Mary Santine, an MODG Parent, recently wrapped up 23 years of homeschooling! Congratulations, Mary!
Her youngest just graduated, and she put together this lovely thank you letter to Mother of Divine Grace School for us to share with you all. Keep reading to hear a little about her journey and how MODG helped her family.
Dear Consultants, Teachers, and Staff of Mother of Divine Grace School,
Some of you have taught or worked with one of my five children, some of you have taught or worked with more than one of my children, one of you has taught all of my five children, and some of you have not taught or worked directly with any of my children, but you have all contributed to the great good that is Mother of Divine Grace School. I hardly know where to start my note of thanks because the benefits my family has received through our home education journey are so numerous that I’m sure I would fail if I tried to enumerate each one. However, I have just graduated my youngest and I wish to thank you in some small way.
When we began homeschooling 23 years ago, my husband and I were uncatechized adults, who after some time away had made our way back to the Church, thanks to the Hound of Heaven (Francis Thompson). We had not considered home education, but God made it clear to us that he wanted something different for our family than we had planned. He did this by setting up obstacles to our prior education plans and tugging on our hearts, letting us know that He wanted us to take that first step. Homeschooling was much less popular 23 years ago, and resources were few, but my dear, dear consultant was there to essentially take us by the hand through those first shaky steps. She was there to explain classical education, to discuss the formation of my children, and so much more. As I listened to her answer my many questions, I experienced for the first time what is like to listen to discourse from a well-formed intellect, firmly grounded in the truth of the Catholic faith. She actually taught me more than she probably ever knew just by talking with me. It was captivating and highly attractive. With my past experience of public education and state university, I knew what I was listening to in those conversations with my consultant was something different than I had ever been exposed to. And I knew I wanted to spare my children the intellectual corruption I experienced through my education. I knew I wanted for my children that solid ability to reason, that love of truth.
As we began with the first catechism book, St. Joseph’s First Communion Catechism, the clarity of Church teaching unfolded before us. I thoroughly enjoyed that couch time with each of my children as we made our way through the other Baltimore Catechism books. God made His grace demonstrable when that time with my children frequently led to more questions and more discussion—a time with them I will always treasure.
The poetry study was charming. I had never studied poetry. And I began to see that there was a vast deposit of literature that was part of the foundation our culture. In collections of literature, my children recognized poems from their studies. I watched as their minds sharpened with all of the memory work built into those early grades.
I remember wondering why history was so emphasized throughout this curriculum. It was never one of my favorite subjects in school; in fact I found it quite boring. As I began to learn with my children, it became clear how God’s hand directs even what we might call “secular history”. I saw that good and evil battle through the rise and fall of nations and peoples. I could see how my very paltry education was the reason I was never interested in history. How enriching it was for my children to experience the “living history” with so much good literature to support a solid history text. And they, in turn, became very interested in their history courses.
As the years went on, we began to use Teacher Services and Learning Support classes. Sometimes I sat into those classes. I learned so much in seeing graded work returned to my students. I saw teachers taking a personal interest in my children. I heard from my children about the discussions they had in their classes. I am SO grateful for all of the enrichment and expertise that MODG teachers added to our schooling. I could have never read all of the books or become an expert in every subject while running the home, taking care of small children and trying to keep abreast of all the schoolwork that needed to be done. Yet, I was able to remain the primary educator. I oversaw the daily work, I proofread and discussed their papers, and I helped my children benefit from feedback received from teachers. When I think back on my public school education, I really think my children had a dream team of teachers.
I remember being quizzed by a public school teacher (a friend of an extended family member) about how I could possibly handle high school with all of the higher sciences. Well, we made it through, and this was largely because of the excellent support we received with the LS program. My children have taken Earth Science, Natural Science, Biology, Advanced Biology, Chemistry and Advanced Physics. I could not have done that alone, but with the support of this school, it was all manageable.
When it was time for a student to go off to college, it was hard, but I wondered how it was for moms that didn’t homeschool. When that time came for me, though, I knew that I had spent nearly every day with my children for 18 years. I had shared my mind with them through countless incidental conversations—all of them adding to their formation. I had discussed the truths of the faith, laughed through humorous poetry discussions, worked through some tough and frustrating math problems and challenging papers. Though I know very well that I have many faults and didn’t do things perfectly (in fact if I could go back and do it all over knowing everything I know now, I would!), I was always SO grateful to have had all those years with my child, sharing our experiences and minds intimately, before sending them off. Though imperfect, it was the best I could do.
I can honestly say that I don’t think there is a better curriculum for teaching students how to think and express themselves. All of the memory work, learning to write sentences, then paragraphs, learning to analyze and put forth an argument, all while growing bit by bit in the knowledge and understanding of the doctrines of our Catholic faith, have truly made these years a grace-filled time for my family. My children all did well on college entrance assessments, they have all become excellent writers, and all have attended Thomas Aquinas College. But most importantly, all of my children love and practice the Catholic faith.
It’s hard to think about how different things might have been, had I not responded to those first promptings to do something different with my children’s education, had I not found this beautiful curriculum and been blessed with such an excellent and loving consultant as well as all of the wonderful teachers. It truly has been transformative for me and my family. All of you who work for MODG are part of a great good that is making this learning experience possible for so many families. I love you all and am grateful well beyond what these few words can express.
May God bless you all,
Mary Santine
We want to thank Mary for sharing her story and her kind words with us! We are so glad that Mother of Divine Grace School could support you through these years. God Bless you.