Compulsory Schooling and Other Newfangled Notions
April 10, 2008
Over at the Moms Talk Forum, we are discussing the homeschooling - why? question. I’ve written before about my reasons for homeschooling before, and this is always a pet topic so I’ll dig a little deeper into just part of it: the fact that compulsory schooling is, in my opinion, a modern idea that has failed.
Here is a brilliantly written article on the subject that I read recently: http://www.i2i.org/main/article.php?article_id=878
As the article mentions, the evidence points to the fact that compulsory (meaning government controlled and mandated) schooling did not improve the intelligence or productivity of Americans. In fact, the evidence shows that the opposite has happened. Especially among minority groups, minority is much lower ethan it was one hundred years ago in this country. American males who enlisted in the military in the 60’s were already far less literate than their Dads who enlisted in the 40’s. But it goes back much farther than that. In Colonial times, the average person was highly literate. The “bestselling” books back then were on a college reading level. Letters sent home to family from soldiers, children and other common folks showed a very high degree of eloquence and intelligence. Almost everyone could read and write and do sums well, even if they didn’t go to school at all.
A quote:
“Thus, the rise of public, or government, schools was not a response to an inability on the part of society to provide for the education of its children but rather a manifestation of what later came to be called the “Progressive” mindset, the belief that life increasingly needed to be subject to control by experts and central government planning”
The idea that my parents could be prevented from educating their own offspring using the police power of government is deeply disturbing. This is a right even the animals enjoy.
“Compulsory-attendance laws can be criticized on many grounds. To start with the most basic, forced attendance cannot be squared with the notion of liberty on which the United States was founded. The late John Holt, a former school teacher and education writer, wrote,
“The requirement that a child go to school, for about six hours a day, 180 days a year, for about ten years, whether or not he learns anything there, whether or not he already knows it or could learn it faster or better somewhere else, is such a gross violation of civil liberties that few adults would stand for it. But the child who resists is treated as a criminal.(19)
That we do not regard the forced day-time internment as a violation of the child’s or parents’ rights only shows how thoroughly people have been propagandized by the advocates of the present system. The government says it has a “compelling interest” in the education of children. Too few people have been willing to reply in the manner of the Jimmy Stewart character in the movie Shenandoah: “These aren’t the state’s children; they’re mine.“
Amen, Mister Stewart. I would go a little farther than that and say that don’t actually belong to me at all but to someone much higher than me, whom I have to answer to for how I treat them and raise them. They’re simply on loan to me for twenty years or so. ;) And that notion puts much more fear in my heart than anything Big Gubmint might do.
The article goes on to talk about Irresponsible Parents which is something that I know from talking with homeschooling opponents is part of their thought process. The argument is that “since some parents won’t be as responsible as you (talking about me personally), we need to have compulsory schooling.”
The article has a lot of great points to adress this. As I stated to someone the other day, I have strong opinions about how parents should feed their kids, but it sure isn’t my right to go into another’s home and remove their children or fine or jail the parents because they feed their kids hot dogs.
I highly recommend John Taylor Gatto’s books to anyone who wants to know the truth about the modern system of schooling and where it really came from. Among other things, the principle folks who influenced what we think of as school today were very unambiguous about what they were trying to accomplish. Strange as it may seem, they were vocal about wanting to produce a generation of good government and factory employees. Influenced by the Prussian system of educational philosophy, they started modeling schools after it.
That’s unnerving, idn’t it?
More Posts By Carrie:
- A Cross Blog Conversation With Nell Taliercio
- Been There, Done That, Wrote A Book
- When You Don’t Celebrate Halloween
Comments
4 Responses to “Compulsory Schooling and Other Newfangled Notions”
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Well said Carrie!
Hi Carrie,
I am single mom and a homeschooler and I could not agree more with what you have said in this post. I want you to know that I also used one of your articles about Mommy burnout on my blog http://www.singlemomliving.blogspot.com . I really appreciate all that you are putting out and contributing online here and will be signing up for you newsletter as well. Keep up the good work
Peace and Blessings,
Tracey
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Carrie- you continue to give thought provoking and powerful information in a genuine and personal style-
Thanks!