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From
the HSLDA E-lert
Service...
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May
10, 2007
HSLDA: New Strategy for Securing Homeschool Freedom in
Germany
Dear Members and Friends,
Many of you have been following
the terrible plight of homeschoolers
in Germany. It seems as if a week
doesn't go by without another family
being threatened with fines,
imprisonment, or the loss of their
children. Many of you have asked how you
can help our German brothers
and sisters. I have just returned from a
fact-finding mission where we
met with German attorneys, professors,
homeschool leaders, and
homeschooling families.
I would like to
share more about the current situation of German
homeschoolers and describe
a new strategy for helping them attain the
freedom to homeschool that we
enjoy here in the United States. This is
a longer letter than I would
otherwise send, but it is important that
I give you some historical and
political context. The legal situation
for homeschoolers in Germany is a
complicated problem and its solution
requires careful thought and
planning.
Over the last seven years, HSLDA has chronicled through email
alerts
the escalating persecution German homeschoolers face. Since the late
1990s, scores of these families have been involved in court cases.
While
there have been a few instances where families have been able to
continue to
homeschool after or while paying fines, or when the local
authorities turn a
blind eye, this is by far the exception. In most
cases families are fined,
in some cases thousands of dollars, or when
threatened with the removal of
their children by German Youth Welfare
authorities, have fled the country.
Other families have been (and
remain) separated for years--the fathers
remaining in Germany to
provide for their families and mothers and children
living in another
country where they are able to safely homeschool. Mothers
and fathers
have been also imprisoned, had their bank accounts confiscated,
their
wages garnished, or their businesses ruined by the actions of their
local government.
The now infamous Konrad v. Germany case has clearly
demonstrated that
German homeschoolers have no hope of relief from their
courts. When
the Konrad family appealed to the European Court of Human
Rights under
the European Convention on Human Rights, the Court refused to
hear the
case. In an unusual procedural response, the Court explained its
rationale for rejecting the hearing on the merits of the case.
Although
the Court agreed that homeschooling was an exercise of
protected parental
liberties, it determined that these liberties were
overridden by concerns
raised by the lower German courts that
homeschooling could create a parallel
society.
In the United States, such a decision would be tantamount to the
Supreme Court ruling that states could outlaw homeschooling.
While
German families will continue to require legal representation,
it appears
that, barring a miracle, a court-based legal strategy will
not yield freedom
for German homeschoolers. To win, a legislative
solution is needed. And in
order to convince a German legislative body
to change the law in favor of
homeschooling, public opinion in Germany
will have to be changed.
For
a number of cultural reasons, the average German doesn't
understand the
notion of homeschooling. Many German officials fear
that active support of
homeschooling will result in parallel
societies, such as Islamic
fundamentalism, that would endanger their
country's safety and
stability.
In the United States, we understand that homeschooling
supports
pluralism (a term which essentially means that people of different
races, religions, and views should live together with mutual respect
and
as equal citizens), that individuals have a natural right to
direct the
upbringing and education of their children, and that the
protection of this
right is an important function of free and
democratic governments.
In America, and other countries, research demonstrates that
homeschooling does not isolate or create parallel societies but
rather,
it allows students to become highly engaged in society,
enjoying a diverse
and real-world educational experience, especially
when compared to the
institutional, uniform, and age-segregated public
school system. But these
notions about homeschooling are foreign to
the average German citizen.
Despite their 20th century history of national aggression, Germans can
trace a long tradition of excellence in a wide variety of national
pursuits. They are proud of their culture, history, and expertise, and
are reluctant to apply to their own country lessons and experience
from
other countries. However, once a new concept is validated by
respected
German academic and professional institutions and a viable
solution is
developed and implemented with some success, Germans
readily adopt new
ideas, including ideas about education.
A NEW STRATEGY
German
homeschool leaders agree that a court-based solution to the
problem of
homeschooling is hopeless and that a political solution is
needed. For these
and other reasons, a multi-prong strategy is
required to effectively support
German homeschoolers in creating
conditions that will pave the way for
legalizing homeschooling in
Germany.
This strategy will include
engagement with academic and professional
institutions that influence the
opinions of judges, politicians, and
government officials. Government
officials need credible and
authoritative research and opinion from German
experts to inform their
judicial opinions, lawmaking, and administrative
decision making. This
strategy must include support for embattled
homeschooling families who
continue to homeschool but must pay heavy fines,
and humanitarian
support for families who flee Germany in the face of
intense
government persecution. This strategy must also include applying
political pressure to Germany from the international community in the
form of public pronouncements, diplomacy, media reports, and
grassroots
activity.
HSLDA has determined to encourage this political strategy by
providing
support wherever and however we can to these courageous German
homeschoolers and their friends who seek to protect the basic human
right of parents to determine the best form of education for their
children.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Your help is vital because German
homeschooling families lack the
numerical and financial resources to effect
meaningful change.
First and foremost, we ask you to pray for German
homeschooling
families enduring persecution. Pray also for their leaders,
who are
working hard to change the current state of affairs. We ask you to
pray that God would change the hearts of the German people and their
elected and appointed officials so that homeschooling will be allowed
in
Germany. HSLDA also asks for your prayers that God will guide our
actions
and give us wisdom as we work with German homeschooling
families and their
leaders to equip, support, and encourage them.
German homeschoolers are
greatly encouraged by your prayers, support,
and example in maintaining the
cause of homeschooling freedom in
America. At times, we will ask you to
write letters and make phone
calls, particularly to U.S. officials when we
need them to bring
specific pressure on Germany.
And we will also ask
you to prayerfully consider how you can support
this work financially.
Initiating and sustaining this new strategy
will require significant
resources.
While there are those in Germany who have provided funds to
support
this effort, German homeschooling families are few and tend to be
working class families unable to supply much financial support. We
know
that this is also true of many of our members and we ask you to
be prudent
regarding your own responsibilities when considering
supporting this cause
financially.
If you are able, there are many specific needs for funding,
and your
generous donations will help accelerate change and improve the
situation in Germany. These needs include funding for research studies
and books, conferences providing public opinion leaders and academics
a
chance to engage in dialogue about homeschooling, conferences to
support and
equip homeschoolers, legal fees to help support families
who are most
persecuted, and aid for families who must flee Germany.
German
homeschoolers face a situation not unlike the situation
American
homeschoolers faced 25-30 years ago. However, Germans face
this battle in a
culture that does not place a high value, in its
official documents or
official action, on religious or educational
freedom. That is why German
homeschoolers need our help.
If you feel that this is a battle you
should be involved in, will you
join us in praying, lobbying, and
financially supporting homeschool
freedom in Germany? By getting involved,
you can help secure freedoms
for German homeschoolers who can't on their
own. You will also help
prevent the repression of homeschooling from
spreading to other
countries in Europe and even to America.
To give
to our International Homeschooling Fund for Germany, please go
to
https://secure.hslda.org/HSF/support.asp. In the near future you
will also
be able to go to our Germany webpage at www.HSLDA.org to
stay current on the
status of homeschooling in Germany.
Thank you and may God bless
you.
Michael Farris
HSLDA Chairman & General Counsel
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