Trying to homeschool in Germany

Nov. 3, 2006

Controversy about research paper

I had an interesting comment on my previous post (Dear Anonymous), by Dave. (I'm still curious who "Anonymous" is and what his/her agenda is, and of course wonder if Dave IS "Anonymous", but that's not necessarily relevant to the rest of this post...) So thank you for this information, Dave.

Apparently, the author of the research paper from whom I quoted most of my information about the history of compulsory education in Germany does not approve of homeschoolers quoting his information for their purposes. I am totally aware that his paper was NOT about homeschooling, but about the long history of public education in Germany, and I'm sorry if I implied something else. The fact, however, remains, that compulsory, bottom-on-chair-in-public-school-classroom, school attendance laws were NOT universally enforced in Germany until 1938. What I would like to know is whether Professor Doctor Kraft disagrees with what he himself wrote, or just never noticed that what he wrote, if true (I guess I can't know if it was, without researching myself, for which I don't have time), DOES contradict the oft-repeated statement that Germany has had universal, universally enforced, compulsory school attendance laws for hundreds of years. I'm sorry that Dr. Kraft is not willing to discuss the issue, and am also sorry if homeschoolers have truly caused problems for his career. My opinion is that a statement from him about what he actually did mean, if not what was quoted, would be more useful than simply claiming that he's been "misquoted".

Whether Dr. Kraft approves of being quoted or not, my question remains: was his research accurate and his report truthful? If so, why does he wish to hide those parts of his report which he doesn't like? This reminds me far too much of far too many other things in Germany's history. And the fact that his career could suffer (which I'm perfectly willing to believe) because of the truth he wrote is also alarming, and unfortunately, not atypical of this "free" country.

So, here is the information Dave posted (as posted, but translation into English mine, which I'm open to having corrected):

Posted by Dave (134.68.38.198)

Kraft has a comment on one cached page of his site where he explicitly states that he does not approve of this use of his report:

ACHTUNG ATTENTION
Da mich Vertreter des "Homeschoolings" trotz meiner mehrfachen (auch hier veröffentlichten) Einsprüche gegenüber einer Vereinnahmung für ihre Zwecke weiterhin falsch zitieren und mir eine Tendenz unterstellen, die sich für mich berufs- und existenzschädigend auszuwirken beginnt, muß ich die freie Verfügbarkeit dieses Textes beenden. As representatives of "homeschooling" continue to quote me incorrectly for their purposes and misrepresent my intentions, despite repeated objections to this use on my part (also publically stated here), which is beginning to damage my career and livelihood, I must discontinue the open availability of this text.
Prof.Dr.Peter Kraft. Münster, dem 2.3.2005 Professor Doctor Peter Kraft, Münster, March 2, 2005

Nachtrag am 14.April 2005: Addition on April 14, 2005
Es macht keinen Sinn, mich mit e-mails zu bombardieren: Der Text steht nicht mehr zur Verfügung und ab heute werde ich auch keine mails mehr beantworten. It makes no sense to bombard me with e-mails: the text is no longer available, and as of today, I will not answer any more e-mails.

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Comments

Nov. 3, 2006 - woam I?

Posted by Nina

hi shila
Guess woh I am?
I like your blogg

by

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Nov. 5, 2006 - I guessed! :-)

Posted by

Hi NDG! Thanks!

I just checked out your blog, too, and saw that your pastor's wife's baby is FINALLY there--congratulations! And checked out your mom's blog, too, but no new entries since early October. :-( Hi to everybody, and happy birthday (soon, anyway) to JJG! :-)

Edited by sheilalange on Nov. 5, 2006 at 12:40 PM

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Nov. 7, 2006 - Professor Kraft's report

Posted by Dave

Sheila,

I am not the same as your earlier anonymous critic. I'm a homeschooling dad and a pro-homeschooling blogger who ran across your site through the WorldNetDaily article.

I simply wanted to point out that Kraft disavows the use of his scholarly opinion to justify a critique of the current law. Claiming that his opinion "supports" that critique is not merely a statement of fact. This is a subtle point that many non-academics don't grasp: Whereas scholarly opinions may be more rational and objective than the average superficial treatment of a subject, they are still just opinions, and the weight of their persuasiveness is primarily derived from the authoritativeness of the source.

Is that not, in fact, why you are citing his report rather than simply stating the result of your own research? If the conclusion is transparently objective, surely evidence for it can be found elsewhere. If the conclusion requires interpretation, and all the reputable German scholars are too intimidated to speak up, then you should submit the topic for analysis by historians from other countries. There is no shortage of scholars from neighboring countries who love to deconstruct German legal history and vilify the Nazis.

Personally, I think the conclusion is objectively attainable. I am persuaded by the distinction between Schulpflicht and Bildungspflicht. It is quite clear that the modern German authorities are not concerned with the personal development of any particular child but rather they are focused on controlling the the location, content, and method of instruction for all children. If the comparison with the Nazis makes them uncomfortable, well, too bad. Maybe they should try harder to differentiate themselves from the Nazis instead of puffing up with righteous indignation.

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Jan. 14, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by gottsegnet

Is this the document to which you are referring?

http://www.entreriosonline.com.br/bund162.htm

I thought it was quite interesting, and if he is indeed having difficulty based on homeschoolers quoting it, then I would say someone is in violation of that bit in the constitution about guaranteeing the independence of the Lehre, or however it is worded.

Certainly no one should be responsible for others quoting or misquoting them.

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My intention was originally just to store all the e-mails I've sent telling about our fight to homeschool in Germany. From August 2005 through February 2006, I also wrote about our experience in the German school system, and then we were out of the country for six months doing a DTS with YWAM. We've been back since the beginning of September, 2006.