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Germany Denies HomeschoolingGerman families not allowed to homeschool
Germany cracks down on homeschooling families
Families who try to homeschool in Germany may face jail time. The government of Germany has ruled that education rights lie with the state, not the individual family. In a case decided by the European Court of Human Rights in September 2006, Konrad and others vs. Germany, the court ruled that families may not choose to homeschool. The Konrad family wanted to homeschool for religious and personal reasons. The court overwhleming said no. This writer found many disturbing ideas contained in the court's final decision. Namely, the state has the interests of the children at heart, more so than the parents. The family argued that they wanted more control of who influenced their children, and found that the social environment of the school was not in keeping with how they wanted to raise their family. The court replied that "even if" the family was able to provide adequate education for their children, the family could not provide a social environment equal to a classroom. The court stated: "Attending a primary school, with children from all backgrounds, would enable children both to gain first experiences with society and to acquire social competences." The court further argued that the children were too young to know what the consequences of homeschooling would be, how it would affect them both socially and academically. This implies that since the children cannot have the wisdom to know the full effects of their parents' decisions, the state must step in and protect the children's rights by refusing to allow the parents to keep them out of public schools. The court also said that the purpose of state school was not only education, but the formation of good citizens. "Everyday experience with other children based on regular school attendance was a more effective means to achieve that aim". In other words, Germany makes the case for socialization - homeschooling cannot provide it, public schools can. The court's decision makes the following arguement as well, an arguement that seems as if it can have a much further reach into German families that just homeschooling:
The court also finds that while all people, including parents, deserve respect for whatever religious and philosophical beliefs they may hold, "respect is only due to convictions (beliefs) on the part of the parents which do not conflict with the right of the child to education". Of course, Germany interprets the right of children to education to mean state education. Meaning, parents can believe whatever they want, but their beliefs may not interefere with the government's right to education all children in Germany according to what the state values. Homeschooling is not welcome in some parts of the world. It would appear that Germany is one of them.
The copyright of the article Germany Denies Homeschooling in Homeschooling is owned by Christine Alcott. Permission to republish Germany Denies Homeschooling in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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