The American Spectator

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Another Perspective

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The second point citizens who value "critical thinking" and "freedom" must remember is that these ideals are best protected when parents enjoy well-protected rights to choose private or home schools. The open competition of worldviews promoted by allowing private and home schooling helps foster freedom and diversity of thought.

Not surprisingly, the emergence of young forms of democracy in countries such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Ukraine went hand-in hand with the legalization of home and private schooling. In other words, countries and educational systems that give wide freedoms to private and home schooling and support parental choice also tend to exhibit more respect for a range of human rights such as freedom of speech, conscience and religion.

In contrast, highly centralized and repressive political states, often communist or totalitarian (e.g., China, Vietnam, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Iran), outlaw home and private schooling and mandate public school attendance for all.

In light of these realities, we need to protect parental freedom and the freedom of private and home schools. They can play a crucial role in helping us raise up children with enough courage to think critically about and challenge the "truth" told by the controlling Hugo Chavez's of the world.

Perry L. Glanzer teaches in the Department of Church and State and the School of Education at Baylor University.

topics:
Education, Religion, Books, Law, Iran, Communism