Source: Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit

In Freedom Learning Is Better

70 Years of compulsory school attendance are enough  -  this relic has outlived its usefulness.
 

When the national socialistic leadership under Adolf Hitler and Reichsminister Dr. Rust signed the Reichsschulgesetz (Reich/Imperial School Legislation) in Berchtesgaden on July 6, 1938, they could not have imagined that the essential components of this law would remain in force even 70 years later. With the downfall of the so-called ‘Thousand Year Reich’ most of the laws and ordinances from that timeframe disappeared.  But the unique German compulsory school attendance law in effect across all Europe which empowered the state to lead children to school with the help of the police and even by force if necessary; that law remained unchanged. The school policymakers of most of the German federal states incorporated this paragraph almost word-for-word into their legislation.

The 6th of July 1938 represents an historic break, up to that day non-school and alternative educational methods were possible and were practiced, even if to modest levels.  Although compulsory school attendance was introduced in Prussia in 1717, one could still find the words in the Reichsverfassung, the Imperial Constitution, of March 28, 1849 that:  "schooling in the home is not subject to any constraints."  The existing compulsory education had always been interpreted up to 1938 in the sense of an ‘obligation for instruction’ and allowed for exceptions. The majority of democratically constituted states in the world therefore do not require any compulsory school attendance, but practice an ‘obligation for instruction’ leaving room for a multitude of alternatives as to how children learn today,

The inherently violent Compulsory School Attendance laws have lead to such incomprehensible outgrowths that in 2007 the 15 year old daughter of an exemplary family from the city of Erlangen was forcibly compelled to enter a psychiatric clinic under a very large police presence and Youth Services action. Her crime:  she was receiving individual instruction and nurturing in the home, instead of continuing to visit the public school, where the learning environment provided increasing difficulties.

The Dudek family, an academic family from Archfeld in Hesse, will soon have to pay for their preference for a free educational form by serving terms of imprisonment.  Their eldest son learned so well at home that he was able to pass his Realschulabschluss (secondary school final examinations) at the top of the class with a grade of 1.1, but the spirit of the Reichsschulpflichtgesetzes  (Reich/Imperial School Legislation) demands its tribute in the form of a prison sentence of 3 months each for the father and the mother.

Other free-learning families are emigrating from Germany and leaving their familiar environments, but are looking forward to their newly-won freedom in our neighboring European states.

The fact that an atmosphere of compulsion and pressure cannot provide a lasting, successful learning experience is not under dispute by subject matter experts in the field.  The fact that German educational politicians insist on physical presence in a school building under all circumstances, although learning in other locations and under other circumstances is frequently at least equally as good, if not more successful, is neither comprehensible nor up-to-date.

It is time to implement the unambiguous declarations of UN-Special Commissioner Vernor Munoz de Villalobos who stated during his visit to Germany that "education cannot be reduced to simple attendance at a school  . . . Alternatives such as distance learning and  "homeschooling" are possible options which may come into consideration under certain circumstances . . ."

After these 70 years the Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit (Network on Educational Freedom) calls for the complete elimination of Germany Compulsory School Attendance, and calls for establishment of a legislative basis to make possible diverse school-based and non-school educational paths, which may compete with one another and thereby enrich both sides. We view freedom and diversity instead of state monopolies as the best way out of the German educational malaise.  Chancellor Merkel’s motto "Dare to be more Free" should finally also apply to the area of education.

The "Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit"  (Network on Educational Freedom) is an affiliation of organizations, parent initiatives, and individuals across Germany who are concerned about the right of free access to education, for a free choice and free structuring of the individual personal educational path, with the assistance of public as well as private initiative resources.

Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit e.V. Nürnberg – Board of Trustees and executive Board

A state task force that examined the death of a 4-year-old boy who died in 2006 has called for more oversight for children taught at home.

The N.C. Department of Social Services made the recent recommendations in its report on the death of Sean Paddock, a Smithfield boy killed by his adoptive mother. Lynn Paddock, who was convicted of first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the case, home schooled her seven children.

The report calls for the N.C. Division of Non-Public Education to increase monitoring of home schools and for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to track school status of children who die under suspicious circumstances.

The minimum age of compulsory school attendance in North Carolina is seven.

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Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Can California force parents to send their children outside the home for their education, regardless of the quality of instruction they receive at home? Today, the California Court of Appeal in Los Angeles will hear arguments in a case raising this issue - the constitutional rights of parents to direct the education of their children. The case arises out of a dependency hearing in which court-appointed attorneys for Jonathan and Mary Grace, two minor children who had been receiving instruction at home, asked the trial judge to order them to attend public school. The judge refused on the grounds that the parents have a constitutional right to homeschool their children. But the Court of Appeal reversed the ruling and interpreted California law as requiring homeschooling parents to have teaching credentials.

Understandably, the appellate court’s decision in February created an immediate controversy with homeschooling and parental rights’ advocates across the nation. Subsequently the Court of Appeal, in an unusual move, decided to withdraw its first decision, request additional briefing, and hear the case again.

But - should the court ultimately rule the same way - a mandate against homeschooling, rather than a focus on the merits of this individual case, makes no sense. For one, the court can resolve the appeal without addressing the constitutional issue by interpreting state law not to require credentialing for homeschool instructors.

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DEBATE ON WHETHER TEACHING CREDENTIALS ARE NEEDED REOPENS

With the battle lines drawn, a state appeals court in Los Angeles today will once again consider a controversial case that could drastically affect the growing home-school movement in California.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal will hear arguments in a legal fight over whether parents who home-school their children must have teaching credentials. The same appeals court earlier this year sent shock waves through the nation’s home-schooling movement, finding that parents who lack teaching credentials are violating California’s compulsory-education laws if they home-school their children.

No other state has that requirement.

The ruling triggered protests from top state education officials, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and others, prompting the appeals court to reopen the case in March. Since that time, both sides in the home-schooling debate have filed stacks of briefs to weigh in on an issue that arose by happenstance out of a Los Angeles child welfare case.

The appeals court has 90 days to rule, which would result in a decision sometime around the start of the next school year. The California Supreme Court may still have the last word in the case.

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Source: Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit, Germany

From Germany: a press release concerning Homeschooling

Homeschooling is a criminal offense, comparable to a trucker who repeatedly gets behind the wheel drunk. At least this is the opinion of Chief Judge Becker, who has sentenced the Dudek family to three (3) months imprisonment without parole.

With this verdict the judge maintains the ignoble tradition begun on July 6, 1938 with the signing of the Reichsschulgesetz (Reich/Imperial School Legislation) by Adolf Hitler and Reichsminister Rust.  This tradition reached its high point in 2007 with the deplorable decision of the German Federal Supreme Court to legitimize revocation of parental custody rights for Homeschooling.
 
These verdicts have their origins in a common spirit of political despotism, as has twice been gleefully celebrated during the infamous period of the German dictatorship. The justifications offered for such harsh measures against families providing education in the home always present the same old stereotypes, but cannot stand up under any serious legal examination from the bench.
 
To say that ‘the community has a justifiable interest’ to ‘counteract the establishment of religious or other parallel societies motivated by a worldview, and to integrate minorities in this area’  is not a legal justification, but is actually a purely political declaration.  The politicization of the judiciary is a well known hallmark of dictatorship.  This is completely incompatible with a constitutional state.  Also, this leaves aside the point that no verifiable evidence has been found to show that Homeschooling in any country in the world has ever lead to a parallel society. In many large German societies such parallel societies thrive in spite of existing compulsory education. (more…)

Source: HSLDA

A new situation representing the plight of homeschoolers in Germany is developing in the state of Hesse.

The Dudeks, a homeschooling family of eight, were tried, convicted and fined 900 euros (about $1,200) in May for not sending their children to school. Hessian law allows for an exception to compulsory school attendance in “compelling cases.” But, as a matter of practice, homeschooling is not tolerated.

Following the trial, state prosecutor Herwig Mueller told Mr. Dudek that he needn’t worry about the fine. “You won’t have to pay it,” said Mr. Mueller, “because I am going to send you and your wife to jail.”

Additionally, the local Youth Welfare Office in Hesse filed a case against the family in the local Family Court. But at a July 3 hearing, a judge ruled the Dudeks could keep custody of their six children.

In the neighboring state of Bavaria, similar authorities in January took Melissa Busekros from her family under an escort of 15 police officers. In Zitau, the Brause family was forced to flee Germany after the Family Court in their state took custody of their children because they were homeschooling. Other families have fled under similar pressure—just because they were homeschooling.

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Source: The Washington Times

We brought attention to the difficult climate for home-schooling in Germany in this column in March 2007. We shared the trials and tribulations of the Busekros family, whose 15-year-old daughter was forcibly removed from their home because she was being home-schooled. Melissa was placed in the psychiatric wing of a Bavarian clinic and was deemed to be suffering from "school-phobia."

There is good news to report on behalf of the Busekros family. When she turned 16, Melissa walked away from the clinic and returned home. Bavarian officials did not consent to her leaving, but because she had reached the age where she could not be compelled to attend school daily, they could not force her to stay.

The bad news is that the situation for home-schooling families has not improved in Germany and may be even worse. One of our Home School Legal Defense Association staff attorneys just returned from a two-week assessment of the home-schooling climate in Germany.

Sadly, home-school families continue to be aggressively pursued by school authorities and youth welfare officials. In addition, home-schoolers in Germany have more cause to be concerned than in the past because of action by the federal parliament that has made it easier to take children from home-schooling parents. Under the old law, government officials had to show that the child was in danger because of abuse by the parents. All that is required under the new law is that the child’s welfare is in danger, a vague requirement that is undefined by the current law. Although the law has not been signed by the federal president, he is expected to do so at any time.

This week my daughter brought home a letter from Chipping Campden school informing parents that they intend to introduce a fingerprint registration system. With the growth in the use of these technologies within schools, I hope that all aware and caring parents would think deeply about what is being proposed before their children are also asked to participate. Although under current legislation no permission need be sought from parents or children for such proposals, it is important to note that participation cannot be coerced.

The use of "surveillance" technology is becoming more widespread and we are encouraged to accept the routine intrusion, with the consequent threat of identity theft. Children are being encouraged to give up their personal and biometric data without fully understanding the issues involved and the long-term wider implications.

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Mr. Watts wrote a guest editorial in the Hot Springs Star of May 20, which prompts me to comment on some issues he raised. In particular, he was disgruntled with the Hot Springs School Board policy which requires students who wish to participate in school sports to take a class. He is unhappy with this because his daughter wants to play golf although she isn’t in the community for nine out of twelve months. I would like to shed a little light on our experience in the home-schooling/school-sport endeavor.

Approximately six to seven years ago, my children, ages 9, 10, and 12, made several trips to Pierre. There they learned to lobby senators and representatives regarding the Home School bill which was to be voted on. They walked the halls of the Capitol, mustered up a lot of courage and approached these dignitaries with their plea to “give them a chance.” My kids were questioned hard by these folks, asking them why they thought they should be allowed, and would this open doors to cause bigger problems for the schools. My young kids went home and anxiously searched the newspapers for results of the home school bill vote.
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When this bill passed for the first time in South Dakota history, it was passed with the stipulation that home school students could participate in high school sports if the local school boards voted in such a manner. It was my understanding at the time that most West River School Boards voted “Yes,” and most East River Schools voted “No.”

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British children are being "demonised" by a society that is locking too many of them up, according to watchdogs.

The joint report by children’s commissioners for all parts of the UK said attitudes towards youngsters were hardening across the country.

The experts said crime committed by children had fallen between 2002 and 2006, but the numbers criminalised had gone up by just over a quarter.

Their conclusions are part of a United Nations review of standards in the UK.

The four commissioners were appointed in a move to ensure children’s rights are more effectively recognised by policy-makers.

An anti-teen sonic device was criticised by watchdogs

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