In 2012, Alberta’s home educators were successful in defeating a proposal to have all their instructional materials conform to 'human rights' law. In effect, the proposed legislation would have forbidden parents from using curriculum that upheld Christian sexual morality..The long arm of the state would have reached into homes to ensure all children would be taught 'progressive' views of sexuality. This was a clear threat to parental rights..At the time, the conflict over this legislation received international attention. Once the matter was settled, attention faded away.. Alberta homeschool rallyIn March 2012, more than 2000 parents rallied outside the Alberta legislature, in support of home schools. The protests were organized by the Alberta Home Education Association and led to rejection of legislation that would have forbidden parents from using curriculum that upheld Christian sexual morality. .However, the international interest did not disappear altogether..Some far left law professors in the United States began using this incident as a reason to advocate for a ban on homeschooling. That is, the victory of Alberta’s home educators in 2012 continues to reverberate at the international level..In 2016, law professors Martha Fineman and George B. Shepherd wrote an article for the University of Baltimore Law Review entitled, “Homeschooling: Choosing Parental Rights Over Children's Interests.”.Fineman and Shepherd make no bones about their anti-freedom agenda: “Because of the harms homeschooling causes to children and society, it should be prohibited.”.They offer a number of reasons for their conclusion, but one of those reasons is based on the Alberta example..Most opponents of homeschooling recommend heavy regulation as the solution to the supposed 'problem.' However, Fineman and Shepherd argue that increased regulation is not a reasonable solution because home educators fight against it so tenaciously. The evidence they offer to support their point is the Alberta situation in 2012..Fineman and Shepherd falsely claim the Alberta legislation opposed by home educators was “designed to address hate crimes.” They then add that it would have prohibited “homeschools, private schools, and Catholic schools from teaching students that being gay is a sin.”.After describing the reason home educators objected to the new law, Fineman and Shepherd conclude, “If a homeschooling parent can be compelled neither to teach civic virtue and respect for law nor to submit to the most basic monitoring and regulation, then the only alternative is to prohibit homeschooling, so that the child will be exposed to those lessons in a school setting.”.In essence, they argue since home educators have been so successful defending their rights and freedoms, homeschooling must be completely banned..This is not the only reason Fineman and Shepherd provide to support their case for prohibiting homeschooling, but it is one where Alberta is used as an example..The other reasons are even worse..To a large degree, Fineman and Shepherd want to ban homeschooling to prevent parents from teaching their children the Bible..A disproportionate number of home educators are conservative evangelicals who believe the Bible to be the Word of God. Fineman and Shepherd don’t share that view, and they don’t want children taught it either..Because they disdain the Bible, they believe children who receive conservative Bible teaching will not be prepared for real life and will not be able to function in secular society. In this respect, homeschooling 'harms' the children..Besides harming the children, they claim society is also harmed when parents "indoctrinate” their children “with extreme views.” The teaching received at home “not only harms the individual student, it harms the greater cohesion of society, creating discord and strife that prevent our country from working toward common goals.”.The so-called “extreme views” they’re talking about is a reference to traditional Christian morality. For example, they think the idea that marriage should only be between a man and a woman is an “extreme view.”.Fineman and Shepherd want all children to be compelled to attend public schools. This way all children can be instructed in progressive sexual dogma. As they put it, “The state fails when it does not effectively educate children about sexual, gender and other forms of diversity.”.For the state to succeed then, every child must be indoctrinated with left-wing ideology..Fineman and Shepherd are clear they dislike the freedom for homeschooling that is allowed in the United States. Their country provides more freedom for home education than any other and they see that as detrimental..As they put it, “homeschooling should be prohibited, conforming America’s approach to state responsibility in regard to education to that of many of our peer nations.”.Individual liberty is an obstacle to progressives who want to use state power to usher in their concept of an ideal society by force. Their solution, as in the case of Fineman and Shepherd, is to eliminate freedom so the government can coerce its citizens to conform to progressive ideology without any legal hindrances..In 2012, home educating Albertans showed the world they take freedom seriously when they pushed back against social engineering in our own province..It’s to Alberta’s credit that the enemies of freedom have noticed this achievement and are not happy about it.
