More CC

I got a bit derailed in the last post due to the hour of writing.

The Parent Practicum was an "equipping event" for families heading into a Classical Conversations school year. I met another mother who will be attending our same local CC group with her two five-year-olds. I listened to veterans, who have been homeschooling for nearly a decade, some brand new to the classical model and some who have been part of Classical Conversations since their family started homeschooling. Everyone has come to it differently, some intending to homeschool from the time their child was in the womb, others having tried conventional schooling and been dissatisfied or disappointed, but there is obviously an explosion in education. Homeschooling is growing, and some veterans noted, colleges are seeking out homeschoolers because they are so well prepared.

The days were not without their bumps.

After the lecture criticizing Darwin and Dewey, that is, evolution, one mother pointed to the sign on the wall that said, "Sunday School... so easy, even a caveman can do it" and wondered in horror what this church (which was providing the space for this large event) was teaching its children.

The answer came from the man running the sound, lights, overhead projection slide shows, and other technical details from a booth the size of my kitchen. Now, I've been in theater and television production long enough to note that there are two kinds of techies: the techie slob, and the techie hunk. This fellow, with a little bit of beard stubble, in jeans and a black T-shirt over his lean frame, was definitely... "and I've been associate pastor here for seven years," he introduced himself.

Oh! Well, the pastor should know how to turn on the lights and the sound system, but I had not yet met one that could also run four computers simultaneously, and look like a movie star on his day off.

The caveman sign was campaign the church was using to start their new Sunday School year, borrowing from the popular insurance ads. The church team had created several little videos with the pastor and the cavemen, "and if you want to see them, come here on Sunday!" he invited us.

I doubt this in any way mollified the original protester, but it did make me wonder about this group with which I was becoming involved. In a small group discussion later, the evolution vs. creation issue came up, and I remarked upon the notion that the two ideas can work together, that "God created" in a day could be 24 hours or it could be millions of years; who knows what a day is for God? Apparently this idea was lost upon my listeners. "But it's God, why couldn't it be 24 hours? He can do that!"

Discussing this later with my husband, he repeated his worry about these "Christian" educators. Plus we are living in the south. Even public school boards have been known to throw out evolution and text books mentioning it.

However, my comfort came the next day, when I met some Catholics.

"I thought I was the only one!" I said, and the other mother laughed, "Oh no, I usually find another Catholic or two at these CC events."

I sat with her for lunch, along with two of her friends, one a graduate of the Franciscan University at Steubenville (another FUS alum who homeschools! Virginia is just overrun with them!) and one from Christendom College, a place I had visited during my college search but had concluded was too far from home. One had been part of Classical Conversations for several years, the other, with younger children, had just started last year. These articulate women helped set my mind at ease, talking about their experiences, that CC teaches in outline while letting the parents fill in the particulars on such topics. One even spoke to me about how evolution without God denies the soul. Souls aren't part of evolution, a being either has one or does not -- it's not something that you get after a certain stage! We had a lovely time, and I look forward to seeking them out at future events.