The Prussian system of mass education, Part 2

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Thursday, January 23. 2014

The Prussian system of mass education, Part 2

Via Jacobson re home schooling:

In his December ruling against the Wunderlich family, (German) judge Marcus Malkmus called homeschooling a “concrete endangerment to the well-being of the child,” comparing it to a “straitjacket” that he said binds children to “years of isolation.”

“The request of the parents to reinstate their right to determine the location of the children, the right to make educational decisions for the children, as well as the right to file legal applications for their children is being refused,” the judge stated.

The "right" to make educational decisions for your children?

Posted by The Barrister in Education, Our Essays at 13:56 | Comments (9) | Trackbacks (0)

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the case turns on a very technical definition of persecution, which rarely, if ever, appears in the popular media and is overlaid on the current US home skooling mania, so its not in the least surprising how this story is spun.

#1 wirraway on 2014-01-23 15:35 (Reply)

It's not persecution, but it shows something about how Germans think.

#1.1 BD on 2014-01-23 16:12 (Reply)

Germany is a western democracy with a strong sense of cultural identity that it is certainly within its rights to preserve and protect, especially against resurgent right or left wing movements which have historically threatened it. even American courts recognize the role of schools in inculcating such democratic values.

Germany's reluctance to accept home schooling is partly to ensure that extremist ideologies do not creep back through home schooling. I'm not talking about gross parodies here -- no Hitler Youth Lessons Plan or Adventures With Young Marxists -- but people who as children are taught to hate Jews or commies are hard to unteach.

the US ought to defer to Germany on this internal political issue. if we were talking about Laos or Cuber, where "persecution" means torture, this conversation wouldn't be happening.

#1.1.1 wirraway on 2014-01-23 18:21 (Reply)

I agree. This is Germany's business not ours or the worlds. There is no persecution or anything underhanded going on with this. The family is welcome to teach their children after school. Germany is a modern 1st world country with good schools, a good political and legal system and good people. They have a right as a society to make their laws and enforce them.

#1.1.1.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2014-01-23 21:46 (Reply)

OK. Let me see if I understand what you are saying - there is no Divine Law, no natural law and removing a child from his family because they teach him at home is not torture. Got it.

How's the air where your head is?

#1.1.1.2 Beth on 2014-01-25 08:34 (Reply)

Any punishment the family faces is "not" for homeschooling their children. It is for failing to follow the law that requires all children of a certain age to attend public schools. The family could indeed home school their children but they cannot flaunt the law. To conflate their decision to not obey the law with their decision to homeschool is either intentionally dishonest or ignorant. If you have children you are aware that the state and the country has laws that you must follow and failure to follow them can indeed result in the courts taking your children from you. The best example of this is the occasional nut case that thinks seeing a doctor goes against their religion and they allow their child to suffer and die from sme treatable disease in the name of religious freedom. This will not only get your children taken from you but it will get you jail time as well. But presumably you would characterize that as taking their children away because they wanted to treat their cold with Vicks and a Tylenol. The solution for this family is SO SIMPLE. Send the kids to school!!

#1.1.1.2.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2014-01-25 11:44 (Reply)

pretzel logic .......

#1.1.1.2.1.1 Beth on 2014-01-28 07:08 (Reply)

ooooh, ad homs. kewl.

I'll check in in a year or so to see if you've caught up on immigration law and can handle a civilised debate.

#1.1.1.2.2 wirraway on 2014-01-25 21:20 (Reply)

We should send this judge a copy of 'Judgement at Nuremburg'.

#2 JKB on 2014-01-23 21:50 (Reply)

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Thursday, January 23. 2014

The Prussian system of mass education, Part 2