I had an encounter yesterday with someone who was in the education sector, probably a public school teacher, but I’m not sure. At any rate, I was asked about my status in highschool, I was assumed to be a sophomore, after which I informed this person that I just graduated from highschool. I was questioned as to the testing and regulations for homeschoolers to graduate. I answered that the parents decided when their child had completed highschool, and in Illinois, there are no tests that kids have to take. This person was, to say the least, aghast, that there was such a lack of laws and testing. They even said to me, “well, I expect you to get some more stringent regulations passed into law.” I only smiled and said it was nice meeting them…but it got me to thinking about education.
I would assume that the logic for more stringent regulations on homeschoolers would go something like this: If there is no test for highschool graduates, how will future employers and colleges know that this person has been well educated? Won’t it hurt their future if they can’t “prove” their intelligence?
My answer would be something like this: 1) I have a few low opinion of tests and exams. I doubt if they can truly prove a person’s intelligence. I don’t think a test is a very credible measure of education. 2) If you want to interfere between a parent and their child, because of the child’s “future” why not regulate what food the parent can give their kids, because, if the child grows up to be overweight, or unhealthy, it might limit their career opportunities. 3) There are the parents, and the child, and the parents are responsible to God. God didn’t, to the best of my knowledge, equip governments with the right to raise children, I thought He gave that responsibility to the parents.
The push for more stringent regulations is not only absurd, it is dangerous. Those who control the children control the future.
