Is not being allowed to do something by your government persecution? And, should a government with differing laws offer asylum to people who disagree with those laws?


http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0...yes&hpt=T2

Depends on what the something is. In this case, I'd side with the parents- but that shouldn't surprise you. While I agree that education is the right of a child, I disagree that the government is always the best arbiter of that education. I also have to call bullshit on this quote:

Quote:He also argues that homeschooling deprives children of important social lessons. "No parental couple can offer a breadth of education and replace experienced teachers. Kids also lose contact with their peers," he says.

Just as homeschooling isn't for all kids or all families, neither is formal classroom education. This family believes that their local school system was opposing their family's religious values. They opted to educate their own children and in return, they were threatened with loss of custody. I'd call that persecution.

Isn't that pretty much the reason people ask for asylum- because our laws differ from theirs? I understand why these people asked for asylum, and I find it interesting that the US granted it to them.

Another case, from shortly after I moved to Canada in about 1983:

A gang shot and killed an entire extended family and some guests, all of whom were affiliated with a rival gang. Then, they fled to Canada and asked for asylum because the US would possibly have given them the death penalty. Canadians arrested them and they served out their (ridiculously short) sentence and were then free to remain in Canada. Was that ok for the Canadians to refuse extradition and grant them asylum? If not, then why is it ok for the US to grant asylum to this family?

It's an interesting subject, and I'm curious to see what the response will be to this circumstance.

I'm all for home schooling. I also have no problem with the family moving to a more home-school friendly place. But, I don't think this family went about it the right way. The word asylum is very charged. Being prosecuted is not necessarily being persecuted either. If you don't like the laws of your land, move before you break the laws or vote to change the laws.

I don't think voting to change the laws is going to accomplish much in Germany. They do have good schools. The point of disagreement here is on the teaching of values in those schools. The family doubtless views this as an issue of religious freedom. The one thing not covered by this article is whether or not the family had the option of private or religious schools. I did find a couple more articles with more information.

This one goes into more detail about the family's objections to the curriculum

This one talks about the increase in private school enrollments and the lengthening waiting lists Private school might not have been an option for the family as more and more Germans are unhappy with the state schools.

As for moving prior to breaking the law in Germany, that's not as easy as you might think. Getting the OK to immigrate from Germany to the US takes a while due to the general lack of persecution of most groups there. I'm not certain which other countries in Europe are more homeschool friendly. I do know that even American homeschoolers who spend time in Germany aren't exempt from their mandatory attendance laws unless they're military, so they're more strict than most places.

I agree with Amy. I don't think this is a case of persecution. They don't like the law, but the law isn't persecuting them. I also agree with Judy that fighting to change the law wouldn't change their families situation. Could the family not have chosen to emigrate to another country that is more home-schooling friendly without seeking asylum?

(02-02-2010 01:20 PM)theworm Wrote:  I agree with Amy. I don't think this is a case of persecution. They don't like the law, but the law isn't persecuting them. I also agree with Judy that fighting to change the law wouldn't change their families situation. Could the family not have chosen to emigrate to another country that is more home-schooling friendly without seeking asylum?

When your children are at risk (their perception, don't know if it's true), you don't hang around to see what else you can accomplish. You act. They had to have SOME reason for choosing this small town in Tennessee as their place of asylum. I'd love to know what that was.