Over the years at different times I have heard about troubling things. Ideas and even government decisions that would imply that the primary educator should be the state, the government or their appointed institutions. Again today I read of the plight of a family seeking to immigrate to the United States because they were not being allowed to home educate their children in Germany. The US government has not been supportive and it sounds like they are looking to use this situation to create a new legal standard in the court system about whether there is a basic right to educate your children how ever you believe is best.
Many Christian families are troubled by this, especially those who home educate. Really we should all be troubled by this. When the government begins to put in place such restrictions through court rulings, we should all be afraid. When laws and standards are implemented through the courts there is no proper dialogue, no proper representation of the people. Rather it is based on which lawyers argue best to convince the judge of their position. In this case everyone should be upset about the idea that the government knows what is best for my children.
Although we did home educate for part of our children's education, I am not writing today to try and convert people to that position. Rather I want you to think about the long term effects. Today if the government makes home education illegal because they did not see a particular group, race, religion etc... that was 100% in support of it. What will be next? Religion based private schools? Other private schools? Not everyone of us agrees on which school we should send our children to. It is a slippery slope to base an argument on less than complete agreement on anything. Those who advocate this line of thinking would have us all fit the same mold, there would be no freedom to do anything unless everyone else also wanted to do the same.
The basic right in question here is not a right to home educate but a basic right to freedom in how we are to raise our families and how they are to learn. If you do not home educate would you want the government to tell you that you had to? Would you want the government to make you send your child to a different school that you did not think was the right place for them to be? Who should be the one to decide what is best for your children, your family? Well I believe that you, if you are a parent, are the one who should decide.
It is true that the government needs to make sure society is a healthy place and that there are proper boundaries. But they are totally in the wrong zone if they are thinking that home education is not good. look at the many many studies about the high achievement of home educated kids. Look at the way post secondary education has changed to accept more home educated students because they shine like the stars that they are. Sure you cannot generalize, but most home educated students are taught to gain "competency" in a course or skill. Now post secondary institutions are more and more looking at competency as how assessment should happen not just on test scores.
Anyway I could go on but I needed to let off some steam on this one. Make your voice heard, I know I am in Canada but we should all make sure our governments know where we stand before the storm hits.
Pastor Bruce
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