Homeschoolers build debate case with ‘Poverty Cure’

by Rev. Robert Sirico • May 13, 2019

Last month I met with a wonderful family putting Acton Institute resources to good use in the Golden State. Glenn Ballard, the proud father and coach of Katherine (14) and Eliyah Ballard (13), presented me with a case which his girls have been running in their homeschool debate league. In it they argue for substantial reform of the United States’ foreign aid policy from one centered on aid to one centered on trade! The girls artfully frame the debate by quoting Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s remarks in the Acton produced documentary series ‘Poverty Cure’, “There is bad aid, and there is good aid. The bad aid is that one which creates dependencies, but the good aid is that which is targeted to create capacities in people, so that they are able to live on their own activities.”

Katherine and Eliyah have not only grasped and re-articulated this important message but have used it as a springboard for their own research into questions of poverty and international development. It is the Acton Institute’s privilege to share, engage, and inspire others in shaping a freer and more responsible world as these girls have already begun to do.

Later this month the Ballards and many other homeschooling families from all over the country will be gathering to compete in the National Invitational Tournament of Champions (“NITOC”) of the Stoa Christian Homeschool Debate League in Dallas, Texas. I wish the Ballard family and all others competing the very best and hope the tournament inspires all to think through these hard questions. We are grateful to have done our small part to equip, support, and inspire a new generation as they discover and explore for themselves what makes a truly free and virtuous society.

Image courtesy of Stoa Christian Homeschool Speech and Debate

Rev. Robert Sirico

Rev. Robert A. Sirico received his Master of Divinity degree from the Catholic University of America, following undergraduate study at the University of Southern California and the University of London. During his studies and early ministry, he experienced a growing concern over the lack of training religious studies students receive in fundamental economic principles, leaving them poorly equipped to understand and address today's social problems. As a result of these concerns, Fr. Sirico co-founded the Acton Institute with Kris Alan Mauren in 1990. As president of the Acton Institute, Fr. Sirico lectures at colleges, universities, and business organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad. His writings on religious, political, economic, and social matters are published in a variety of journals, including: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the London Financial Times, the Washington Times, the Detroit News, and National Review. Fr. Sirico is often called upon by members of the broadcast media for statements regarding economics, civil rights, and issues of religious concern, and has provided commentary for CNN, ABC, the BBC, NPR, and CBS' 60 Minutes, among others. In April of 1999, Fr. Sirico was awarded an honorary doctorate in Christian Ethics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, and in May of 2001, Universidad Francisco Marroquin awarded him an honorary doctorate in Social Sciences. He is a member of the prestigious Mont Pèlerin Society, the American Academy of Religion, and the Philadelphia Society, and is on the Board of Advisors of the Civic Institute in Prague. Father Sirico also served on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission from 1994 to 1998. He is also currently serving on the pastoral staff of Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Fr. Sirico's pastoral ministry has included a chaplaincy to AIDS patients at the National Institute of Health and the recent founding of a new community, St. Philip Neri House in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Related posts