Posted on 01/11/2005 7:37:31 PM PST by Born in a Rage
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HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION |
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January 7, 2005
"Homeschooling Illegal" Declares German School Official Seven homeschool families in Northwest Germany are being forced to enroll their children in public school. The Paderborn County school board has levied fines against these families and ordered the children to attend school by Monday, January 10, or the police will forcibly take them to school. Any resistance by the parents will result in the removal of these thirteen elementary age children from their homes and into state custody! Despite the lack of state recognition in Germany for homeschooling, these families pulled their children out of public school earlier this year to begin teaching them at home. Their primary reason, as Christians, was to protect their children from the humanistic and godless values being taught to their children in the public school. While the school district responded by stating that homeschooling is illegal, the parents' maintained that their fundamental rights as parents would be violated if they were forced to return the children to public school. All of the families obtained excellent packaged curriculums from German correspondence schools, and demonstrated to school officials that their children were receiving a proper education. Heinz Kohler, the county education director, dismissed the families' beliefs, stating, "you and your children are not living in isolation on some island but rather in an environment posing intra- and extracurricular situations where you'll have to accept that your world view will be curtailed." Mr. Kohler further explained that homeschooling could not be allowed as "children should not be encapsulated or kept apart from the outside world. In these cases, the parents' rights to personally educate their children would prevent the children from growing up to be responsible individuals within society
" German homeschoolers have seen much persecution in recent months, and this action by Paderborn County affirms that the problem has not been solved. The United States has been blessed for many years with the freedom to homeschool. Germany does not have this freedom. If American homeschoolers do not try to help "the least of these," then who will aid them? Requested Action "The seven homeschool families in Paderborn County should not be forced to return their children to public school. A parent's right to direct the education of his children is a fundamental right that should be protected. We request that you urge Heinz Kohler and the county school board to drop the pending fines against the families." We encourage you to rephrase this message in your own words and include a few paragraphs in your letter describing the benefits of homeschooling to your family. It would be best not to include the word "homeschool" in the subject of your e-mail, as that will make it too easy for the embassy to filter it out. The whole family should participate in this project of writing letters to the German Embassy. This is a great educational opportunity for your children to learn the importance of the freedoms we have in the United States and how easily these freedoms can be taken away. Your decision to contact the embassy may determine the success or failure of the German homeschool movement. Wolfgang Ischinger The embassy can be e-mailed from its website: http://www.globescope.biz/germany/reg/index.cfm You may also contact the local German officials involved in the case: Landrat Paderborn: Mr. Manfred Mueller [landrat@kreis-paderborn.de] (county official) President Nordrhein-Westfalen: Mr. Peer Steinbrueck Local media 2. Pray for endurance and protection for these courageous families. Your e-mails and calls work! A few years ago, the Harder family in Germany was facing two years imprisonment for homeschooling. Your calls and emails caused the German authorities to dismiss the Harder case within three weeks! Protests from overseas can change the views of the German government. Thank you for standing together for freedom with your fellow homeschooling families around the world.
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"The main plank in the National Socialist program is to abolish the liberalistic concept of the individual..." --Adolph Hitler
"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society." --Hillary Clinton, 1993
The original article in the German Papers stated: "The Families right to raise their children may be taken away from them."
Ve have Vays of making you learn.
Since the state gets to determine what the people should learn and believe, who gets to decide for the state?
Agreed and when not homeschooling, contracting a person or school of your choice, reflective of your values, to stand in your stead is the next best option. We have chosen this for our oldest--almost 7 and in a very small Lutheran school(1 of 7 1st graders). We have been delighted with the whole situation, absolultely better then we could have hoped.
Aside from this article, and getting a little off track, what I have always found troubling about parents is their unwillingness to even consider all the options. Homeschooling still is and always will be an option we would consider.
This is a truly disgusting story, showing how the leftists truly believe we all belong to the state, before and exclusive of our rights to belong to ourselves or our families.
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I couldn't have said it better myself.
I think when it is discussed in this light, the real argument is what should the finished product(the grown adult) look like. That is what socialists and liberals really have a problem with, the finished product. The idea of free thinking, but deeply religious in many cases, people is frightening to them.
They are lying when they say the person won't be a responsible adult, they know better, what they are really worried about is that adult will be a leader and free thinker and won't fit the mold of the worker bee that hands over a big chunk of his life's earnings that they see as a "responsible adult".
I don't give a d*mn if they are hippie leftists. The children are theirs to educate as they see fit. So you basically are saying that the state's indoctrination of children is superior to the parent's? Perhaps too their rights to land trump yours? Their right to imprison anyone they see as a threat trumps your ideas of freedom? This is very dangerous territory. In the absence of physical and sexual abuse and knowing the children are getting a solid, basic education, the state has no business. Did you read the state's responses. They should really bother you regardless of how you view the individual family involved.
I feel for them though, they are the pioneers of their homeschool movement, much like 20 years ago there were pioneers in that area that makes it easy for people to homeschool in this country today. Sadly for them, their country is so far down the socialist track, they may never win this.
I wonder if the people of Germany are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights? Does their constitution state this. It seems that the authorities proclaim the state the ultimate authority. Of course these people are so endowed, but they will have to get the authorities to recognize this. This is the type of immigrant who should seek political assylum in the USA.
It really does take a village, doesn't it?
Pleased to meet you, Senator! Welcome to FR.
That's what hslda.org is for. They're usually pretty successful and some politicians are beginning to realize that it's not a good thing to thwart homeschoolers.
Is that really the same group? The article says northwest Germany, and your "hippies" are from southern Germany.
In any case, it's not necessarily illegal to be hippies, or to be a member of a sect.
Right. The State co-owns the children.
Where do you come up with this stuff?
Remember it's more important for children to hang around with other children than with adults because... um... I'll get back to you.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1438867,00.html
Germany homeschooling is already illegal, but apparently authorities often turn a blind eye. This is another story detailing a families problems with it.
I like how the word 'socialization' is used :)
Says it all.
Maybe the police can starve them out, play tapes of rabbits being strangled over megaphones, and then burn the place down?
And there you have it. Old Lucifer manifests in many different ways.
MM
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