FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO HOMESCHOOL — Mike Farris talks with a family who have already taken their plea to the German Supreme Court. Although the family lost at that level, they are still homeschooling.
By Susan Brinkmann
CS&T Correspondent
Posted on 10/20/2006 7:08:55 AM PDT by NYer
Germany jails homeschoolers
FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO HOMESCHOOL — Mike Farris talks with a family who have already taken their plea to the German Supreme Court. Although the family lost at that level, they are still homeschooling.
By Susan Brinkmann
CS&T Correspondent
On Thursday, Sept. 7, in Paderborn, Germany, a female plainclothes police officer rang the doorbell at the home of Katharina Plett. When Plett opened the door, other police officers who were hiding rushed into her home.
Plett was placed under arrest. The officers followed her into the bedroom where she was permitted to change her clothes. Before being taken to nearby Gelsenkirchen prison, she was permitted to contact her husband, who had fled the country the day before with their 12 children.
If you suspect Plett is guilty of a very serious crime, guess again. She was arrested and thrown in prison for homeschooling her children.
Homeschooling, along with any educational institution other than state-run schools, was outlawed by Adolf Hitler in 1938. But a recent decline, both academically and morally, in the country’s public school system has more and more German parents looking for better ways to educate their children.
“The German people want options,” said Christopher J. Klicka, senior counsel at the Virgina-based Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) which consults with homeschooling organizations in Germany and other nations. “They want to get out of the public school system so they’re testing the limits, and the German government is slamming their fingers as soon as they try.”
The situation became even more grave on Sept. 27, when the European Court of Human Rights delivered a stunning defeat to another German couple, Fritz and Marianna Konrad, who had argued for the right to homeschool their two children.
The Konrads contended that Germany’s compulsory school attendance laws were a violation of their human rights.
The human rights court ruled: “Parents may not refuse the right to education of a child on the basis of their convictions,” adding that the right to education “by its very nature calls for regulation by the state.”
Klicka said his association was “very disappointed” by the ruling. “When you look at the language of the European Union (EU) human rights constitution — which is a higher law over all the 25 countries of the European Union — they have a reference to a parent’s right to educate their children. When you look at wording of the constitution, it looks pretty good.
“But when I looked at the opinion of this Court, and how they interpreted the German situation, I was incredulous at how they took the plain language of the human rights constitution and just twisted it up to come up with this ruling.”
What makes the decision so menacing is that it opens the door to other European nations that may wish to curtail homeschooling in their countries.
“In Europe, homeschooling is legal in some fashion everywhere but Germany,” Klicka said. “It might be regulated or restricted a little, such as in France, where they subject homeschoolers to curriculum review, and the Czech Republic, where you can homeschool until the fifth grade.
“This ruling doesn’t change any of the [laws of] other nations, it just gives them the okay that if they wanted to crack down legislatively — outlaw or prohibit homeschooling — they can do that.”
Since the E.U. human rights court ruling, German families that want to homeschool can forget trying to win the right to do so through the court system.
“For Germany, it’s curtains,” Klicka said.
Unfortunately for German parents, the climate in public school education shows no signs of improving. Graphic sex education, the promotion of ideologies that undermine Biblical morality, and poor academic performance in public schools continues to fuel the movement to challenge the government’s 68 year old stranglehold on education.
Thanks to the internet, German families are discovering that the same problems in U.S. public schools sparked the success of a homeschooling movement whose ranks have swollen to two million children, many of whom consistently outperform their public school peers.
“Three main issues have sparked the movement toward homeschooling in Germany,” Klicka said. “First, the knowledge of homeschooling has increased because of the internet; second, moral issues such as graphic sex education and homosexuality; and third, academic studies are showing that things are not going so well in German public schools.”
An Italian study completed five years ago measured children’s academic performance in 20 European countries. Germany was very close to the bottom of the list.
“That was a very embarrassing study for Germany,” Klicka said. “All of a sudden, people were doubting the public school system and wondering if their kids were getting a good education. Although we have many of the same problems with our public schools, Americans have the option to choose to homeschool.”
German couples are not so lucky, and many of them have paid a high price in the form of fines or imprisonment for trying to change the laws.
For instance, in 2004, Sigrid and Michael Bauer tried to fight compulsory school attendance for their five children because public education was undermining their Christian beliefs. The state ultimately ruled that parents must accept the teaching methods and content of public school education, even if they contradict a family’s religious convictions. The law says that parents who “continually or obstinately prevent their children from fulfilling the compulsory school attendance” be slapped with stiff fines or prison terms up to six months.
“The only options left for Germans is to seek asylum in America or other countries,” Klicka said. He was one of seven members of the board of a German homeschooling association, called School Instruction at Home, that included at least 200 families. Of the seven original members, only one still lives in Germany.
“The other option is to put pressure on the government,” Klicka said. “If there’s enough international pressure and media attention, the Germans could change their legislation to allow homeschooling. All countries are somewhat sensitive to the US perspective.”
He said members of his association, which supports and has helped to found homeschooling organizations in 28 countries, have made a difference by contacting embassies.
“We’ve had some success with stopping bad bills in the Czech Republic and Ireland, and we passed a good bill in South Africa,” he said. “And it was purely through international pressure.”
Readers may respectfully protest the German government’s actions by writing to the German ambassador at the following address:
Wolfgang Ischinger, Ambassador; German Embassy, 4845 Reservoir Road NW;
Washington, D.C., 20007-1998, and by calling (202) 298-4000 or visiting on the Web: www.globescope.biz/germany/reg/index.cfm.
Sounds like teachers' unions in Germany are even stronger than ours are here.
seek asylum in America"
Good reason why we need to keep homeschool friendly Presidents and AGs so that they have at least a bit of control over the INS definitions of asylum for religious persecution
That's just what I thought. They'd love to have forced public education.
Plett was placed under arrest. The officers followed her into the bedroom where she was permitted to change her clothes. Before being taken to nearby Gelsenkirchen prison, she was permitted to contact her husband, who had fled the country the day before with their 12 children. "
Good grief, the "offenders" were not even in the country. So you would think that the state at some point would concede that if they were not within their jurisdiction, then the state interest would start to wane?
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I wonder if they've considered the fact that this will simply leave them with less Christian families? Much of Europe seems concerned with Muslim influence, yet this flies in the face of those concerns.
I would think that, at least in the States, the horse has already left the barn, so to say. It appears that, in Germany, the government has no intention of letting that happen.
Vee have vays to indoctrinate your children.
But socialists tend to fear Christian influence even more. And socialists make up a good portion of Europe.
Remember this,elections are 17 days away and about half your neighbors are going to the polls to cast a vote for politicians who would gladly pass laws empowering goverment here in the USA to pull the same kind of violation of civil rights that was done in Paderborn, Germany.Vote GOP it's the only chance you've got to hold onto those rights !!!
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I'm sure that's part of it, but they will rue the day they went down this road.
It's a matter of priorities. The German law puts the right of the children to be protected from childwork, homeschooling etc. higher then the right of the parents to decide what special kind of education their children might get.
Looking at the high number of muslim and other immigrants I can only hope we keep this law - otherwise we loose young muslims to the imam schools.
This is what Hillary and the liberals as a group want here.
WTF?
The human rights court ruled: “Parents may not refuse the right to education of a child on the basis of their convictions,” adding that the right to education “by its very nature calls for regulation by the state.”
The ACLU would love it there.
Having lived in Germany for a dozen years...I can offer some insight.
Teachers consider themselves highly educated and thus certified to do what they do. They see no reason for an untrained or non-certified teacher to exist. They use the same mentality for business executives....they all have master degrees or higher. You can't find a major business in Germany with more than 300 workers that has a company owner or CEO without the business degree. The banks work to limit loans to storng growth companies with such leadership. It all goes full circle....you have to be educated...to be in charge.
Add to this...schools and school funding all are directly tied to the local population. If you have 30,000 people in the local town...then your educational czar gets a certain amount of money and runs the mass system (lower school, mid-school, and college-bound-high-school). If you took 100 kids out of the system in that community...you'd mess up the statistics here and create a tidal wave of issues.
And finally...getting a degree in Germany is a highly "class" affair. Only the smart guys get a degree...don't you know? I was told this several years ago by a German. The education sector severaly limits the kid's progress in life. If you are a person prone to arguments...at age 10...forget about college. The teachers will ensure your road to higher education is screwed up. To make it to the college direction...you MUST have artist talents (no joke). If you can't paint or draw...you've got a major strike against you and its doubtful you can overcome that problem. Its the same way with organizing your book pack each morning. For a 11-year old German kid...each day is a totally different group of classes...just like in a US college system. You must demonstrat your ability to organize your books and bring the right ones...otherwise...you start having points deducted from your grades...which you can't make up.
All in all....the German system is great to get you on the fast track for learning. A 14-year old German kid is as smart as a 17-year old Armerican kid...this I can vouch. But the number of kids left behind in the German system...would shock you. And the amount of tudor service you have to hire...to keep your kid on the smart track...will run around $1500 a year if you take this serious....and we are talking about a 13-year old kid requiring a tudor just to pass with decent grades.
Wouldn't a windsor be less expensive than a tudor? :)
Tudor? I hardly know 'er!
I had that dang spell-check on...for British English. It'll fail you everytime.
They're all just bricks in the wall. Apparently books like Farenheit 451 are read longingly in some sectors.
exactly...
weakening the anti-homeschooling legislation would be bending to islam.
I hope our weak governments remain firm at least in this point.
I can draw jack sh&/ and I am a german PhD in chemistry. A bad mark in drawing and sports could only theoretically spoil your 'carreer'. In real life you get your D marks (necessary to pass to the next class) if you don't mop up.
Certainly to go to higher school your math and german better be good then.
Just remember after the Nazis fell, no judges were replaced, except very few.
Actually, it's kind of interesting because we are homeschooling my youngest; when my wife and I first looked into homeschool a few years ago the overall mood was somewhat hostile to the idea. Now the feeling seems to be that the schools are happy to outsource the work.
They still get my tax money and there is one less child using the county's resources in the system. That would probably change if I were to get a tax-cut or voucher.
How 'bout Germany stops importing Muslims rather than limiting the rights of German parents to rear their children as they see fit?
Maybe in the inner cities schools have such issues but around where I live the public schools are not "bad" at all. It would be inconceivable for a child to have those deficiencies in knowledge in the public schools around my area.
What do you mean about "social issues"? If it is rude or aggressive behavior, that would at least mean that the rest of the children aren't being influenced by it.
Without going into great detail, because it probably would not be appropriate for me to do so, "some" of the home schooled children have serious issues. I mean... something along the line of a "complete inability" to deal with other children (who also happen to be home schooled). There is nothing wrong with simply being "weird" (hey I was guilty as that as a child.
If it means being considered a bit weird, well there are those in the public schools as well. Moreover, I would rather have a child with "social issues", if that means non-conformity with modern anti-culture, than for him to be trained into docile acceptance of all sorts of peer pressure.
Why do you have a chip on your shoulder?? As I said in my last post many of the homeschoolers my wife deals with are very smart, well behaved and are great children. My point was that the "few" that seem left behind, well... they are really really REALLY left behind.
I don't have anything against home schooling at all. If anything it seems to produce some very smart children. I simply think there are "some" parents that do a very bad job of it and according to the parent, it is on purpose. Things like "math isn't important" type of attitudes. That kind of thing where they come right out and say that some of the basic tenets of any education just aren't deemed important enough to teach.
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If people think this couldn't happen here, they're asleep. Fortunately there are many homeschoolers and they will keep informed about news.
Isn't there also the option for religious schooling?
The policy in Germany, (quite) a bit more stringent than in France, seems to be that children must be institutionalized for schooling.
There are reasons for that which are not necessarily bad, having to do with socialization and exposure to a wide range of things; also standardization of curriculum and knowledge learned. In France, people have the option to teach their children (few take it), but what they teach is subject to curricular review. Basically, the national curriculum must be taught, because those are the basics to function in a social society. He who cannot read, write or compute cannot function in a modern state and will be a laisser-pour-compte burden on the welfare state. Ergo, every child must be educated to the basic standards. If parents want to do this, and add their own particular flavor of additional learning, it is acceptable in France.
Few do, because it is a royal pain in the ass, and the public school system is good and comprehensive.
But of course, in France, there are those who are deeply wedded to their religion (normally Catholicism), and who wish their children to be educated in an explicitly religious environment. Thus the religious schools, mostly Catholic. Now, they too must teach to the national curriculum (for the same reasons: these children must be competitive), but they also have prayers, devotionals and other religious learning. This is the choice of the parents, and in fact the teachers in religious schools in France are also paid out of the state budget (as is maintenance on most of the big Catholic cathedrals which are tourist centers - France is a secular state, but this does not mean that religious institutions are unregistered and unsupported. The Catholics have not the resources to keep the roofs on and the glass polished in Notre Dame and Chartres and Avignon and all of the other cathedrals. These are national treasures which the world flocks to see. It would be foolish for the state to not support this maintenance.)
Anyway, in Germany are there the options of religious schools, Catholic in the South; Lutheran in the North?
If so, why aren't these parents sending their children there, to avoid state system?
Parents have a right to freely choose their own educational options for their children, whether the parents are muslim or Christian or anything else.
In the United States we usually have the homeschool parents meeting basic curricular guidelines so there are some standards which allow home-schooled children to successfully meet standardized achievement tests and college entrance requirements.
Speaking as a former public school teacher who also worked with home-schooled children, the home-schooled children I know are, without exception, more articulate, polite, intelligent, and self-assured than their public school counterparts.
This is an excerpt from the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child.
Clintoon would have signed it if the Congress had ratified it.
Thankfully, there were enough conservatives in the Senate to prevent the 66/100 supermajority required. However, there were more than 50 senators voting FOR it.
Among other goodies in the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child is the right to "free association" and "free access to information."
Let your mind conjure the most looney left definitions of these concepts and that's what they mean to the UN drafters of this document, and to the pie-eyed American senators who would ratify it.
DON'T LET THE DONKEYS GET CONTROL, OR THIS UN CHARTER WILL BECOME A TREATY THAT SUPERCEDES THE US CONSTITUTION!!!!
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One message here is that the Germans of all people have more civilized cops than we do. No 2:00AM forced entry, no black terrorist garb, no submachineguns, and they even hit the right house on the first try!
I took my wife out to lunch and ironically she started to tell me about a parent she deals with that is homeschooling her child. She told me the parent has been keeping every single piece of work that the child has done since 8th grade so that when her child goes to college, she will be ready to prove that the child has done the work. She said virtually all the parents she deals with are VERY serious about their children's education.
I do concede that such parents may exist (in some cases it might be because the child is going to be, literally, a truck driver like daddy, and that is not the worst thing in the world).
You know... I must apologize which is something I rarely do on this forum but it has been known to happen. When I made my earlier statement it wasn't to "bad mouth" home schooling at all. I "felt" I needed to point out that when children get left behind in home schooling it can be pretty bad. The reason I "felt" I had to say it was because... all I ever hear every night from my wife was her complaints about two home schooled children she deals with. However... she fails to talk much about the others... which she told me today that they are wonderful kids. It seems... when one hears so much of the bad news... one never gets the good news.
Now you noticed I put the word "felt" in the last paragraph in quotations to point out that I was "feeling" instead if "thinking". I am currently kicking myself in the head for such a stupid mistake. I am very sorry for that as well.
Certainly some, indeed very many of the student victims of gummint skeweling cannot do even the simplet math problems for their age and they have, ummmm, some verrrrry substantial serious social issues seldom found among homeschoolers. I, for one, propose that we recognize that by abolishing gummint skewels and the tax-financing that they enjoy so that their often incompetent and/or malevolent teachers and administrators can live like kings and queens at our expense regardless of their results. Note, in case you or your spouse or your kid is a gummint skewel teacher that I said often and not always.
Homeschooling is usually best. If not possible, the parents need to establish their own schools. Never seek or accept one nickel in government subsidy or the strings will strangle your kids.
As the wonderful homeschooling FReeper Tontokowalski once posted, his homeschooled chldren are easily "socialized" in the public school way by him taking them to the bathroom at home and beating them up for their lunch money every day.
You may prefer public schools and that is your business. I don't and that is mine. You should not have to fund my ideas. I should not have to fund yours. When my kids have kids, they can decide for their children. The SCOTUS, as long ago as 1927, in Pierce vs. Society of Sisters, decided that parents are constitutionally entitled to make educational decisions for their minor children within reasonable boundaries. More recently, SCOTUS decided in a case involving the Amish, that they could, as a matter of religious freedom ignore state mandatory schooling laws to the extent that they purported to govern Amish kids over 12 years old.
In the USA, there are many diocesan school systems in which diocesan superintendents (collectively known as Sister Krupskaya Pantsuit) are now expecting the teachers to be homogenized into teacher "certification" (by gummint and NEA "standards") so that they understand their unholy mission to corrupt the kids.
Why am I as a conservative, much less as a Catholic, to be concerned about whether the "welfare state" is burdened by actual Catholic education for my kids, whether homeschooling or parent-controlled actually Catholic schools???? The welfare state and the public school system ought both to be eliminated according to the standards of a Ludwig von Mises or Friedrich von Hayek or other free marketeer theoreticians and scholars never taught in PS 666.
My eldest daughter had very high ACT scores and was solicited by Ivy League University of Pennsylvania but prefers to be a nurse. My second is a semi-finalist for a National Merit scholarship and has never set foot in a public school except to watch sporting events but is credibly considering Yale, Harvard and Johns Hopkins as a science major. She can go to such schools because her faith is knowledgeable and secure. They won't shake her. My third daughter is studying Saxon Math and Latin and twelve novels this year in English lit class and theology and a lot more at twelve years of age and plays competitive team sports like volleyball, softball and basketball at a parent created and run non-diocesan school that is quite Catholic in orientation.
Better that Notre Dame Cathedral and Chartres cathedral and anything left at Avignon and every other cathedral fall to the ground in ruins than that a single child go to hell because of evil excuses for schooling and the moral ignorance induced thereby.
It is a no brainer that this law must go. Nazi legacies live on in the most bizarre way and they always target Christian and Jewish people of faith.
Child "slavery" laws I understand (along with physical abuse, etc.), but why do children need to be protected from homeschooling? Are not parents the first and most important teachers of their own children?
Looking at the high number of muslim and other immigrants I can only hope we keep this law - otherwise we loose young muslims to the imam schools.
If a particular class of immigrant poses a threat to your country and what should be the freedoms of it's citizens (though these "freedoms" appear to currently be very deficient), why do you and your country permit them to immigrate to begin with?
What exactly is "Saxon Math";)
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