Posted on 03/13/2007 2:15:47 AM PDT by Man50D
A German appeals court has not only affirmed a lower court's decision that ripped a 15-year-old homeschooler from her family and subjected her to a forced stay in a psychiatric hospital because she is homeschooled, but also ordered her parents to be given psychiatric evaluations, an international rights organization says.
Joel Thornton, president of the International Human Rights Group told WND that fears the state will use those court-approved tests to destroy the family of Melissa Busekros are very valid.
The family's five other children also are endangered now because of potential court rulings that could be based on any evaluation of the parents, he said.
The appeals court ruling came despite the fact that all three of the lawyers representing Melissa Busekros clearly stated in their request to the court the family had accepted a compromise offered by a lower court for her to return home under government supervision.
"In spite of [that] … the appeals court held that the family refused the court's initial compromise to let Melissa become an outpatient," Thornton said.
For the Busekros family, it's a huge setback.
"[A] fear is that Melissa will be returned to the psychiatric clinic system in Germany and 'disappear.' This would leave the family with no way to know where Melissa is or how she is doing. She could become a ward of the state and completely lost to her family," Thornton said.
Besides the other children in the family, there are further ramifications, too, with the decision raising questions of larger government attacks on homeschoolers in Germany, where that choice of education is illegal because the government wants to stamp out any "parallel" societies utilizing a worldview different from the state's.
Thornton said the problem is that the original psychiatric evaluation was so vague, anyone could have been determined to need treatment under its conclusions.
"It's easy to see … if they want to, the government could take more of the children away from this family using the same process. And there is an increased fear among homeschoolers about whether their children are next," he said.
Even those German families who already have fled to other countries because of Germany's homeschool ban are moving into hiding because of the possibility they could be returned to face German fines or jail time for homeschooling, Thornton said.
He said the IHRG is working on several fronts, including having several German lawyers evaluate their options for an appeal, all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if needed.
"Additionally, we are working with U.S. government officials to bring pressure from the U.S. We are working to set up a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador in Berlin so that the Ambassador can be informed regarding the situation and given a chance to hear the truth directly from Hubert and Gudrun Busekros [Melissa's parents]," Thornton said.
The organization also is calling on Christians worldwide to pray for the family, and people still are being asked to contact the government in Germany regarding the situation.
"We are now looking to set up a wide boycott of German goods in honor of Melissa and her family," the IHRG said.
Just a little earlier, in a response published on a blog to a letter expressing concern about Melissa's case, Wolfgang Drautz, consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany, said that the government "has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views and in integrating minorities into the population as a whole."
The case involves the schoolgirl who had fallen behind in math and Latin, and was being tutored at home. When school officials in Germany, where homeschooling has been illegal since Adolph Hitler decided he wanted to control the educating of all children, discovered that fact, she was expelled. School officials then took her to court, obtaining a court order requiring she be committed to a psychiatric ward because of her "school phobia."
She later was moved, and then put in a foster home, and although she's been allowed a brief meeting with her parents, they still are not allowed to know where she is living or under what circumstances.
Drautz cited the German constitution that places the entire school system under the supervision of the government. "Homeschool may be equally effective in terms of test scores," Drautz wrote. "It is important to keep in mind, however, that school teaches not only knowledge but also social conduct, encourages dialogue among people of different beliefs and cultures, and helps students to become responsible citizens."
Members of the German homeschool community previously have taken their battle for the right to teach their children Christian basics to the Human Rights Court for the European Union, asking for affirmation of the statement in the European Convention on Human Rights that: "In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching is in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions."
However, that court just last year affirmed a German court which had ruled the parental "wish" to have their children grow up without anti-Christian influences "could not take priority over compulsory school attendance."
The international court said schools represent society and "it was in the children's interest to become part of that society."
The Youth Welfare Office in Erlangen, which was integral in launching the case against Melissa, also has been defending its actions.
In a statement that was translated from German to English, the officials said their responsibility is to "intervene when a youth is endangered, physically or psychologically."
Others, however, weren't waiting for explanations. One group has posted on the Internet a boycott proposal. "Parents Of The World Call For A Boycott Of All German Goods Until Melissa Busekros Is Returned Without Threat Or Condition To Her Family…" the website announces. It warns against purchasing products from Porsche, Siemens and other German corporations.
The German government's defense of its "social" teachings came to light during an earlier dispute on which WND reported, when a German family wrote to officials objecting to police officers picking their child up at home and delivering him to a public school.
"The Minister of Education does not share your attitudes toward so-called homeschooling…," said a government letter in response. "You complain about the forced school escort of primary school children by the responsible local police officers… In order to avoid this in future, the education authority is in conversation with the affected family in order to look for possibilities to bring the religious convictions of the family into line with the unalterable school attendance requirement."
In Melissa's case, the local Youth Welfare Office arrived at the family home with about 15 uniformed police officers to take her into custody. They had in hand a court order allowing them to take her into custody, "if necessary by force."
The Home School Legal Defense Association, the largest homeschool organization in the U.S. with more than 80,000 member families, said the case is an "outrage."
The HSLDA said it was watching about 40 other families with court cases in various stages.
Practical Homeschool Magazine noted one of the first acts by Hitler when he moved into power was to create the governmental Ministry of Education and give it control of all schools, and school-related issues.
In 1937, the dictator said, "The Youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled. This Reich stands, and it is building itself up for the future, upon its youth. And this new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing."
American homeschoolers should be concerned, as WND has reported, because the ease with which similar restrictions on free choice could be imposed in the United States.
Michael Farris, cofounder of the HSLDA, has called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to protect the right of parents to educate their children at home, in light of such developments in Europe.
Interesting. Thanks for posting.
If you disagree with the State by definition you are insane.
L
There is a wide consensus in the German society that homeschooling is not wanted because we like to see the childrens right on free information assured. On one hand many parents are simply not able to teach their kids due to their own incapability on the other hand it is quite likely that religious extreme parents i.e. deprive the kids the information (i.e. over sexuality) that they need to survive in our society. In registered schools certain standarts are guaranteed. Parents have the right to give their kids in private schools that meet that standart.
Therefore homeschooling is forbidden in Germany and that will not change.
bump for later read
Wow, you sound just like the government. I am surprised to see such a statist position here. Well, I guess at least, with that position, the Muslims will never take over Germany!
Are you defending the German governments totalitarian enforcement of this indoctrination? Because it sounds like you are. If so, you're going to have a real problem with a whole lot of FReepers. Myself included. These tactics make me so angry, I'd be ready for a revolution in Germany, if I were German. My God, how much power are you willing to give these people?
["...the education authority is in conversation with the affected family in order to look for possibilities to bring the religious convictions of the family into line..."]
So, the "authority" is going to make this family bring their religious convictions "into line." Those sorry b*st*rds. This makes me fighting mad. Welcome to Orwell's 1984. Or Hitler's 1934.
Home > Rediff Guide To The Net > Features
http://www.rediff.com/netguide/2003/may/21school.htm
[ALT] + [EDU]
Vidya Srinivas Rao | May 21, 2003 11:17 IST
Net-savvy Parents Find a Great Alternative to Traditional Schools: Their Home (INDIA)
It can be called by many names - homeschooling, home-based education, home education, unschooling, deschooling, alternative education - but the fact remains that with the added impetus of the Web, the popularity of this form of education is growing by leaps and bounds.
"People prefer it because they feel the education system is totally inadequate, and in fact destructive," says Clive Elwell, a teacher in special schools and the moderator of the alt-ed-India Yahoo group.
Elwell believes in alternative education and has home educated his two children for more than 10 years in New Zealand and Australia. He initiated the site alternativeeducationindia.net and started a mailing list to encourage parents in India who were dissatisfied with the present education system, to take up alternative education. In one of his articles, he discusses this feasible alternative to the conventional education system.
Like Elwell, many parents believe that kids should be allowed their freedom and home education gives them an opportunity to be what they want to be.
Prashanth Vishweswaran, a consultant with a leading Michigan based pharmaceutical company believes that home education breaks the shackles of limitation. He and his wife Shobana home educates both their kids Tarun (7) and Maya (5) and says, "As parents we have learnt a lot about our kids just being with them when they need us the most."
Srikanth and Sangita Vasuraj from Chennai educate their three children (aged 13, 11 and 6) at home. Says Sangita, "The more we researched homeschooling, the more convinced we were to adopt this system of education."
Based in Dubai for over five years, before moving to India, their children were introduced to the Internet while they were overseas. Both Prashanth and Sangita believe that home-educated kids perform better than their counterparts in traditional schools. "Since there is no restriction or gradation in home schooling, the choice to acquire knowledge is limitless. We have seen that home-educated kids normally are way higher in typical curriculums and syllabi," says Prashanth.
"In a formal school environment it is always an issue of trying to be better than peers. Here it is comparative - have I done better than last time? And that is so important," feels Sangita.
The role and impact of Internet
With the advent of information technology, homeschooling is no longer limited to the boundaries of home. "Combining the oldest learning environment with the newest technology may provide the best preparation for the workplace of tomorrow," writes freelance writer and editor Rhonda L Rieseberg.
"The Internet has revolutionised home schooling, bringing it into spotlight," writes Naomi Elchenlaub in her extensive article on 'E-homeschooling: The impact of Internet on homeschooling'.
Home schoolers do not use the Internet as the sole means of educating their children. Sangita Vasuraj says her kids use the Internet to do their revisions and take knowledge tests online. Prashanth, who feels that the Internet is the future of home education, uses the Internet for a variety of purposes like topic search, workshops, customised training material, networking with other home schoolers and standardised testing.
Parents can look for good resources on the Net before letting their children go online. Jayalakshmi, Bangalore based chartered accountant, who home educates her 10-year-old son Aditya, says, "My husband checks for good resources and weeds out harmful sites before we let him go online."
The Internet can also be used for networking with other homeschooling families. There are email lists and groups, bulletin boards and chat rooms to communicate with each other and to discuss issues like rules, regulations, experience and resources.
"The Internet offers the advantage of linking with other home schooled children and families around the world and exchange information." says Jayalakshmi Rangaraj, a member of many such groups online.
The Internet needs to be approached with some degree of caution though. Parents have to be aware of computer related health problems, Internet addiction and stress.
Homeschooling resources
Ranjan Nair, a retired engineer from Kerala, who home educated his daughter because they were always on the move, recommends the Homeschool Internet Resources Center. The site has free services which includes software, a used curriculum exchange, e-pals, a home school news magazine, curriculum reviews, and a list of subject reference links updated daily. Parents can also register their children at IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) as private candidates.
The IGCSE is a balanced international two-year study programme for the 14-16 age group. MIKSIKE is an international study programme that was developed for home schooling families and integrates and incorporates several areas of Internet technology. It uses templates that allows students to easily change content. It also has an online support centre with facilitators who guides learners in real-time.
Some parents fear that higher universities may not accept their home-educated children. Ranjan Nair proves them wrong. His daughter has now been accepted in the University of Phoenix even though she was home educated. "She was brilliant and she deserved it," says Nair.
One doubt that parents have of this form of education is the isolation of their kids, but Sangita says otherwise. "We have a huge friends circle and the children are never wanting for company." Prashanth has the final word: "In most cases, home educated kids need not fit into the society, the society fits around them."
More resources:
Alternative schools in India[http://alternativeeducationindia.net/altschools.htm]
The National Open School (NOS)[http://www.nos.org/] offers academic and vocational courses at three levels foundational, secondary, and senior secondary. It is an open and flexible system and attempts to reach out to the physically, mentally, socially and geographically disadvantaged groups through suitable learning material and delivery mechanisms.
This is the point. Imagine Muslim girls being trapped in "homeschooling" lessons. We Germans have our reasons to say no to homeschooling.
The situation in the US might be different and I do not want to comment on that. Nevertheless I do not see any reason for homeschooling in my country. As I already said - in Germany the rights of the pupils are far more important that the rights of the families. Other countries other attitudes.
this will come here too if the libe have their way
Right to free education also means right to feed disinformation.
From an American/Conservative point of view, the pupils are the central part of the family. They belong to the family NOT the state.
We here find the American middle class family under assault on all fronts, from morality to religion to fashion to diet and lets not even start on the political brainwashing that goes on in public education. It is no accident that Hitlery Clinton wrote the book "It Takes a Village..." She and her ilk would have us believe that we're all to dumb and backward to raise our own children.
The sad fact is, however, that many Americans have abdicated the responsibility to raise and educate their kids, and have welcomed a decrepit school system that seeks to absolve them of any decision making in their children's lives.
Pupils, by definition, are still learning (hopefully) what to do with the rights they will EARN by becoming productive members of society.
If you believe what you state then why are parents necessary?
Not necessarily. Just imagine yourself into the situation of a orthodox muslim girl growing up in Germany. If your parents have the possibility to "homeschool" you you have NO chance to develop your own personality or to break free out of their religious dungeon. Due to our laws i.e. the Turks have to deal with kids in the meantime who already were breathing the odour of freedom. We made good experience with this practice.
Evangelical Christian parents (those who usually try to homeschool kids in Germany from the Christian side) practically do not play a role in our country since they are only very few and therefore irrelevant. As I already said they have the possibility to found religious schools that fit into some basic standarts. I have no problem with that.
In many parts of the urban scene we are referred to as either "breeders" or "baby daddys". That should tell you where this is all headed.
Germany has no free speach and not a lot of other freedoms either...things haven't changed much since 1933.
Imagine all boys and girls trapped in state mandated "public schooling" lessons. Given the above two fears, which is more frightening to individual freedom?
In Germany they do not belong to the state either. The state just grants their basic rights. Even against the familiy if that should be nessecary.
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