Table of Contents
Foreword Michael P. Farris 7
Preface Dallas K. Miller 9
Creature of the State? Homeschooling, the Law, Human Rights, and Parental Autonomy Michael P. Donnelly 17
Introduction 17
Brief History of Homeschooling in America 21
Lighting the Fuse 21
Overcoming Objections 24
Making the Grade 25
Can't We Just Get Along? 27
We Fought the Law and We Won 28
Demarcation 32
United States of America 34
European Influence: England, France, Germany, and Canada 38
Conclusion 43
Compulsory Education-in Schools Only? Divergent Developments in Germany Thomas Schirrmacher 47
Summary 47
Introduction 48
Paragraph 1666 is Misused 53
Responding Educationally 55
The Many True Truants 57
Freedom of Religion Also Belongs within the Realm of Education 59
Make Exceptions! 59
Homeschooling as an Alternative for Special Cases 60
Compulsory School Attendance Is a Child of Absolutism 62
Compulsory Education in Germany Is Also a Legacy of National Socialism 63
The Justification of Homeschooling Vis-A-Vis the European Human Rights System John Warwick Montgomery 67
Introduction 67
Philosophical Considerations and Their Relevance to Home-schooling 68
The European Court and Homeschooling 71
Appendix The Current Homeschool Situation in Sweden Michael P. Donnelly 77
Legal Yet Disfavored 77
Documented Cases of Harsh Treatment of Homeschooling Families in Sweden 81
About the Authors 85