i4 Catholics
FAMILY & EDUCATION
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Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. . . . The home is the natural environment for initiating a human being into solidarity and communal responsibilities. Parents should teach children to avoid the compromising and degrading influences which threaten human societies.”
One goal of robust school choice programs is to broaden quality education alternatives. A new report brings evidence that this is happening in Florida, where Catholic PreK-12 schools are defying national trends.
Of the 10 states with the highest Catholic school enrollment, Florida is the only one where Catholic school enrollment has grown over the past decade. It’s a modest 4.4%, or 3,644 students, but compare that to New York and New Jersey, where enrollment dropped by more than 30%. Pennsylvania saw a 25% loss. The report comes from Step Up for Students, a nonprofit that administers Florida’s K-12 scholarships. . . .
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Focus - Family & Education
Black father debunks CRT and upholds parental rights. He reminds us that children belong to their parents and parents have an obligation and a right to review curriculums.
March 27, 2023
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) applauds today’s approval of HB 1 by Governor Ron DeSantis. The bill’s expansion of school choice and the creation of Education Savings Accounts will empower all parents to choose the educational environment and services that best meet the needs of their children.
The FCCB also commends Florida’s legislative leaders and especially House Speaker Paul Renner, who made this bill a priority, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, and bill sponsors, Senator Cory Simon and Representative Kaylee Tuck, who advanced the bill through the committee process and floor debate in the Florida House and Senate.
Parents are the primary educators of their children; however, the family also needs help from society. Families, churches, and various levels of state, local, and federal government all have their appropriate place in the governing, implementing, and imparting of education.
“Catholic schools look forward to working with the Florida Department of Education and scholarship funding organizations to implement the provisions of this historic law that will transform K-12 education in Florida,” said Michael Sheedy, FCCB executive director. “This marks the accomplishment of a long-standing goal of so many stakeholders to bring educational choice to every family in Florida.”
“A person’s affective and ethical development is ultimately grounded in a particular
experience, namely, that his or her parents can be trusted.”
Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (n. 263)
We are committed to strengthening the bonds of families in our community.
We will work to encourage marriage in the home and parental rights in schools.
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The Synod, in a sign of cultural affirmation, has chosen to identify Catholics by sexual orientation and gender identity. To what end? July 27, 2023 Dan Maher
The 'end' of education
by BISHOP JAMES CONLEY
The title of this talk is: Logos: In the beginning was the Word—The nature and power of language. After some further prayer and reflection, I would like to add a subtitle to the talk: The end of education!
“We have a government of law, checks, and balances, designed to be of the people, by the people, for the people. In order for that to work, it needs literate citizens with a high degree of self-mastery, community loyalty, and moral sense. It needs mature adults willing to listen and not merely rant; willing to subordinate their private appetites and egos to the common good. This is why the moral framework of American public education is so important. Education shapes—or should shape—responsible citizens. The root of that word "responsible" literally means "answering to" some higher purpose or authority, to a greater end.”
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/education/philosophy-of-education/the-end-of-education.html