Correct. And who gets to decide the difference between a "directed" vs. "misdirected" education? Not the parents, obviously. If they're going to be "held accountable," it is the state that will do it.
But not every evil may be addressed by the state. This is a fundamental principle of conservatism.
But some evils can and must be addressed by the state. That is another fundamental principle of conservatism.
And of course, the difficulty is in deciding which evils should, and should not, be addressed by the state. Of course, that debate absolutely requires that the participants be capable of rationally discussing and discerning the facts and arguments presented ... which is why Jefferson (among others) was so adamant on the need for an educated populace.
Jefferson knew that an educated populace is a fundamental requirement for a free society -- and thus he was an early and fervent advocate of public education.
And, at the very least, it is incumbent upon the state to demand and ensure that all children be held to certain educational standards.
As to whether California is actually offering a good public education is an entirely different matter, of course.
“Correct. And who gets to decide the difference between a ‘directed’ vs. ‘misdirected’ education? Not the parents, obviously. If they're going to be ‘held accountable,’ it is the state that will do it.”
No, not the state. The state has no right, no legitimate interest, no business at all in holding parents accountable for misdirected education. I already said that in my last post. It's none of the state's damned business, the same state that once taught through segregation that blacks were inferior, the same state that today teaches children how to put condoms on bananas, the state may NOT legitimately direct the education of children against the wishes of their parents or judge the direction by parents of their children's education.
For parents, God is judge. That's it.
“But some evils can and must be addressed by the state.”
This ain't one of them, and anyone who thinks it is is an authoritarian statist.
“...which is why Jefferson (among others) was so adamant on the need for an educated populace.”
Don't care much for the musings of Thomas Jefferson, a man who cut up the Bible and put it back together according to his own prejudices and biases.
“And, at the very least, it is incumbent upon the state to demand and ensure that all children be held to certain educational standards.”
Perhaps they should start with the “education” they provide to children in the public schools.
But I don't accept what you're saying anyway. The state is intrinsically incompetent to “demand and ensure that all children be held to certain educational standards.” See: No Child Left Behind Act for an example.
sitetest