Boffetti questions the unspoken premise in education debates that only publicly run schools serve the public good and should therefore be entitled to public money. Training good citizens is the public purpose all schools serve, whether we call them public or private. At various times in world and American history, private schools have been widely recognized as serving the public good and have received public money for the work they do. No one found this unusual.

Training good citizens is the public purpose all schools serve, whether we call them public or private. Our goal in this paper is to question the premise that only publicly run schools serve the public good and therefore are entitled to public money. At various times in world and American history, private schools have not only served the public good but have also received public money. And nobody thought this was unusual.

On May 19, 2000, the Faith & Reason Institute sponsored a debate and discussion in the U.S. Capitol Building on the potential benefits and dangers of government vouchers for Catholic schools. The presenters were House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Father William F. Davis of the U.S. Catholic Conference, Michael Hartmann of Milwaukees Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Brother Bob Smith of Messmer High School, and Douglas Dewey of the Childrens Scholarship Fund. A slightly edited version of their remarks appears below.

The home schooling phenomenon is many faceted and evolving, and this article cannot possibly address the range of issues that have arisen in recent years. However, I believe that an overview of the respective rights and duties of parents with respect to sacramental preparation may be helpful in providing principles that can be applied in assessing and constructively resolving the particular conflicts that inevitably will arise.

Frequently our students come into the university domain thinking that all opinions are equally valid. This view has threatened the intellectual development of students since the time of Socrates because it allows students to think that incomplete, illogical, and nonsystematic thought is good enough. Unfortunately, it never is.

The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the perennial and invariable principles of Catholic education in the hope that they will be of benefit to those who are entrusted with the responsibility of relating them to the contemporary situation.

Here is a list of recommended picture books (that build character).

Tell a reporter that you home school so your daughter can achieve academic excellence and you will now win grudging acceptance. But tell him its because you want her to know the Good, the True and the Beautiful, and to fall personally and passionately in love with Christ and His Church, and you will get the same old vacant stare. Thats the real point of Catholic home schooling, and the cultural gurus are still missing it.

Beginning in the 1960s, there has come to be a growing number of parents who deeply mistrust the established educational systems, public and private, and are thrown back on their own resources. If those who educate their children at home do not have all the answers, they are at least asking the necessary questions.

When the schools stop contributing to the fund of shared moral knowledge, the informal systems are put under enormous strain.