Big Brother Further Invades Home Life

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you are certainly aware that one of the recurring themes we often discuss is the alarming attacks on personal rights and freedoms that is occurring in this country. Most of the time we reference freedoms directly related to health and wellness issues, but the article below caught my eye today, and as I thought about it, I realized that the issue of homeschooling can impact many different aspects of our lives. Where can we better influence the next generation regarding freedom of thought involving a slew of different topics, including natural wellness, than in the home?

Even if one is philosophically opposed to homeschooling or chooses to pursue a different path with the education of their children for other reasons, is it not frightening that the State is seeking to take away a parent's option to school their children in the privacy and safety of their own home? Forcing every child into a State mandated public or private school setting will only make it easier for the government to implement their agenda of manipulation via mind control, mandatory vaccines, mass prescription of other medications (such as anti-depressants, for example), and a curriculum that feeds kids full of propaganda designed to make them compliant, robotic citizens that will readily accept anything the authorities suggest. This attempt to virtually ban homeschooling in California is just another notch in the belt of those who would seek to stamp out free-thinking and eliminate choices based on personal beliefs and convictions, a tradition that is a foundational part of the liberties we have enjoyed here in America since this country was formed.


Homeschooling Banned in California as State Turns Parents Into Criminals for Teaching Their Own Children
by David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) A California appeals court has ruled that homeschooling of children is illegal unless their parents have teaching credentials from the state.

"California is now on the path to being the only state to deny the vast majority of homeschooling parents their fundamental right to teach their own children at home," said Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association.

The court overturned a lower court's finding that homeschooling did not constitute a violation of child welfare laws.

"California courts have held that ... parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey said.

The decision stunned parents of the state's roughly 166,000 homeschooled children. While the court claimed that it was merely clarifying an existing law and not making a new one, the decision leaves the parents of homeschooled children at risk of arrest and criminal prosecution.

"At first, there was a sense of, 'No way,' " homeschool parent Loren Mavromati said. "Then there was a little bit of fear. I think it has moved now into indignation."

Parents' reasons for homeschooling their children range from religious beliefs to dissatisfaction with the education received at public or private schools. But according to the court, all California children between the ages of 6 and 18 must attend either a full-time public or private school or be taught by a tutor credentialed for their specific grade level.

"A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation," Croskey wrote.

California's largest teachers union welcomed the decision as did the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles.

According to the law center's executive director, Leslie Heimov, children should not be educated at home, because they need to be "in a place daily where they would be observed by people who had a duty to ensure their ongoing safety."

http://www.naturalnews.com/z024287.html