My submission:

I strongly recommend that you vote AGAINST any proposed legislation requiring compulsory attendance for children, beneficiaries or not, such as the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill.

In the United States, we have ample research that shows that Preschoolers, and indeed, all children, perform better on standardized tests when educated At Home (average 85th %-ile) than in any institution (50th %-ile by definition). The largest reason: nobody loves New Zealand’s children like Mom and Dad. In the United States, data from graduates (both Home-educated and Public School-educated) shows that children educated at home are better citizens. They are 50% less likely to be convicted of anything less than a Misdemeanor (3% vs 6% public), twice as likely to volunteer in a charitable organization (76% vs 37% public). Many other categories such as these indicate that Home-educated children do HALF of all the BAD CITIZEN things and DOUBLE all of the GOOD CITIZEN things.

Indeed, in the United States, we are seeing the breakdown of the family unit, and I blame those who want to make the Education Unions more powerful. One way to do this is to require more children to attend your schools (or preschools!)

So, please do New Zealand’s families a HUGE favor – vote AGAINST the Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill. Thanks so much for reading my submission.

K………….., Oregon, USA