How should Catholic parents approach educating their children?
Robert Sungenis says there is no one-size-fits-all approach, describing his own family's path through about half a dozen Catholic, independent and homeschool programmes, and a mix of homeschooling with public-school art, music and sports. He holds that reading matters most, and warns never to force a child to read something he has no interest in.
A viewer with a young family asks Sungenis to share his wisdom on raising children, specifically regarding their education.
Answer
It has been a long and arduous road; we have been through about half a dozen Catholic, independent and homeschool programs, because it is not one-size-fits-all, and you may use a program for a couple of years and then have to switch. Now, with teenagers, we mix homeschooling with some public-school offerings like art, music and sports that homeschool programs do not cover, while we handle the reading, writing and arithmetic. Each child is different, so you have to be sensitive, disciplined but not forcing. The single most important thing is reading: never force a child to read something he has no interest in, because that damages him; keep that fire burning, because if a child can read and is interested, he can learn any subject on his own.