HomeSchooling vs the Government
Somewhere today (grr, I lost the link), I noticed that Germany is cracking down on those wicked homeschoolers (Google found me backup info here for example). In this essay, alas, I do not draw any conclusions but just point out that the issues are more complex than we might think.
On general principles I can see why a Government might oppose home schooling. It limits their ability to influence the development and to help mold the ideological beliefs of children. This in turn may be seen to encourage cultural colonization in their midst. Germany (and France for that matter) I understand are having particular difficulties with immigrants who are moving in and not assimilating, but colonizing. Now granted, their respective cultures don't have the experience we Americans have had with immigration but without going into causes and so on, perhaps the crackdown on home-schooling is part and parcel with a general crackdown on private schooling in order hinder the colonization which is occurring.
On the other hand, I also very sympathetic to the homeschoolers. Christians in this country (and I imagine abroad) are more and more worried about raising their children in a increasingly pagan culture. While the left decries that the Christians are crying wolf on this issue, it remains a fact that the cultural messages from TV and Hollywood, with few exceptions which prove the rule, have never been Christian. The education system in our country is increasingly hostile to public expression of Christian faith. Hence the move toward homeschooling as a way to control what our children are exposed to until they come of an age to make decisions on their own. It also gives a chance to implement either older proven educational methods and/or to teach your children in a way tailored to their specific talents and weaknesses.
On general principles I can see why a Government might oppose home schooling. It limits their ability to influence the development and to help mold the ideological beliefs of children. This in turn may be seen to encourage cultural colonization in their midst. Germany (and France for that matter) I understand are having particular difficulties with immigrants who are moving in and not assimilating, but colonizing. Now granted, their respective cultures don't have the experience we Americans have had with immigration but without going into causes and so on, perhaps the crackdown on home-schooling is part and parcel with a general crackdown on private schooling in order hinder the colonization which is occurring.
On the other hand, I also very sympathetic to the homeschoolers. Christians in this country (and I imagine abroad) are more and more worried about raising their children in a increasingly pagan culture. While the left decries that the Christians are crying wolf on this issue, it remains a fact that the cultural messages from TV and Hollywood, with few exceptions which prove the rule, have never been Christian. The education system in our country is increasingly hostile to public expression of Christian faith. Hence the move toward homeschooling as a way to control what our children are exposed to until they come of an age to make decisions on their own. It also gives a chance to implement either older proven educational methods and/or to teach your children in a way tailored to their specific talents and weaknesses.
posted by Mark at 1/11/2005 08:02:00 PM
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