I've watched a number of episodes of EWTN's The Journey Home with Marcus Grodi. When it features reverts to the Faith, a consistent theme seems to appear--their parents all "did the best they could," which for many included being provided a Catholic education. Parents of that era (maybe 1980's-1990's) figured the "experts" would do a better job at teaching the faith and passing it on to their children than they would. These may have been families that attended Mass every Sunday and said grace before meals, but in which the imbibed spirit of faith and religion was not substantial in the home.
My wife had this experience attending Catholic school K-12. Her immigrant parents didn't really teach the faith at home, since that was something to be learned almost as a subject in school. As a result, my wife went through twelve years of Catholic school with very little to show for it in terms of knowledge and love of the faith. No one she went to school with practices the faith as adults. I don't think it's unreasonable to judge a tree by its fruit in these instances.
I used to visit all the Catholic high schools as a college admissions recruiter. In the state we were living in at the time, the public schools were sub-par, so there was a number of Catholic school options in the area, many of them elite college-prep academies. No one sent their kids to these schools for the purpose of faith formation. They basically "weren't the public schools." Many had legacies, reputations, competitive sports teams, and favorable college placement. But they were largely indistinguishable from the public schools except maybe for the uniforms, the behavior, and the (sizable) tuition. The faith identity of the schools from what I could see were mostly "we do service." The vast majority of Catholic colleges (around here, and nationwide) stake their identity on the same unobjectionable, watered-down Catholic-lite humanism: "we do service." Well, even Atheists can "do service." So what is it, exactly, you are selling?
We are in our third year of homeschooling. I was an initial hardcore skeptic, but after seeing the fruit of being the primary educators of our children in faith and morals, as well as academics, I am a strong advocate and believer in homeschooling. Our son was the only one to attend one year of kindergarten at the local public school. His teacher was kind and a good educator, and there were no major red flags. None the less, the thought of handing over our kids to learn...well, we didn't really know what...with kids we didn't know, during his most formative years now--neither my wife nor I have any desire to do this.
I have little faith in the large majority of Catholic schools either. Though we have a general policy of taking things "year by year, and kid by kid," our children seem to be thriving. Our 3rd grader is at a 5th grade level in reading comprehension and a 7th grade level in language arts. All we really do is read a lot to them at home, and use a general Catholic curriculum which is basic reading/writing/arithmetic. They are active in sports, theater, and co-curricular activities. Neither my wife nor I have a background in education.
Needless to say, though, I'm very grateful we have the lawful opportunity to educate our children at home. If anyone asks me with earnest sincerity what they should do about the "school issue," I would say if at all possible (and you may have to make sacrifices to do so), homeschool. For the sake of the faith, their character, family relationships, flexibility, guarding the latency period, whatever it is, I can honestly say in the large majority of cases--you will see the fruit. And you have to, to be convinced (or reassured, if you're already in the thick of it). They are your children after all, and most parents want the best for them, but might not always know what that looks like.
Not all children may necessarily thrive as homeschoolers. Every child is different, with different needs. But I would venture to say that many would, if given a chance. My wife left an almost six-figure salary and we made sacrifices and budget adjustments in order to homeschool our kids, with no regrets. On the flip side, though, we have no school tuition bills, no fundraisers, no constant shuttling. God has also blessed us with many unforeseen graces that confirmed this was the right choice for our family. Like I said, I hope and pray we will continue to be able to do so; if not, I may be forced into parental activism, taking to the streets with a pitchfork, given how strongly I feel about homeschooling after experiencing the benefits.
For any parents thinking about it, I would say do whatever is necessary to at least give it a try for a least a year, and evaluate it yourself. Each family is different; but I couldn't in good conscience send my kids to the Catholic schools around here, as I feel their faith would be watered down and relegated to a corner of their lives, rather than permeating every aspect of it. With some exceptions, the large majority of them simply have not produced good fruit in terms of a legacy of retaining the faith. Which begs the question--what good is a Catholic school if it doesn't produce good Catholics?
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