Uncommon Logic

Home Schooling illegal?

Today an Appeals court in California pointedly said “parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children”.

So if a parent cannot decide what is in the best interest of their child, who does? According to this California court the government does. I know everyone will start whooping and hollering about cases of child abuse etc. I am just as appalled by things like that as anyone else. However, the vast majority of parents do not fall into that category. What I am talking about is the average man or woman in the United States, or at least in California, cannot decide that the teaching of the public school system is not in their child’s best interest.

Why would someone not want their child taught in public schools? The assumption is that they are learning to read, write, do math, etc. This same court though said “A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare”. When did this become the goal of a public school system? It sounds more like indoctrination than education.

Since the specific ruling is coming from a California court, let’s look at California schools to see what citizenship, patriotism, and loyalty training children receive.

The California State Board of Education requires that seventh grade world history classes contain a three week course on Islamic history, culture, and religion. This is a school system where students can’t even mention the name of Jesus or where a Crucifix. One teacher asked the principal of Intermediate-Excelsior School of Byron, if she could teach Christianity in the manner that Islam is taught and for the same length of time. The teacher was advised it would have to be after hours as a Christian club — and voluntary because to do otherwise would be a violation of the separation of church and state.

The school district was sued on grounds of violating the establishment clause with the Islamic instruction. The teacher read Muslim prayers and portions of the Qur’an aloud in class, required student groups to recite a line from a Muslim prayer, such as “In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful,” They were also given flash cards in which they had to answer if the card was “fact, trivia, or truth”. Some of the “truth” and “fact” cards contained phrases such as “The Qur’an is God’s third revelation that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad,” or “The Holy Qur’an is God’s word as revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the Archangel Gabriel”.

Bear in mind these are the same school systems that sued stating that even to say the words “One Nation Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance violates the establishment clause.
Yet, when the above mentioned case goes to court it is summarily ruled that there was no violation and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled as follows, “The Islam program activities were not “‘overt religious exercises’ that raise Establishment Clause concerns”.

The problem is not so much with the judiciary as it is with the apathy of Christian & conservative Americans. It is time we take back our rights.

1. Castro Decl. PP5, 6; Exh. B at 28 P7.2 (Board of Education requirements)
2. Culture and Family Institute, an affiliate of Concerned Women for America, 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1102
   Washington, D.C. 20005,
3. JONAS EKLUND; et al., Plaintiffs – Appellants, v. BYRON UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT; et al., Defendants – Appellees. No. 04-15032 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT 154 Fed. Appx. 648; 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 25155 October 19, 2005, Argued and Submitted, San Francisco, California November 17, 2005, Filed

David Collins