Posted on 01/11/2005 7:37:31 PM PST by Born in a Rage
I don't know what this has to do with socialism.
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In communist Russia you could only buy products from the State. In certain countries people are taxed to the point that they can't afford private health care and must use the state facilities.
In the United States, if you are poor, you have 2 choices. 1. send your kid to a state school. 2. homeschool and you must still pay taxes for the public school that your kid isn't going to.
You are taxed so that you can't afford a private school.
In Germany you are forced to send your kid to a state school.
This is the definition of socialism. In the USA we have a socialistic school system except for a few places like Fl and D.C. and some other states. Soon this will turn into an avalance as people flee our decrepite, rotting, and liberal public schools.
I don't understand what is wrong with 'cults' and 'hippies' as long as they don't violate the rights of their children they should be left alone in freedom.
Keeping them out of public schools isn't violating the rights of their children, in fact, it probably protects them to a degree.
Theodore Roosevelt was homschooled and is arguably one of the brightest, most well read presidents in teh United States - although unfortunately he wasn't so conservative...
Don't worry, they aren't besieged by the police. When they were singing in front of the church they already had their packed suitcases with them and acted cooperative. The police only had to load them in the cars. The police treated them good. They came to prison for two weeks or so and didn't came into contact with the hardcore criminals there (sent to shower at different times). This sect (calls themselves "twelve tribes") also has to pay the fines that summed up over the years - 130.000 Euro. Apparently they have money because they bought old medieval church and the small village surrounding it.
I posted the police picture only for illustrative reasons. They wouldn't need to besieged them anyway. People in Germany arent armed. A couple of big policemen in riotgear + teargas usually do the job.
All this happened and is a still ongoing conflict in southern Germany near Augsburg. The families the actual article is about live in northern Germany but get supported by the "twelve tribes". I think they are of similar mindset and also a sect.
Basically nothing. I think it's better for children going to school and having contact not only with other childs but also adults who aren't all friends of the parents. I wrote some of my reasons before but am too lazy now to elaborate much more. :)
I agree that the whole picture needs to be examined...these weren't your normal type parents, and the locals...are likely a sect of some type. I won't say homeschooling is bad...but the German legal system doesn't allow for it period. I am an American, 11 years in Germany, and have watched my son make his way through the system. I can't say alot of positives about the system. The testing involved is a joke...the teachers are mostly incompentent...the books are actually better than you'd expect but you pay for everything your kids need (books, fees, etc). Half the parents have to have a tutor for the kid in at least one area, and the learning curve is vastly different than the US. I'd readily admit that I needed the US education system (a old fashioned country school)...and I would have failed in the German system.
What you say about their true concern being free thinking and not marching in lock-step is probably very accurate; they are just not being honest about that.
Case in point: My nephew was homeschooled, and wanted more than anything else to be a US Marine. He talked to recruiters several times. They evaluated him -- his test scores were high and he was mentally and physically ready. But they had concerns because he had been homeschooled. They said homeschoolers are sometimes very independent and take care of themselves, with lots of initiative and self-reliance. Very good virtues, but in the military they needed recruits that could work as part of a team and not be so independant. In the end, they took him, and he has done very well.
Some people don't see that here is more to homeschooling than the academics itself. My nephew did work well within a team since he was part of a family (a natural team environment), played years of baseball on teams and in other sports, attended church, and was employed out in the public. The homeschooled see themselves as part of a broader community, while the child in a regular classroom might identify more with the world made up of his piers in his / her specific age group, since that is what they are around so much of the time.
I think parents should decide how to raise their own children and that you, Germany, and any other socialist do-gooders should stay out of it.
So was William Buckley until he went to high school.
The idea that our rights come from God and not from the State makes every proud Lib-O-Nazi here and abroad go into full assault mode....
Put down the guitar and hand over your children!"
Your's is the most disgusting post I've read in a long time. Some people want to educate their kids by themselves and you take the state's side against them because you don't like how the parents are dressed.
Maybe you need to create a website called "Slaverepublic.com"....
Floridarolf must have gone so far to the right that he ended up on the left. How someone can claim to be a conservative but hold the viewpoints he's expressed on this thread is ludicrous.
Germany sucks ping.
I'm sure private schools would be an option but, that's not really the point. A person who has a child shouldn't be forced to send their child away from them - this familt is doing nothing wrong; they want their children to be independent thinkers and learn certain things that perhaps they don't teach at the schools. There is alot to be said for family values and spending time with ones parents.
It doesn't matter if people are conservative or 'hippies'. the children are their children (not mine and not yours and not the German governments), they have a right to raise them like they want to.
Also, just because people homeschool, it doesn't mean they are sheltering them from all "sins". I have some very religious people in my homeschooling group and I haven't come across anyone like that. That being said, not all homeschoolers are perfect - just like not all government school teachers are perfect. This doesn't mean one should fire all government school teachers or all homeschooling teachers....remember, "innocent until proven guilty". There is no evidence these people are doing anything 'wrong' besides sticking up for their natural rights as parents to choose the educational path of their children. How can anyone think that is wrong?
This cult indeed seems to be dangerous. They believe in the near apocalypse and let one of their children with a weak heart die because they don't believe in secular medicine. These are the typical people who one day will commit mass suicide together with their kids because something totally unimportant triggered it off. The police should get the kids out of there.
It's the local branch of an American cult called "Twelve Tribes" from Chattanooga.
http://www.twelvetribes.com
This is very true. It's also about learning and thinking for oneself. It's about being an independent thinker. It's about not depending on others to tell you what to do. It's about being a leader, not a follower - not a socialist ant ready to accept anything the 'others' have to say. You hit the nail on the head.
Born in a Rage - this is a death cult, not the usual homeschool parents.
Anyone seen Janet Reno lately?
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