Advocate

I have just finished reading The Teacher Who Couldn't Read by John Corcoran. Like Mark Judge in his book, God and Man at Georgetown Prep, I put down the book dismayed that neither student had an advocate. Consequently, Corcoran left parochial school illiterate and Mark graduated from parochial school without his Catholic faith.

The theme that runs through both books is "I was cheated by the system, and the teachers who were a part of it." Their parents, in both cases, were exonerated from any responsibility to secure a quality education for their sons.

Perhaps it is reasonable for a parent to think: "I know how to read, and I am a good Catholic, and I send my kid to parochial school: therefore, my child will learn how to read and learn his Faith. No more effort on my part is required.

That can no longer be taken for granted. And, by the testimony of these books, apparently it never could be taken for granted.

In this sense, parents who send their children to away schools are in the same position as their homeschooling counterparts.

No matter who is doing the teaching, the buck still stops with Mom and Dad.