Thread: Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk 4/8/13: Homeschooling: The Future Of Liberty

Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk 4/8/13: Homeschooling: The Future Of Liberty

April 8, 2013




Homeschooling: The Future of Liberty
by Ron Paul
A common feature of authoritarian regimes is the criminalization of alternatives to government-controlled education. Dictators recognize the danger that free thought poses to their rule, and few things promote the thinking of “unapproved” thoughts like an education controlled by parents instead of the state. That is why the National Socialist (Nazi) government of Germany outlawed homeschooling in 1938.


Sadly, these Nazi-era restrictions on parental rights remain the law in Germany, leaving parents who wish greater control over their children’s education without options. That is why in 2006 Uwe and Hannalore Romeike, a German couple who wanted to homeschool their three children for religious reasons, sought asylum in the United States. Immigration judge Lawrence Burman upheld their application for asylum, recognizing that the freedom of parents to homeschool was a “basic human right.”

Unfortunately, the current US administration does not see it that way, and has announced that it is appealing Judge Burman’s decision. If the administration is successful, the Romeikes could be sent back to Germany where they will be forced to send their children to schools whose teaching violates their religious beliefs. If they refuse, they face huge fines, jail time, or even the loss of custody of their children!


The Administration’s appeal claims that the federal government has the constitutional authority to ban homeschooling in all fifty states. The truth is, the Constitution gives the federal government no power to control any aspect of education. Furthermore, parents who, like the Romeikes, have a religious motivation for homeschooling should be protected by the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.
The federal government’s hostility to homeschooling is shared by officials at all levels of government. Despite the movement’s success in legalizing homeschooling in every state, many families are still subjected to harassment by local officials. The harassment ranges from “home visits” by child protective agencies to criminal prosecution for violating truancy laws.
Every American who values liberty should support the homeschoolers’ cause. If the government can usurp parental authority over something as fundamental as the education of their children, there is almost no area of parenthood off limits to government interference.
Homeschooling has proven to be an effective means of education. We are all familiar with the remarkable academic achievements, including in national spelling bees and other competitions, by homeshcooled children. In addition, homeschooled students generally fare better than their public school educated peers on all measures of academic performance.
It makes sense that children do better when their education is controlled by those who know their unique needs best, rather than by a federal bureaucrat. A strong homeschooling movement may also improve other forms of education. If competition improves goods and services in other areas of life, why wouldn’t competition improve education? A large and growing homeschooling movement could inspire public and private schools to innovate and improve.


When the government interferes with a parent’s ability to choose the type of education that is best for their child, it is acting immorally and in manner inconsistent with a free society. A government that infringes on the rights of homeschooling will eventually infringe on the rights of all parents. Homeschooled children are more likely to embrace the philosophy of freedom, and to join the efforts to restore liberty. In fact, I would not be surprised if the future leaders of the liberty movement were homeschooled.


I believe so strongly in the homeschooling movement that I have just announced my own curriculum for homeschooling families. Please visit this revolutionary new project at http://www.RonPaulCurriculum.com.



Published on Apr 7, 2013
http://RonPaulCurriculum.com
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http://CampaignForLiberty.org
http://DailyPaul.com
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http://FFF.org
http://Mises.org
http://LewRockwell.com

Homeschooling: The Future of Liberty
by Ron Paul

A common feature of authoritarian regimes is the criminalization of alternatives to government-controlled education. Dictators recognize the danger that free thought poses to their rule, and few things promote the thinking of "unapproved" thoughts like an education controlled by parents instead of the state. That is why the National Socialist (Nazi) government of Germany outlawed homeschooling in 1938.

Sadly, these Nazi-era restrictions on parental rights remain the law in Germany, leaving parents who wish greater control over their children's education without options. That is why in 2006 Uwe and Hannalore Romeike, a German couple who wanted to homeschool their three children for religious reasons, sought asylum in the United States. Immigration judge Lawrence Burman upheld their application for asylum, recognizing that the freedom of parents to homeschool was a "basic human right."

Unfortunately, the current US administration does not see it that way, and has announced that it is appealing Judge Burman's decision. If the administration is successful, the Romeikes could be sent back to Germany where they will be forced to send their children to schools whose teaching violates their religious beliefs. If they refuse, they face huge fines, jail time, or even the loss of custody of their children!

The Administration's appeal claims that the federal government has the constitutional authority to ban homeschooling in all fifty states. The truth is, the Constitution gives the federal government no power to control any aspect of education. Furthermore, parents who, like the Romeikes, have a religious motivation for homeschooling should be protected by the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

The federal government's hostility to homeschooling is shared by officials at all levels of government. Despite the movement's success in legalizing homeschooling in every state, many families are still subjected to harassment by local officials. The harassment ranges from "home visits" by child protective agencies to criminal prosecution for violating truancy laws.

Every American who values liberty should support the homeschoolers' cause. If the government can usurp parental authority over something as fundamental as the education of their children, there is almost no area of parenthood off limits to government interference.

Homeschooling has proven to be an effective means of education. We are all familiar with the remarkable academic achievements, including in national spelling bees and other competitions, by homeshcooled children. In addition, homeschooled students generally fare better than their public school educated peers on all measures of academic performance.

It makes sense that children do better when their education is controlled by those who know their unique needs best, rather than by a federal bureaucrat. A strong homeschooling movement may also improve other forms of education. If competition improves goods and services in other areas of life, why wouldn't competition improve education? A large and growing homeschooling movement could inspire public and private schools to innovate and improve.

When the government interferes with a parent's ability to choose the type of education that is best for their child, it is acting immorally and in manner inconsistent with a free society. A government that infringes on the rights of homeschooling will eventually infringe on the rights of all parents. Homeschooled children are more likely to embrace the philosophy of freedom, and to join the efforts to restore liberty. In fact, I would not be surprised if the future leaders of the liberty movement were homeschooled.

I believe so strongly in the homeschooling movement that I have just announced my own curriculum for homeschooling families. Please visit this revolutionary new project at http://www.RonPaulCurriculum.com.





Related posts:

1. The Best States For Homeschooling
2. John Stossel: The Education Blob
3. Ron Paul Texas Straight Talk: Neo-Con War Addiction Threatens Our Future
4. U.S. Government Wants To Deport Family Prosecuted In Germany For Home Schooling
5. Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk 10/22/12: Internet Freedom is Vital for Human Freedom

http://libertycrier.com/government/ron-pauls-texas-straight-talk-4813-homeschooling-the-future-of-liberty/?fb_action_ids=4303939851420&fb_action_types=og.li kes&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map={%2243 03939851420%22%3A167633116 728361}&action_type_map={%224303939851420%22%3A%22 og.likes %22}&action_ref_map=[]

http://www.ronpaulcurriculum.com/public/main.cfm

Ron Paul Announces “Phase 2 of the Revolution”: a New Homeschooling Program

Written by Michael Tennant

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“Liberty just took a huge step forward,” declared Thomas E. Woods, Jr., in announcing the launch of the Ron Paul Curriculum. Having retired from Congress, the former Republican representative from Texas and three-time presidential candidate is setting his sights on creating future generations of liberty-minded activists and entrepreneurs through his new homeschooling program.

“I believe homeschooling is the wave of the future,” Paul wrote on April 6, the day the program’s website became active.

He clearly intends to ride that wave. The same day as his curriculum was announced, he spoke to the MidWest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has a forthcoming book on the subject as well.

In a video introducing the program, Dr. Gary North, director of curriculum development, said that the Ron Paul Curriculum will “teach the biblical principle of self-government and personal responsibility, which is also the foundation of the free-market economy”; be “based on a detailed study of the history of liberty as well as liberty’s rivals”; “provide a thorough understanding of Austrian-school economics”; and be “academically rigorous.”

According to the website, although only grades six through 10 will be offered in September, by 2015 all grades, including kindergarten, are expected to be available through the site. Kindergarten through fifth grade will be completely free. The remaining grades will cost $250 plus $50 for each course, and there is a 100-percent money-back guarantee for those who are dissatisfied. Parents are invited to listen to the same lectures their children are hearing at no additional cost.

The curriculum does not use textbooks, instead relying on video lessons and other readings, often from primary sources. Students who need help may, besides asking their parents, seek assistance from other students on the forums.

“This is how ‘the little red schoolhouse on the prairie’ was taught up until World War I,” North explained on the website. “The older, brighter students helped teach the younger ones. This system worked. Then it was scrapped. This site resurrects it.”

The program also heavily emphasizes writing and public speaking. Older students will be expected to maintain their own blogs, where they will post weekly essays, and to start YouTube channels.

North, who was Paul’s research assistant during his first term in Congress, will be teaching several of the courses, including economics, Western civilization, Western literature, starting a home-based business, and writing direct-mail advertising copy. His high-school preparation course is already available on the website.

Woods, who holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University, both in history, will be teaching courses in Western civilization, the U.S. Constitution, government, and the history of American wars. Considering that Woods is also the bestselling author of such tomes as The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, Who Killed the Constitution? (with Kevin R.C. Gutzman), and Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century, one can be certain that these subjects will be approached from an entirely different perspective from that of public (or even many private) schools.

Other instructors include Wofford University economics professor Timothy Terrell, Bojidar Marinov, and Bradley Fish, Jr. Fish, a homeschool success story, earned a bachelor’s degree in business management at age 18. His parents and grandmother will be teaching other courses at the elementary and middle-school level.

The Ron Paul Curriculum program will not grade students’ work or issue report cards or diplomas. By avoiding these activities, North writes, the program remains strictly informational, and as such is protected by the First Amendment (at least for now). If it began acting like an educational institution, he maintains, it could then be regulated by state governments. “I regard all such regulations as an illegitimate infringement on the right of parents to educate their children,” says North. “Any compromise here, philosophically speaking, is a compromise with tyranny.” For similar reasons, the school will not seek accreditation.

North, however, does not believe the lack of official recognition of the program will hinder students in any way. Fish, he points out, earned a degree from an accredited college by taking distance-learning exams. The school didn’t care what he had learned in high school as long as he could do the work they required of him.

While the Ron Paul Curriculum’s objectives are admirable, not all parents will be comfortable with this approach because it puts the burden of measurement on them and affords them little protection against state and local governments, says Alan Scholl, executive director of Freedom Project Education (FPE), a Wisconsin-based online classical school for homeschoolers, with similar aspirations.

“People generally appreciate and seek tangible evidence of their accomplishments for their own satisfaction, to assure future employers, or to assist in application to future educational institutions,” he told The New American in an e-mail.

Scholl does not believe that seeking accreditation or other external stamps of approval necessarily entails surrender to the state, observing that “there are many private bodies which afford accreditation” and that “FPE will likely seek the approval of one or more of these private school bodies eventually.” And while North is correct that the Ron Paul Curriculum would have to meet certain state standards in order to issue diplomas, Scholl states that, at least for the time being, these standards do not “contain the dangerous politically correct content of government schools.”

He also notes that although North’s stance against all state involvement in education is admirable, “There is a real concern about the immediate risks to families who completely reject all authority rules, governing bodies and requirements.” Numerous government agencies at various levels can take action against families who fail to meet their requirements, often beginning with seizure of the children. “The principle is clearly with the families,” Scholl writes, “but many families may not be willing to risk the very real ramifications of such a stand.”

Still, for those willing to assume the risks and shoulder most of the educational burden, the Ron Paul Curriculum may prove to be an effective way to train up future generations of liberty lovers. Will it be, as Woods suggested, “Ron Paul’s most significant contribution to the cause of liberty”? Only time will tell. But Scholl, despite his misgivings about certain aspects of the program, welcomes its entry into the educational marketplace. “We hope to see many such efforts to restore American education,” he said, “and eventually replace the government education run amok in our nation.”

http://thenewamerican.com/culture/ed...ooling-program