caught somewhere between real life, simple faith, & raw emotion
Homeschooling Made Illegal
Homeschooling is more common among people of faith more than any other demographic. Think what you want about it, but, to me, it comes down to a matter of personal choice and liberty. In other words, parents should be free to make the choice and free to pursue it. Besides, we have spent a fortune on public education over the last 40 years with little to no measurable improvements. The solution is not throwing more money at the problem. The solution is to do something different.
Among other reasons, this has lead to the proliferation of homeschooling. Homeschool kids on average score higher than public school kids–and even on par with charter and private school kids. Even with this evidence, here’s my question:
Could homeschooling ever be made illegal?
It has been in Sweden. There, it is extremely frowned upon. Unless there is a legitimate reason–like sickness or disability–it is not allowed. According to this article:
On January 26, Rabbi Alexander Namdar and his wife Leah, representatives of the worldwide Chassidic movement to Sweden for the past 21 years, were served at their home with a notice by the Gothenburg school authorities.
According to the notice, four of their children who currently study at an international online school must be delivered to a Swedish school by today (Wednesday). Failure to do so could result in a fine of 16000 crown – the equivalent of $2,400 — per week.
No longer are religious convictions (like wanting to give your children a Jewish education, as in this case) valid reasons for a family to homeschool in Sweden. And if you don’t like it, you can pay $2,400.00 a day! Wow.
So why would Swedish officials do this?
Well, because you parents just aren’t qualified or smart enough to educate and socialize your children in the ways of the world. You’re ignorant primitive doofs, of course. At least that’s how I read the situation. Do I need to mention that the Rabbi’s children test just fine? In fact, they test higher than most of their Swedish peers.
Sweden prides itself on tolerance and equality. It is considered a fundamental value of the nation. In practice, not so much. This is always where big centralized government leads. This is always where social engineering leads. Authoritarianism always squashes liberty, you know ‘for the good of the people.’ No matter how you slice it, when government grows liberty shrinks. Just something to think about. So my question is:
Could homeschooling ever be banned in the land of freedom and liberty–the USA?
I think so.
>>>
5 comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] so I thought I’d continue the theme from Monday in which I discussed homeschooling being made illegal. Here is a hilarious lunchtime man-on-the-street interview of public school students in one of […]
California has a history of attacking homeschooling by passing legislation that requires students be taught by someone with an education degree, I think. I believe the symptoms of big government are already upon us.
That’s how it always happens.
Absolutely. I believe it is on it’s way. Tim and I both believe the government wants to indoctrinate specific beliefs through the educational system in our children and when you homeschool, it prevents that. Homeschooling will soon be outlawed. Mark my words. They want control. And if someone reading this doesn’t believe me, do some research on what a “domestic terrorist” is and how in the world a homeschooling family could be considered one. Unbelievable.
For sure.