Homeschooling Now an International Institution
by Robert Russo
On January 9 it was announced online that there is a draconian bill entitled "Protection of the Children" under immediate deliberation in France to outlaw homeschooling in that country (which traditionally has had a very nationalist ideology toward education and personal freedoms in general), then two days later the sponsor of these amendments withdrew his motion under pressure from an "international outcry" (i.e. Americans calling the French embassy) and the Minister of the Family.* Such attempts have come and gone in our own country with little success, but on foreign soil there may be no respect for "Western liberal education" itself or even a process, so this is a startling victory for personal freedom in a land where attendance has always been compulsory.
In my piece on Iraq I said it takes a very long time to present countries with laissez-faire because it is politically on the hindside of long-term democracy and civil rights evolution (or predates its beginning some would say), but perhaps the wait is not necessary. Although a vast number of school systems are still oblivious to the existence of homeschooling so that individual parents literally have to explain the law to the superintendent, here we have instigators finding themselves in the presence of a "moral majority", a widespread respect for person freedom. We have the internet to thank for this in many areas of freedom, countries that did whatever they wanted for generations in isolation now find themselves under criticism from a global community that believes in civil rights, led by the United States and others. The sources of business and technology are the sources of ideology promoted through that technology. There are still lawless isolated regions however such as Darfur and North Korea.
Most educators are not aware of the fight for homeschooling overseas or even that it exists, only that mainstream institutions are beyond reform (such as in Japan where disciplinarian education is a cultural tradition). HSDLA.org is an excellent resource in keeping abreast of this movement, saying "Families in nations around the world look at our home schooling freedoms in awe", mostly on account of parents' access to the internet.** In most of Europe this fight is just beginning. Poland's educational system was destroyed in WWII and thus much of the population was educated at home, and yet homeschoolers are persecuted and harrassed (ironically this emulates Germany where the practice is an illegal underground pursued by the courts).*** Those nations that do allow it employ harsh restrictions. Only Great Britain has more than a few hundred families involved, with long-held legislation and as many as 100,000 students (the number is hard to guage because there is no government regulation).**** This makes the UK and its former colonies as much a progressive haven as the US if not more so. In Asia the fight is also strongest where Western culture and ideas are favored (South Korea, Japan and Taiwan). The rest has only Christian missions like www.teach-asia.com, which in many cases were the bringers of formal education in the first place, so they have special exemption because the distinction is blurred.
The repercussions of this trend will be numerous. Popularity is the unstoppable ingredient to political success, and we will see this in the Richmond area as current legislation leads homeschooling to blossom. For more on this bill go to www.hslda.org/hs/international/France/default.asp or www.lesenfantsdabord.org/index.php (in french). For info on homeschooling go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling.
*"Victory for Homeschoolers in France" in HSLDA E-lert Service, Home School Legal Defense Association
**http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1
***http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Germany/default.asp
****http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/UnitedKingdom/default.asp
Question of the Week: Is it more practical for Libertarians to endorse alternative education or try to reform mainstream education? Are they both in fact the same cause? Send your opinions to henrico@richmondliberty.org.
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