children

The syllabus contains eight pages of detailed instruction for parents on learning objectives, pointers for improving and grading student papers, and a basic style sheet for student writing.

A detailed lesson plan (11 pages long) provides a year-long schedule of readings, including time allocated for discussions, writing papers and studying works of poetry.

Detailed discussion questions (and answers) are included for Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the "Prologue" to the Canterbury Tales (the text of this Prologue is also included in this syllabus). A detailed "General Questions for Works of Literature" is provided as a help in discussing the other works studied.

Finally, a paper topic is provided for each of the primary and alternate works of literature covered in the syllabus. Some are fairly detailed such as this one for Henry V: "Henry V undergoes a great change in his life. This change is referred to in the opening scene by the Archbishop. Do you think such a change is realistic, and do you think that Henry V is really a good man?" Others are quite simple, such as this one for The Everlasting Man: "Summarize and explain what the author is teaching us through this book."

I've personally read about half the books recommended in this syllabus and they seem quite well-suited to the reading level and area of study. The one thing that surprised me was having G.K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man recommended as an alternate to a portion of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, to be read over the course of three weeks. It's a fantastic book (one of my very favorites!) - but really more of a non-fiction selection (and overview of history), rich in language and symbolism, that I believe would frustrate many students if read through too quickly. G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday might be a better option and would certainly provide wonderful material for writing and discussion.

Reviewed by Alicia Van Hecke (4-11-07)
Available from Adoremus Books, Emmanuel Books, Our Father's House or Sacred Heart Books and Gifts

Review: Greek Classics: Questions for the Thinker

Greek Classics: Questions for the Thinker by Fran Rutherford, illustrated by James Rutherford

2005, Mother's House Publishing, 213 pages, softcover

This one volume, written especially for homeschooled high schoolers, provides study questions to reflect on while reading the Greek classics. The study questions are simple and aid in comprehension. If you read the questions before reading the related passage, they give you a sense of what to look for, thus helping you stay focused on challenging subject matter. They're also helpful in discussions with an adult afterwards to help make sure that the student has comprehended the book and as starting points for further discussion on important ideas contained in the book.

I was grateful to discover that the author has skillfully avoided the all-too-common problem of questions that pre-digest the story for the student or take on a condescending tone.

Study materials are included for:

• Homer's Iliad
• Homer's Odyssey
• selections from the Histories of Herodotus
• History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
• Anabasis: A History of My Times by Xenophon
• The Oresteian Trilogy by Aeschylus
• Three Theban Plays by Sophocles
• The Clouds by Aristophanes
• Plato's Republic

Detailed study questions are included for each segment of each work, and include line numbers to relate easily back and forth between the book and the study guide. There are "Questions for Further Thought" that emphasize certain parts of each book or summarize at the end. These could be starting points for writing assignments as well as fodder for discussion. Answers are included, as are timelines and a pronunciation guide.

This resource was written by a very experienced Catholic homeschool mom who has designed the program for ease of use by parents, even those with little knowledge of the classics. The questions reflect an understanding of the concepts and values that make these works worthwhile to Catholic homeschool students of the 21st century.

Reviewed by Alicia Van Hecke (3-3-07)
Available from Aquinas and More

Review: Introduction to Catholicism: A Complete Course

Introduction to Catholicism: A Complete Course
The Didache High School Textbook Series
2003, Midwest Theological Forum, 388 pages, hardcover, Catholic

Though this is an introductory test, it is quite thorough and well-documented. In style it is forthright, intelligent, and uncomplicated. Church teaching is succinctly but beautifully stated, and supported by plentiful quotes from Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and various popes and saints. One is left with a profound appreciation for the beauty and wisdom of the Church, a better understanding of the Catholic Faith, and a deep gratitude to Christ Who guides us still through His Church.

The book begins with a treatment of the basic teachings of the Church: the universal call to holiness and need for prayer, the Trinity, Mary, the Mother of the Church, and the Church as the Body of Christ. That is followed by a general discussion of revelation and the deposit of Faith entrusted to the Catholic Church through which we come to know God. But knowing God is not sufficient for fallen creatures. We need His grace to answer the call to holiness. Consequently, each of the sacraments is explained, and instances are given of persons exemplifying the grace peculiar to that sacrament. Having established how grace is made available to us, the book then explains why it is not sufficient: free creatures must cooperate with grace. Using the Ten Commandments as a frame, the book explains the cardinal virtues and the virtuous life. This book is absolutely and unapologetically faithful to the teachings of the Church, while also inspiring, and encouraging to all who strive to live the Catholic Faith.

What I most liked about this book was its clear presentation and the ordered progression of principles, also its direct application and connection to the world of today. This connection is most evident in the photos used, and in the choice of persons and saints. So many of these persons lived in recent times. This serves to accentuate the fact that God is working today, in and through each of us. Obvious efforts were made to meld the old with the new, the past with the present, reinforcing the truth that God has been with us always. Cross references show the Scriptural basis of the teachings of the Church and the connections made through them. This is especially important if Catholics are to share the Truth with other Christians; more so today, given that many Catholics lose their Faith, which they neither know nor understand, through the persuasions of other fervent Christians.

This book was written for high school students. Its treatment of sexual matters is thorough but appropriately limited. Because children and circumstances differ, it may not be as limited as a given child needs. Parents should read relevant portions themselves to determine whether these chapters suit their needs. We have used this book with two of our children, and both have deepened their understanding of, and appreciation for, their faith.

Recommended for Grade 9

Reviewed by Maria Rioux (2-28-07)

Available from Adoremus Books and By Way of the Family