Saturday, March 13, 2010

German home school refugees granted asylum in Tennessee

Originally post at DeskofBrian.com: http://sites.google.com/site/thedeskofbrian/state-of-the-nation/germanhomeschoolrefugeesgrantedasylumintennessee



Recently I discovered homeschooling was illegal in Germany and violators could face fines and/or jail time. As I continue to research the attack on home schooling families, the NY Times (and others) reported on the Romeike family who were granted asylum in Morristown Tennessee.


Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, desired homeschooling their five children, which is illegal in Germany, their native land.


My previous "State of the Nation" on Homeschooling Illegal in Germany


The Romeikes are Christians and Uwe, a piano teacher, discusses in the article how the unruly behavior in schools (public and private) were a distraction for his children.


“I don’t expect the school to teach about the Bible,” he said, but “part of education should be character-building.”


The article confirms my research as Germany (and others) characterize homeschoolers as “fundamentalist religious nuts who don’t want their children to get to know what is going on in the world, who want to protect them from everything.”


Absurd.


Even worse, as I mentioned, the family would face severe penalties in Germany for homeschooling:


"But they soon discovered differently, he said, facing fines eventually totaling over $11,000, threats that they would lose custody of their children and, one morning, a visit by the police, who took the children to school in a police van. Those were among the fines and potential penalties that Judge Burman said rose to the level of persecution."



“We’re all surprised because we consider the German educational system as very excellent,” said Lutz Hermann Görgens, the German consul general in Atlanta. He defended Germany’s policy on the grounds of fostering the ability “to peacefully interact with different values and different religions.”



The German education rates very high, but one of the goals, that you as a parent and a student must submit ti, is social conformity and as German courts describe it: social integration.


Fortunately America remains a safe haven for freedom. This battle to protect homeschoolers rages on, both in Europe and here in the states and we'll further explore those details.


In the meantime, the Romeikes can raise and teach their children as they see fit, not under the iron fisted mandates from the state.




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