As a homeschool alumnus, I have heard many cases from across the world where parents were unjustly arrested or had their children taken from them simply because local school and government officials thought home-schooled children were being “mistreated” or are not being “properly educated.” In fact, many European countries have laws intending to make homeschooling difficult for parents and therefore hurting the parents’ rights. In Sweden, a law for education reform was passed to ensure that government determined in the types of classes and curriculum that were to be used. The effects of this law on home schoolers are simply despicable. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. It only gets worse.
In some cases, the fight for homeschooling rights is being won. For instance, in Slovakia, parents have been able to legally homeschool their children since 2008. However, these rights constantly face the threat of being revoked by the government. When government is involved in child education, there is nothing to prevent parental rights from going down the drain. Parents lose the ability to decide what sort of education the child is to have, especially if the parent is considering homeschooling.
So how does this effect America?
Every year, my parents filed an affidavit to be an acknowledged private school, as is required by California state law for homeschoolers. However, that didn’t stop the local unified school district from sending threatening letters to our home stating that if a complaint was filed against our family they would promptly send Child Protection Services and the authorities to our door. Note the lack of definition when they say “complaint.” For the last nine years of my home education, until graduation, my family saw these letters at the beginning of every school year. Thankfully, my parents continued to homeschool the Roberson kids.
In my last article, I mentioned that schools are no longer a place to learn mathematics, reading, and writing, but a place to push propaganda, including a recent incident in North Carolina. Frankly, if we don’t take a stance on the future of child education, I’m afraid we’re following in Europe’s footsteps. In fact, it seems to me that the government (most specifically those in the Democratic party) would love to see our education system follow that of Europe.
Additionally, keep your eye on the potential ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Every single clause of this treaty clearly defines government as the sole provider and decision-maker of a child’s education whether they are public-schooled or not. That’s right. Big Daddy Government will be in charge of making the decisions on how your lives (and in this case, the lives of your children) are to be run. Keep in mind, the UNCRC would also dictate how religious schools would be run as well. Still having the warm fuzzies for hope, change, and a happy standing with the U.N.?
Government is already making steps towards completely dictating education in America. It won’t be long before we begin to see a rise in court cases against parents seeking to avoid government interference.
Parents want a better option that has nothing to do with the government’s idea of education for their child. And when parents do take educating their kids into their own hands, government has a tendency to try and stop them. Since when is the government in charge of overseeing and dictating a child’s view on life? Last time I checked, that is the task and obligation of a parent. Will we let the nanny state expand so far as to take on the role of parenting as well? Something to think about…
Elissa Roberson // College of the Desert // @ElissaRoberson
The College Conservative 