Homeschooling

» tinemarie - Germany is right to ban homeschooling.

You have some imteresting points. Thanks for sharing.
I would like to point out a few things, though. One, I am sorry your brother had such a bad experience. If he was taught by state instructors, though, that would be more "tutoring" than "homeschooling". While technically homeschool is defined as education outside the typical school setting, we mainly speak of homeschooling as applied to families that handle the majority of the school themselves.
Unfortunately, there are bad experiences in homeschool just as there are in public and private school.
Second, there are studies that are "reputable" that show homeschooling can be an effective tool for both education and life preparation. However, a lot depends on how you define "reputable", and there is no use playing word games.
Germany has every right as a nation to make sure the children on its citizenship are receiving a fair and responsible education. However, the matter at issue for most people is whether any government has the right to override the "reasonable" wishes of parents in the matter of education.
Unfortunately, what appears to be happening in Germany is that some parents have a very different idea of what is a "reasonable" request than what the state supports. The Germany law is based based on a Nazi-era law that has never changed.
All that said, homeschooling is not for everyone. Not everyone would do well with it. However, that does not make it fair or right to say no one in a particular state or country can even make that decision for themselves. There are many ways that homeschooling parents and the government in Germany could compromise. It would only be a win-win for all involved.
Again, thank you for sharing your opinions, thoughts, and your own experiences!

-- posted by tinemarie