I have been homeschooling for 5 years now, but feel the Lord leading me to a Charlotte Mason Style of homeschooling, and am very excited about it. I would like to purchase this History program, but we are very strong Catholics, and I wondering if this conflicts with our Catholic beliefs, or projects overly negative overtones. I am concerned, most especially , with the presentation of the Reformation period. Are both the Catholic and Protestant views projected and respected, discussing the negatives and positives of both sides, or is it mostly biased towards a Protestant Worldview. There are so many History curricula with strong Protestant bias. I want to avoid these. As my children grow older, I will teach them the differences, but most of our children are very young and impressionable, and I want to focus on the beauty of the Catholic faith and Catholic contributions in History. Please understand, it isn’t necessary that the Catholic faith be glorified in all curricula. I just want to know that our faith won’t be presented in overtly negative language. I know the Church isn’t without her mistakes, but I want them presented unbiased and fairly, in light of the overall Church and not be overtly focused on the sins of a few men, to the detriment of our entire Church. Our Church has amazing men and women who greatly, positively, contributed to both the faith and society. I don’t want a curricula that does any “blaming”. I hope I have expressed myself well, as to my concerns. Again, I just want a fairly neutral curricula, presenting both sides without a bias, or with very little bias, so that I can tweak it to a Catholic worldview. I respect all faiths, but want our children exposed to the beauty of the Catholic faith and not feel I have to defend it to our 5 and 7 year olds, because of negative language in a curriculum. I am open to discussion of truth, and have no problem talking about the problems in the Church in history, but refuse to bash an entire faith, for the sake of the sins of some men in the Church. The laws and principles of Jesus are the foundation, and I don’t want the focus to be on the men of the Church, but I desire their eyes on Christ, and His holy teachings.
If there would just be a couple of “tweaks” to the History or other SCM curricula, I would be fine with it. Then we could just substitute a couple of books, but I don’t want a curriculum that requires too much to substitute. I am also wondering about the Biblical portion of the teachings and recommended books. Is there anything opposing Catholic doctrine, and if so, what, and is it fairly easy to remedy? I don’t want to be on high alert, nervous that we will encounter a negative tone against our Church and our beliefs. We would love to utilize the History and Bible curriculum, but need some reassurance. Also, there are many other resources you are selling that I am considering purchasing. Is there any that conflict with Catholic teaching/doctrine? If so, please advise.
Sorry for the extensive and repetitive post, but I really need solid input, and therefore felt that I required a detailed post. Thank you, so much, in advance!