Captives in a Homeschool « Home Education « Teaching Good Things

Captives in a Homeschool

August 23, 2008

Few things get under my skin more than the fact that I have to get "permission" to educated my children at home.

Time Magazine had an interesting comment from, Education and Law instructor, Rachel F. Moran, said

"[T]his series of rulings does indeed provoke some uneasy questions. Right now, all parents have to do is file paperwork stating they are a private school. No one checks in on the students to make sure they are logging in a certain number of hours or passing certain benchmarks. While homeschooling is a "wonderful alternative," Moran says, there is a need for checks and balances. "We want parents to have the freedom to homeschool, but we don't want children to become captives in a homeschool that doesn't prepare them for work or civic engagement as a functioning adult," she says.

In an ideal world, Moran adds, the state should implement a few safeguards. "Hopefully, a way to monitor progress rather than an adversarial reality will be an outgrowth of this decision," she says.

Moran seems to have things a bit backwards. In a free society, the government does not monitor the actions of its citizens nor do we need government approval or oversight to exercise our freedoms. Do I have to fill out paperwork to excerise my freedom to decide what to feed my children or what they wear? The freedom to homeschool and educate our children is not a right granted by the state, but a freedom granted by our Creator from my status as a parent. Moran's comment provokes some uneasy questions.

What "benchmarks" of child development should the state use to measure a child's progress? What legal standard does the state apply to determine whether a child is progressing toward becoming a "functioning adult?" What is the remedy if a child fails a certain benchmark or fails to meet the state's standard for "progress?" What authority does the state possess to subject a parent to its standard over one of their choosing for the education a child?

Does the state have the right to intervene in the parent-child relationship simply because the child fails to meet an arbitrary standard developed by those whose interests may not reflect the interest of the parents?