Sweden moves to ban homeschooling

[SwordoftheVistula]

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10031209.html

The government of Sweden is taking a hard line against homeschoolers, proposing a bill that will only allow home education under “extraordinary circumstances,” reports the Home School Legal Defense Association. The bill is expected to pass in the Swedish parliament, following a review by the Supreme Administrative Court, and will allow for homeschooling families to face criminal charges.

The court has asked only for the government to specify the definition of “extraordinary circumstances.”

Jonas Himmelstrand, president of the Swedish Association for Home Education (ROHUS), said the situation is changing rapidly for the worse for homeschoolers in the country.

“Just two years ago my family and many others received the permission of local municipal school boards to homeschool.”

Himmelstrand continued, “Last year we won our court case at trial, but the appeals court sided with the government against our homeschooling. The school year was over before the school officials could bring another case. This year the authorities are being much more aggressive. Families are being fined and the new law would allow for the imposition of criminal sanctions.”

The news of the socialist government’s hardening attitude toward homeschoolers comes following the state seizure eight months ago of seven year-old Dominic Johansson, whose parents were educating him at home. Since the removal of Dominic by police from a plane the family had boarded with the intention of moving to India, Christer and Annie Johansson have been allowed to see their son for one hour every five weeks.

Despite the seizure of Johansson, homeschooling is not officially illegal in Sweden. But the statist views of the current government are deeply antagonistic towards any movement of citizens away from the state control of education.

“The government's quest for conformity produces troubling side effects: the criminalization of actions – such as a parent's decision regarding the best form of education for his child – that ought to be the hallmarks of a free, democratic society,” said the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) in a statement. The U.S.-based HSLDA and Alliance Defense Fund are assisting the family.

HSLDA said that while Sweden is often portrayed as a “social utopia,” what is not widely known is its antagonism toward homeschoolers, “and, in reality, anyone who deviates from what the Swedish government defines as ‘normal’.”

One American homeschooling mother, Lisa Angerstig, who is married to a Swede, said that the government is becoming “increasingly aggressive,” having already fined the family the equivalent of U.S. $1400.

“Sweden is a beautiful country,” she said, “and the people are very nice. But the government has become increasingly aggressive about education, trying to require that all children go to the state schools. For a country that prides itself on human rights, this type of aggressive behavior is quite shocking.”

Himmelstrand said there are only about a hundred homeschooling families in the whole country, but these are “one hundred too many for Swedish authorities.”

“They are preparing to pass this new law to make it harder, and it appears that local school boards are already enforcing the new law even though it hasn’t been passed through Parliament.”

[Anthropos]

Thanks for posting that, Sword. There is a minor flaw in the article though:


The news of the socialist government’s hardening attitude toward homeschoolers ...The fact is that the present government is Neoliberal. It's the 'blues', the 'Right', which is doing this.

[Lars]

#Anthropos
Are you sure your government aren't social-liberal? Ours sure are. ;(

[Osweo]

Have the couple applied for political asylum in the USA yet? Might be worth doing, if they were willing to go to India.

I was just reading another thread on Britain with something similar to this:

Christer and Annie Johansson have been allowed to see their son for one hour every five weeks.


The recording begins with the sound of a child's voice. It belongs to a little girl and she is clearly bewildered and distressed.

At one point she begins to cry. At other times she is sobbing uncontrollably. 'Have you seen the judge yet?' she can be heard asking pitifully in between the tears before pleading: 'I want to go home with [you] Mummy and Daddy.'

The recording - and dozens of others just like it - was made during a supervised meeting between the youngster and her parents after their daughter was taken away from them by social workers.

They are known as 'contact visits' in the soulless vernacular of the care system, and took place in a room with a table and chairs and a few toys.

One hour. Once a month. That's the extent of the relationship now between this little seven-year-old girl and her traumatised parents.
http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showpost.php?p=67547&postcount=1

I can't think of anything more evil. Real Bolshevism.

[Anthropos]

#Anthropos
Are you sure your government aren't social-liberal? Ours sure are. ;(
Every country has baggage that affects the labels, but I deem the present government to be Neoliberal. Profit and big business dictates what they do.

[Liffrea]

The hand that rocks the cradle hey?

[Deary]

It appears, in Sweden, children are no longer the parents' property, but property of the state, and that it is within the state's more pressing interests to maintain that parents have as little involvement as possible in their children's upbringing. I hope this movement sends a warning to the rest of Swedish families. When the government fears home-education to the point of robbing kids from their houses and criminalizing behavior that has not violated the rights of anyone, there is clearly some sort of agenda.

[lei.talk]

Originally Posted by Anthropos http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/kiddo/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=183138#post183138)
The fact is that the present government is Neoliberal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism).
It's the 'blues', the 'Right', which is doing this.

Lars http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/kiddo/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=183143#post183143)
Are you sure your government aren't social-liberal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_liberalism)?
Ours sure are. ;(

"In Sweden, the head of the Ministry of Education and Research is Jan Björklund (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Bj%C3%B6rklund) (Liberal People's Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_People%27s_Party_(Sweden))). The Minister for Higher Education and Research is Tobias Krantz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Krantz) (Liberal People's Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_People%27s_Party_(Sweden)))."


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/73/Liberal_People%27s_Party_%28Sweden%29_logo.png/155px-Liberal_People%27s_Party_%28Sweden%29_logo.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_People%27s_Party_(Sweden))

[Lenny]

The fact is that the present government is Neoliberal. It's the 'blues', the 'Right', which is doing this.
Do you really view a connection between economics and homeschooling? Very tenuous connection, at most.

Sweden's four parties (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13850) that form its 51-%-majority government :
28% of the seats : Socially centrist [Moderaterna]
16% of seats : Socially left-wing [Folkpartiet liberalerna, Centerpartiet]
Only 7% belong to the social 'right-wing' [Kristdemokraterna]
(Note: To see how troubling the political situation is in Sweden, the other 49% of seats are held by socially far-left parties: Social-Democrats, neoCommunists, and "Greens")
Note #2 : A second actual-right-wing party, the quasi-nationalist Sverigedemokraterna, will probably win seats (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13850) this year:D

[Anthropos]

Do you really view a connection between economics and homeschooling? Very tenuous connection, at most.

Sweden's four parties (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13850) that form its 51-%-majority government :

28% of the seats : Socially centrist [Moderaterna]
16% of seats : Socially left-wing [Folkpartiet liberalerna, Centerpartiet]
Only 7% belong to the social 'right-wing' [Kristdemokraterna]



(Note: To see how troubling the political situation is in Sweden, the other 49% of seats are held by socially far-left parties: Social-Democrats, neoCommunists, and "Greens")
Note #2 : A second actual-right-wing party, the quasi-nationalist Sverigedemokraterna, will probably win seats (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13850) this year:D


You presented that as if it was some list of facts. It's nothing but your own 'ideas' of what those parties are. Why do I even care to reply, I don't know. You can live in your fantasy for all I care. I will only say that not even one of the characterisations you made of the parties in government is in anything like common usage.

[Lenny]

You presented that as if it was some list of facts. It's nothing but your own 'ideas' of what those parties are. Why do I even care to reply, I don't know. You can live in your fantasy for all I care. I will only say that not even one of the characterisations you made of the parties in government is in anything like common usage.
Yes, they are my ideas. If they are wrong, then please correct them :thumb001:.
I admit I am far from an expert on Sweden political parties.

However, it also depends on what one's definition of "left" and "right" are anyway, which is different from country to country.

[RoyBatty]

It appears, in Sweden, children are no longer the parents' property, but property of the state, and that it is within the state's more pressing interests to maintain that parents have as little involvement as possible in their children's upbringing. I hope this movement sends a warning to the rest of Swedish families. When the government fears home-education to the point of robbing kids from their houses and criminalizing behavior that has not violated the rights of anyone, there is clearly some sort of agenda.

It's the same in the UK. Kids are routinely being kidnapped from their parents by "social services", then placed with homosexuals.

It won't be long before homeschooling gets banned in the UK as well. And yes, the population (especially children) are considered to be State Property.

[Lenny]

It won't be long before homeschooling gets banned in the UK as well. And yes, the population (especially children) are considered to be State Property.
It's hard for me to imagine any U.S. Government ever attempting to ban homeschooling. Not even B.H. 'The Mulatto Clown' Obama would try that. :coffee:


1.5 million (http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-04-homeschooling_N.htm) kids aged 5-17 are homeschooled in the USA
55 million (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2010.html?countryName=United%20States&countryCode=us&regionCode=na&#us) total kids aged 5-17 reside in the USA
I get the feeling that homeschooling is an almost-exclusively white endeavor, too. ~[1.4-million white kids] / [the 33-million total white kids] -- that is significant.

[RoyBatty]

It's hard for me to imagine any U.S. Government ever attempting to ban homeschooling. Not even B.H. 'The Mulatto Clown' Obama would try that. :coffee:


In many respects the US is a lot freer than the EU and I imagine it will remain like this..... for now. Not too sure how things will pan out in future though.

[Sol Invictus]

It's hard for me to imagine any U.S. Government ever attempting to ban homeschooling. Not even B.H. 'The Mulatto Clown' Obama would try that. :coffee:

I posted an AP article here in the education section about a homeschooling couple that were arrested in some city in New York. Many states are already having lawmakers get on them about regulating and restricting homeschooling. This is just recently so the ball is just starting to roll.

[Murphy]

It's the same in the UK. Kids are routinely being kidnapped from their parents by "social services", then placed with homosexuals.

Sadly it's really only the Catholic Church who seems to speak out on this issue. At least in Scotland.

[Anthropos]

Sadly it's really only the Catholic Church who seems to speak out on this issue. At least in Scotland.

And TEH RoyBatty.

[Lenny]

Many states are already having lawmakers get on them about regulating and restricting homeschooling. This is just recently so the ball is just starting to roll.
To my mind, that is like the neverending "Let's ban private ownership of guns" thing. People talk about it, but I cannot see it ever happening. It would deeply offend middle class sensibilities to make such moves.

The Powers-That-Be know that the backbone of the USA -- those responsible for continuing to prop up this house of cards -- remains the White Middle Class, and banning guns or banning homeschooling would radicalize many of these people. They would abandon interest in the success of the USA itself, if you push them too hard.

[Sol Invictus]

People talk about it, but I cannot see it ever happening. It would deeply offend middle class sensibilities to make such moves.

That didn't stop them from banning handguns in Chicago. Granted they are now being taken to court over it but by a single man, and not the middle class as a whole & certainly not white. The great American gun-grab isn't an American-cooked up scheme either. It was a UN one that worked to great success in places like Australia and England, which is also going to come to fruition in Canada as well.


banning guns or banning homeschooling would radicalize many of these people. They would abandon interest in the success of the USA itself, if you push them too hard.

Yes indeed. Just like the hundreds of Americans who are coming home from the front lines only to find there is simply no jobs and no future for them. Radicalization is an understatement. These people no longer fear the end of the world.

I have no doubt homeschooling will be under complete federal control, or destroyed altogether in the near future. It's a matter of increments they use to slowly have us conditioned to accepting it, whether because terrorists are being recruited by their parents or whatever other bullshit excuse they want to use on folk.

[antonio]

Sweden seems to be a very developed state...specially in brainwashing its own people. I still remember the 200x Ikea catalog: so black, so white...:D

USA, with all its failures, seems to be only true referent of the Democracy, and not the fucking European Union: Id suppose America never knows about what happens in EU when Austrian Nacionalist party got into Gov coalition...it's a very significative case, a case that says so much about those bunch of Brussel-sprout liars.