Stupid in Belgium
Jun. 15, 2006 at 2:50 PM
He might consider returning to do a follow-up special: 20/20 Stupid in Belgium: How Socialists Hate Homeschooling.
The editor of the Brussels Journal is facing possible prosecution for homeschooling. The dispute stems from the government's acceptance of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its incorporation into their law.
If Stossel did an expose, I doubt the Belgian officials and educators would come out looking quite so dazzling and smart. Especially considering that there is a much larger group of people coming into their country, threatening to destabilize their whole way of life.Since we started homeschooling in the 1990s the homeschooling movement in Belgium has been growing. The number of homeschoolers is small, comprising only 02 children in primary school and 311 children in high school. Nevertheless the figure has quadrupled in the past five years, as parents are seceding from the official schools where drugs and violence are rampant and pupils are indoctrinated with political correctness and socialism.
The fact that a growing group of children seems to be escaping from the government's influence clearly bothers the authorities. Three years ago a new school bill was introduced. The new bill refers to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and it obliges homeschooling parents to fill out a questionaire and sign an official "declaration of homeschooling" in which they agree to school their children "respecting the respect [sic] for the fundamental human rights and the cultural values of the child itself and of others."
Related Tags: John Stossel, 20/20 Stupid in America, Belgium, socialism, homeschooling, homeschool, United Nations, UN, education
3 Comments and Trackbacks
posted by Ciska on Jun. 16, 2006 at 5:08 AM
Dear Spunky,
Though I have never homeschooled, and haven't been homeschooled either, I know a lot about homeschooling in Belgium. I have friends that homeschool, and I've informed myself because I would like to homeschool later in life.
Firstly, you can't neglect the difference between Flanders and Wallony. In the last five years, they have told one (!) homeschooling family in Flanders to stop homeschooling. Right after, childcare came and took the child away because it was severely neglected and suffered from malnutrition. I have never heard of anyone in Flandersthat had problems with the inspections (well, expect for those). As far as I've heard, they ask your permission for everything they want to see. They only talk to your child if both you and your child give permission. There are a lot of people who unschool, and the Flemish government doesn't have a problem with that at all, you don't have to have a curriculum. Only if you want an official degree, you have to take governmental exams. There might be a slight difference in Wallony, because they have a different government. The children in the 20/20 'documentary' were Flemish.
Secondly, I don't know why you focus on the socialists. Currently, our government consists of (largest parties first) liberals, socialists and the green party. Belgium is NOT a socialist country, neither is the government! The Brussels Journal is a paper that posts "all the news that never gets printed". There are a lot of people there who write from the view of radical political parties, mainly the 'Vlaams Belang'. This party is known for having views very similar to the nazi party in Germany 60-70 years ago. They can't stand the socialist (well, they can't stand anyone who is / acts / thinks different than they are).
As for the immigration: yes, it's a problem, but they're working on it. And not all immigrants are bad. If America would send all immigrants back, there would only be native Americans around.
I think Stossel did a great job on making (not only) American parents aware they should give more attention to their children's education and their schools. I doubt the situation is the same everywhere in America. The case of this editor is very rare. I truly don't understand why he doesn't want to sign the paper. All it says is that you agree to raise your children as good as possible as a preparation for their adult life. Isn't that the goal of all homeschoolers? You can raise your child just as you want. I know strict catholic families (no problem), holistic families (no problem), islamitic families (no problem), unschooling families (no problem). The list could go on and on.
The view presented by this man who already had problems with the law is not representative for home education in Belgium. He gets into trouble because he is a racist and doesn't respect anyone, not because he homeschools.
posted by spunkyhomeschool on Jun. 16, 2006 at 8:09 AM
Frocing a parent to sign a piece of paper, signifying their intent to homeschool is backwards. As parents in America, we believe the state exitst to serve the needs of the people, not the people for the state. When the state asks me to sign a piece of paper agreeeing to their worded goal, I think it is wrong. The state doesn't define the goals for my family. You may not feel that the wording is wrong, but this man does. For some reason he disagrees with it and refuses to sign. That should be his right. No parent should be forced to sign a document submitting to someone else's goal. Nor should any parent be forced to notifiy the state of how they are planning to educate. It may not be socialist, but it certainly isn't a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
posted by Anonymous on Jun. 19, 2006 at 5:11 PM
I don't know where to begin here. Certainly Paul Belien it not a racist. Words mean things. He and other members of VB party (which has change a great deal over the "60-70 years ago") are concerned about the 40% of immigrants who refuse to assimilate to western culture and do not believe in democracy. The party is anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia, anti-gay marriage and adoption by homosexuals. They believe in their culture. Many are Catholic or hold Christian values. Thus it is politically incorrect according to the leftist policies. If a family wants to teach its own children what we would consider religious values, certainly we wouldn't find that racist or criminal. However, the leftists consider it a lack of teaching tolerance. A state shouldn't be in a position to force its breed of moral views on its citizens. Paul's children have not been academically undereducated. The oldest four passed their exams and are now in college.
There are some forms of discrimination which are totally necessary. If you cannot tolerate some Catholic churches opening their doors to immigrants "without papers," who then remove your altar and cover your statues with cloths and establish it as a mosque, I don't consider this intolerant or racist -- I consider it outrageous, and I am neither there nor Catholic. If I were watching my more leftist parties granting the right for non-citizens to vote in local elections (to keep them in power), thus leading to some areas actually being under foreign rule, I would wonder where my country went. If my daughters could not walk in some areas without being called "*****," "prostitute," or worse because they weren't covered, I would be sick at heart. I don't consider this racism -- I consider it a reasonable cry of alarm.
Jan