12-13-2007

Another Christmas Card to Send

By Renae

My son ran in the house telling me the sheriff was here. My heart skipped a beat. Was someone here to question my children’s education? After lunch, my children frequently play outside for an hour or two. Did a neighbor alert the authorities? I know that home schooling is perfectly legal, but stories of court battles gripped my mind.

To my relief, it was the animal control officer trying to find the home of a puppy. We discussed the new county leash law and pointed her in the right direction. As soon as she left, I ushered the children into the house.

This experience reminded me to be thankful for freedom to teach my children. I need to stop begrudging the burden of home school and thank God for the privilege. Others are not so fortunate.

In Germany it is illegal to home school. Dana of Principled Discovery informs,

Families who choose to pursue this method of education face court, fines, potential imprisonment and possible loss of custody of their children. Many flee to neighboring countries, but some have also chosen to stay in a fight to allow educational choice for Germany. The Neubronners is one such family. To assist them in their fight, a postcard action is being organized in the hopes of helping their case gain more publicity and foster positive discussion of homeschooling in Germany, as well as hopefully encourage officials in the case to reconsider their stance.

Will you please consider adding one more Christmas card to your list? The home educators in Germany ask that cards requesting freedom be sent to:

Postcards for German Homeschoolers

Senatorin für Bildung und Wissenschaft
Rembertiring 8-12
28195 Bremen
Germany

If you would like a sample of what to write, please use this link or the button above. Your simple act of sending greetings to government officials in Germany may help future generations. Let’s remember to thank God for our liberty and pray for those who are fighting for theirs.

Related posts:

  1. Eternal Vigilance Required
  2. Good News from California
  3. Discuss Homeschooling

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7 Comments

  1. ThirstyJon 12-14-2007, 5:43 am

    Thank you God for freedom to teach!

    Amen!

    The sad thing is that “freedom” has slipped to the point where you even need to think about the possibility that the sheriff could be coming because you homeschool!

    Let’s keep standing for Freedom!

    :-)

    ThirstyJon

  2. Renae 12-14-2007, 9:55 am

    ThirstyJon,
    Thankfully most of my neighbors are supportive, even if they don’t understand all the reasons we home school.

    I know that even if the sheriff came I am doing nothing wrong, but those stories of drawn out court cases disturb me. I don’t want to fight or be investigated. That is why my heart goes out to the families in Germany. Their children have even been snatched from their homes. I can’t image how difficult that is. May God comfort them and give them strength for the fight. And may liberty be victorious!

  3. Emily 12-16-2007, 10:33 am

    I actually had a momentarily, “OH NO” while reading the begining of you post.

    thank goodness.

    or rather, Thank GOD.

  4. Amanda 12-16-2007, 2:40 pm

    AMEN!! I agree with ThirstyJon.
    That must have really been taken your breath away to think that a police could have come for your children. Luckily we live out in the country, so we don’t have to worry about that too much. Altho if I go to town with one of the younger children, I try to go after school would be out, just to avoid questioning.
    I am glad your neighbors are supportive.
    Love, Prayers and Blessings,
    Amanda

  5. connie 12-16-2007, 4:45 pm

    I’m so contrary that I purposely take/send the kids out during public school hours. When we first moved to this town, I didn’t know how the local police felt about hs’ing, so I gave Lee a note to carry with him saying that he had been sent to the library to do research. The note ended, “DO NOT HARASS MY CHILD.” I knew the state law and had a copy of the relevant codes in case anyone tried to cause trouble. Eleven years later, I can say that as long as the kids are polite, nobody cares. One year, I gave the girls a “Skip school” certificate for Christmas. They had to put it on their beds and disappear for the day. If I saw them before noon, they’d have to do school. They had so much fun! At some point, they chose to go to the elementary school. They walked around, talking to the kids and teachers until the principal told them they had to leave. Yes, we are a bit in-your-face, but I figure that the more people see hs kids, the more normal it will seem for kids to have freedom, instead of being imprisoned all day. What a great chance to explain to another mom about how easy/wonderful/cheap it is to hs!

  6. Melinda 12-17-2007, 8:12 am

    Wow that is really scary. We should be thankful for our freedoms, but also mindful of the danger of them slowly bring eroded. Thanks for posting this information.

  7. Renae 12-17-2007, 9:17 am

    Connie,
    You are very spunky. :) I avoid confrontation if at all possible.

    Emily, Amanda and Melinda,
    Honestly, I didn’t really believe that the police were here to question me, but it did give me a fearful pause. Afterwards, I couldn’t help but be thankful for those who fought to keep the rights we enjoy, and think of those whose rights are denied.

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