I am not surprised most people give little thought or concern to the idea of homeschooling. After all, so very few parents actually do homeschool children in comparison to the world’s population. Yet, the ignorance surrounding home education is abundant. It has led to what parallels witch hunts in the past. People, often women and mothers, are accused of practices outside of the norm, for being different, or somehow subversive. The outcry against the morality of homeschoolers and the politics of homeschooling are not much different. Fortunately, our societies have advanced a bit since the 1400 to 1700′s. The best means to combat misinformation and uninformed thought is through education and communication.
The persecution of homeschooling families goes on every day in the United States where homeschooling is governed by individual states, not the federal government. In some states homeschoolers enjoy the freedom to educate their children as they see fit. In others, homeschooling is not acknowledged by state laws and left to individual interpretations. Yet in many parts of Europe, even in a country as sophisticated as Sweden, homeschooling is virtually illegal and the government is acting aggressively against homeschoolers.
You can learn more about homeschooling in Sweden and philosophies about home education on the website Free Sweden. The website was published in support of homeschool student, Domenic Johannson who was removed from his family in 2009 by Swedish social services. There are links on the website for you to help if you are interested.
Educate yourself. That’s how change can be made.
http://www.freesweden.net
