The UN was asking for submissions on
SAFETY AS AN ELEMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND A PRECONDITION FOR ITS FULL REALIZATION. See in the link below. I wanted to address No 3 where it mentioned homeschooling.
https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/469899334_475568778471237_1018001646066697710_n.docx/Safety-in-education-Questionnaire-for-WEB-EN-1.docx?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=2b0e22&_nc_ohc=IVO0N02hjLkQ7kNvgHTJPoo&_nc_zt=7&_nc_ht=cdn.fbsbx.com&_nc_gid=A_3nrGElIqQafeefj3jjyHi&oh=03_Q7cD1gF94Wp-A6I971geTVvdnfLySWFV2wWl24MHJjsEIV35Og&oe=676ACBCF&dl=1#no_universal_links
I put in two submissions:
1. On behalf of the Home Education Foundation in New Zealand
2. A personal submission as a resident of Australia
Submission by the Home Eduction Foundation, New Zealand
on
SAFETY AS AN ELEMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND A PRECONDITION FOR ITS FULL REALIZATION
I would like to address
3. What are the national regulatory approaches to monitoring and ensuring safety? These may include licensing, accreditation, monitoring of compliance with safety requirements and the work of oversight bodies. Are there different safety requirements for public and private educational institutions and safety requirements for homeschooling and private tutoring?
The law in New Zealand for home education/homeschooling is very clear and is outlined in the following link: https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/education-law-in-new-zealand-for-home-schoolershome-educators/
New Zealand continues to face the challenge of ensuring all children and young people receive an education appropriate to their needs, interests and aspirations. https://tikatangata.org.nz/human-rights-in-aotearoa/right-to-education
International Law: The Right to Choose Education
Parents have a right to choose what kind of education their children will receive. This right was not given to them by any legislating body or human authority but by the word of God (Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:7). However the right is supported by multiple human rights instruments under international law. New Zealand is a signatory to the first three of these conventions and the following three show that this human right is universally recognised in all places.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Article 26 (3) – “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1976) Article 10 (1) and 13 (3)3— “The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.”
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976) Article 18 (4)4 – “The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.”
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000) Article 14 (3)3 – “The freedom to found educational establishments with due respect for democratic principles and the right of parents to ensure the education and teaching of their children in conformity with their religious, philosophical and pedagogical convictions shall be respected, in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of such freedom and right.”
European Convention on Human Rights (1952) Protocol 1, Article 2 – “No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.”
American Convention on Human Rights (1969), Article 12 (4) – “Parents or guardians, as the case may be, have the right to provide for the religious and moral education of their children or wards that is in accord with their own convictions.” Article 13 (4) – “In conformity with the domestic legislation of the States Parties, parents should have the right to select the type of education to be given to their children, provided that it conforms to the principles set forth above.”
The Care of Children Act
Parental rights are further evidenced and safeguarded by New Zealand’s Care of Children Act 2004, which provides that a child’s parents or guardians have the right to make decisions on important matters affecting the child, which include “medical treatment for the child”, section 16(2)(c), and “where, and how, the child is to be educated”. section 16(2)(d).
The Care of Children Act (2004) section 16 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Article 26 (3) says: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” Whanau who embrace active learning as a lifestyle, children benefit much from this learning in the context of family mentoring. It is violation of the rights of the parents for the Government to force them into a registered program.
Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. https://hef.org.nz/2012/human-rights-in-new-zealand-today-the-right-to-education/
The Bible calls parents to educate, protect, train up, and prepare their children for adulthood.
You might say that this is a lifestyle choice but we do not understand it as such. We believe that it is the parents’ God given responsibility to be educating their children not the Government.
The Education Review Office and Ministry of Education in New Zealand say Home Education has been found to be low risk. In July 2009 the Ministry ceased carrying out routine reviews of home educators, saying “This programme is considered to be low risk to the education priorities of the Government. “A senior member of the Education Review Office wrote in personal correspondence, “The reality is home schooling has been found to be low risk.”He went on to note that home educators make use of support networks, that home education is seen as a viable option, and that the ERO has received “mostly positive” feedback on home education. http://hef.org.nz/2009/no-more-ero-reviews/
We live in a society which celebrates diversity in many shapes and forms. In particular, New Zealand is known for its wide acceptance of diverse cultures and religions. While the government has jurisdiction to ensure some things, including that children are not abused, it has no jurisdiction (other than self appointed) to either define or “reinforce” social norms. To attempt to do so is an encroachment on the rights of the citizens it claims to represent. This is especially true when the said “social norms” are defined in terms of participation in government funded and controlled programs. This is not to say that those programs are undesirable, but only that compulsory participation is an encroachment on the rights of individuals and parents.
The government has no electoral mandate to legislate “social norms”. In 2008 the National Party campaigned heavily on ending what it termed “the nanny state”. In many ways the legislation of “social norms” goes further in that regard than many things which caused that label to stick to the Labour Government of the day. While acknowledging the Government’s manifesto and the Prime Minister’s Key Result Areas, there is a huge gulf between what a Government wants to achieve by way of participation in its social programs and enforcing participation.
Again, there are two fundamental issues here. This first is the possible encroachment of Government on what should be family decisions. The second is the government possibly holding up a standard of what it considers “social norms” as a defacto standard of good parenting.
Summary:
Because standards which are appropriate in large industrial school settings, may be unfairly used to discriminate against marginalized groups, such as ethnic or religious minorities, especially those who must educate in alternative facilities or homes, to prevent their unique cultures from being discriminated against and to preserve their rights to self-determination. Engaged parties should take care not to harm or place undue burden on viable community alternatives.
Removing or effectively severing children from their communities of origin has long been a tactic that undermines parental and children’s rights, including their cultural identity, family cohesion, and access to community-based support systems. Such actions not only disrupt the child’s sense of belonging but also weaken the collective ability of communities to preserve their heritage, exercise self-determination, and advocate for their rights within broader societal structures.
While acknowledging the importance of applying rigorous standards to centralized state actors to ensure accountability and fairness.
Lastly I propose that the right of parents to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children be formally acknowledged and protected.
Thank you for considering this submission.
Barbara Smith
National Director
Home Education Foundation
www.hef.org.nz
barbara@hef.org.nz
New Zealand
************************************************************
Submission by Barbara Smith, Tasmania, Australia on
SAFETY AS AN ELEMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND A PRECONDITION FOR ITS FULL REALIZATION
I would like to address
3. What are the national regulatory approaches to monitoring and ensuring safety? These may include licensing, accreditation, monitoring of compliance with safety requirements and the work of oversight bodies. Are there different safety requirements for public and private educational institutions and safety requirements for homeschooling and private tutoring?
I would like to make this submission as a private citizen who has home educated eight children first in New Zealand, then in Tasmania, Australia. I am now heavily involved with the education of my 30 grandchildren (only one not being home educated).
The Care of Children Act (2004) section 16 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Article 26 (3) says: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”
The Bible calls parents to educate, protect, train up and prepare their children for adulthood. More than simply a lifestyle choice, it is the parents’ responsibility to be educating their children, not the Government.
Everything about me as a mother screams that it is the mother’s role to love, nurture, protect little children. Children need to connect with adults and their parents are clearly the best people to love them, care for them, protect them, and educate them.
My motto as a mother is that I want my children to walk away from me when they’re ready, rather than watch me walk away from them. This produces happy, secure children. In fact my children are in three Countries at the moment. If my motto produced clingy children they would still be around their home town. My children are confident and they are contributing fully to society. I believe that they are like this because of the firm foundations of their lives when they were home educated and secure in their relationships in our family. They never needed to be insecure about being left alone with strangers because it never happened to them. It is cruel to the children for them to be forced away from the security of their parents.
I am very well aware of this as we have adopted 3 children and we have one under guardianship. I have studied the emotional needs of children and have spoken on this at conferences many times.
Babies in the womb attach to their mothers. Once born they attach to the rest of the family.
When children are forced away from their family bonds they detach from their mother and family and reattach to other adults in their lives. This becomes a problem in ECE centres and schools when the adults keep changing around. So these children keep attaching and detaching throughout their early childhood. They are also learning to be dependent on their peers. The result of this is peer dependency and also multiple romantic relationships. Multiple romantic relationships also lead to divorce. This attaching and detaching scars children and adults alike. We then learn to guard our hearts from being hurt. Then we struggle for the rest of our lives to have meaningful relationships.
I want to keep my 3 – 5 year old children home from ECE and my 6 -16 year old children home from school.
Children don’t need other children to learn how to be children but they do need to be around adults to learn how to be adults.
So the VERY BEST place for educating children under the age of 5 is in the home and 6-16 year olds is the home. Please don’t give the children second best.
So leave the mothers in the home please.
Dr Raymond Moore, who has done extensive research in this area of separating children from their parents says this inhibits natural scholarly aptitude: “Harold McCurdy, a distinguished psychologist from the University of North Carolina and a leading student of genius, says that genius is derived from the experience of children being most of the time with adults and very little with their peers. So when you start assembling children in very large numbers for long periods of time you are on the wrong course for producing children of character and intellect. The more children around your child, the fewer meaningful human contacts he will have.
Success of home education/schooling
The is an old article but still a good one. The writer set out to write an article against home education but ended up writing about it’s success after studying home education with an open mind: https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/home-based-education-not-does-it-work-but-why-does-it-work-so-well/
Again, there are two fundamental issues here. This first is the possible encroachment of Government on what should be family decisions. The second is the government possibly holding up a standard of what it considers “social norms” as a defacto standard of good parenting.
Summary:
Because standards which are appropriate in large industrial school settings, may be unfairly used to discriminate against marginalized groups, such as ethnic or religious minorities, especially those who must educate in alternative facilities or homes, to prevent their unique cultures from being discriminated against and to preserve their rights to self-determination. Engaged parties should take care not to harm or place undue burden on viable community alternatives.
Removing or effectively severing children from their communities of origin has long been a tactic that undermines parental and children’s rights, including their cultural identity, family cohesion, and access to community-based support systems. Such actions not only disrupt the child’s sense of belonging but also weaken the collective ability of communities to preserve their heritage, exercise self-determination, and advocate for their rights within broader societal structures.
While acknowledging the importance of applying rigorous standards to centralized state actors to ensure accountability and fairness.
Lastly I propose that the right of parents to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children be formally acknowledged and protected.
Thank you for considering this submission.
Barbara Smith
Tasmania, Australia
www.hef.org.nz
barbara@hef.org.nz
Australia
Category Archives: International Home Education
Dont you dare
Over the past few months I have been burdened about the future of home Education world wide. I have had several zoom calls and talks about this in New Zealand, Australia, The Philippines and the USA. My next talk is 11 June at the NEXT GEN EDU Alternative & Home Educarion Expo (link below) in California. These are my ever changing notes that I have been speaking from: https://hef.org.nz/home-schooling-education-beyond-covid/
My notes will probably be changing completely next week after the United Nations WHO meeting in Geneva.
I wrote the following several days ago after reading this link and watchng the video: https://leohohmann.com/2022/04/25/global-govt-alert-threat-to-national-sovereignty-set-to-go-down-may-22-28-at-who-world-health-assembly/
There is a conference in Geneva, May 22-28, where 194 Nations belonging to the UN will be represented and there will be a vote/or signing on the WHO plot to enact a permanent State of Emergency globally. The nations of the earth will have to cede their sovereignty over national health care decisions to the WHO. rumble.com/v1493a0-urgent-stop-global-governancethe-vote-to-give-total-power-to-the-who-takes-.html
https://gem-report-2021.unesco.org/
We are already noticed by the U.N.
My concern is if the WHO bans Home Education around the world will our children have to go to school. We will no longer be able to appeal to Sovereignty, natural law, common law etc.
The CDC has said that they want to mandate the jab in schools. So what can we do? Well, people must NOT put their children in School. First of all, according to the WHO, if your children are in school it implies conformed consent for the jab because you could have prevented them from going to school on jabbed days. www.who.int/immunization/programmes_systems/policies_strategies/consent_note_en.pdf. (This link has been pulled down, unfortunately I didn’t screen shot it before it was taken down) We are already seeing tricky ways that some schools are using to get children jabbed.
What can we do? We need to be discussing this. It seems our only alternative is to build strong communities where we are looking out for each other, protecting families etc. I am going to study up the strong communities like the Amish etc. would be good if others do too. What else can we be doing? There will be no Country on Earth that will be safe “if” they ban home schooling globally. They may not ban home schooling globally but we need to begin preparing for it incase they do. It will be too late to prepare everyone when/if home education is banned. If WHO gets the power to enact a permanent State of Emergency this month then it will come into effect in November. We know they are wanting children jabbed. So this is a possibility that we need to prepare for.
For those who pray we need to be urgent in prayer for each other and home educators around the world. There are many who are totally against parental involvement in the education of children. The State thinks children belong to them and that they should control what children learn. The Bible in Deut 6 tells us quite differently that we, the parents, are to teach our children, diligently God’s statutes and commands, and to talk of them when we sit in our homes, walk by the way, lie down and rise up. That is all the time! There is no room for the State there!
Isaiah 8:12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.” We are not to fear or be in dread but to prepare for the coming days as we seek to support each other to continue training up our own children. We need to look to God for our courage and be prepared to help others as much as we are able.
Links for the NEXT GEN EDU expo mentioned above:
for family: https://www.nextgenedu.us/a/2147508098/RNubPdWZ
for individuals: https://www.nextgenedu.us/a/2147508099/RNubPdWZ
update: 20 May 2022
There are two treaties we need to be watching and praying about and acting on.
1. WHO Global Pandemic Treaty
190 National to sign by August 2022
To give power over to WHO over Global bio security: digital identity, passports, mandatory vaccines, travel restrictions globally, standardised medical care and so much more.
2. Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (to be voted on 22-28 May) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241580410
“An attempt to implement the public health equivalent of a “one-world government” in violation of individual nations’ and citizens’ inalienable rights and sovereignty
“The United States’ proposed amendments to the IHR are set to be considered at the 75th World Health Assembly, which begins on the 22nd of May, 2022. The proposed amendments, however, create an ambiguity relating to the date they become effective as the proposed amendments expressly state they will become effective six months after the date of notification by the Director-General, whereas the existing IHR provides that amendments become effective 18 months after notification by the Director-General.
If accepted, these legally binding amendments would come into effect for all member states except those that explicitly reject them. Under Article 59 of the IHR, de facto approval is assumed for any member states that fail to reject or take reservation to the amendments.”
For more read here: https://healthfreedomdefense.org/wfd/?fbclid=IwAR0dGOrdZYD3AhO6oNwAuL8JK95bGyblcd1M3rEePGZnyEE62kakzvWDH7I
From above link:
One of the IHR amendments’ most insidious changes is the creation of a “Compliance Committee” that will serve as the administrative and enforcement mechanism to ensure member states comply with WHO emergency directives involving infrastructure, capital expenditures, information gathering and implementation of emergency responses.
In sum, the IHR amendments would, among other changes:
**Intensify the surveillance of all countries and their citizens.
**Grant the WHO the authority to tell other member states when one member state isn’t reporting and launch punitive actions.
**Empower the WHO Director-General to declare when and where a pandemic or “alleged” emergency is occurring using undisclosed sources.
**Confer unrestricted powers to the Director-General to define and implement interventions.
**Give the WHO the ability to access and mobilize capital in the event of a pandemic.
This power grab by the WHO, its donors, and stakeholders represents a direct attack on the political and economic sovereignty of all nations and their citizens.
By repeatedly promoting policies that caused catastrophic economic, social, physical, emotional and mental damage across the globe, the WHO has failed in its mission as global steward of public health and cannot be entrusted with setting policy for all citizens of the world.
Of note, the WHO enjoys immunity from every form of legal action, arrest, and searches of their papers, documents, and facilities.
The WHO should not be allocated more money, power, or authority nor should it be allowed to further control the world’s health agenda or implement biosecurity measures.
Global agreements brokered by unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats must never be permitted to rule any nation.
It is imperative that each nation and territory retain its sovereignty, especially during times of crisis, so that the entire global community can be protected from globally directed policies that primarily benefit powerful financial and ideological stakeholders.
Chinese choosing homeschooling, even though it’s illegal
It’s illegal, but these Chinese parents say they so much want the best for their children, they’re willing to homeschool them, hiding from the government on an as-needed basis.
Homeschooling has been booming for years in America, where there are millions, and there are several countries in Europe where’s it is thriving even though officials don’t like it much at all.
Now a report South China Morning Post has detailed the relatively small – but growing – homeschool community there.
Most Chinese parents look forward to having their children in universities, then landing a job in finance, medicine, or engineering.
Tsang Tsz-Kin, however, a dance teacher, prefers to have his son, Ocean, 10, pursuing what he wants to do.
Read more at https://www.wnd.com/2018/07/chinese-choosing-homeschooling-even-though-its-illegal/#3u3CGLhQpbCrPAhk.99
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Needing help for your home schooling journey: https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
Information on getting started: https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/
and
Information on getting an exemption: https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/
This link is motivational: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/
Exemption Form online: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-exemption-form-now-online/
Brazil
President Jair Bolsinaro fulfills a promise and sends the Brazilian congress a bill to legalize homeschooling! What is happening in Brazil is the most important front for homeschooling freedom! Open in google chrome for translation: https://g1.globo.com/educacao/noticia/2019/04/12/educacao-domiciliar-liberdade-para-algumas-familias-pode-prejudicar-criancas-vulneraveis-dizem-especialistas.ghtml?utm_source=push&utm_medium=app&utm_campaign=pushg1&fbclid=IwAR04AgPagjGhOWUvHpRq9FDjSoXxBAcOCeqnKTViSdBmoq5xazVziJnhf7Y
Here is a rough translation:
The federal government’s bill to regulate home education, announced Thursday by the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights (MMFDH), represents a new chapter in a battle that has lasted for years.
The proposal involves, on the one hand, a number outside the official statistics of parents who want the freedom to educate their children at home and, on the other, rules established for decades by the educational system and defended by most experts in the area.
The text of the Executive, which still needs to be approved by the National Congress to get out of the role, is criticized and supported based on some central points:
Importance of school as a space for socialization;
Quality of home teaching;
Market creation of didactic material, videotapes and private tutors;
Respect for the freedom of families;
Protection of vulnerable children.
To discuss the issue, the G1 heard five experts:
Carlos Vinícius Reis, executive director of the National Association of Home Education (Aned)
Roberto Catelli Junior, deputy coordinator of the NGO Acción Educativa
Anna Helena Altenfelder, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for Studies and Research in Education, Culture and Community Action (Cenpec)
Cesar Callegari, educational consultant, former member of the National Council, former secretary of Basic Education of the Ministry of Education and Education of the city of São Paulo
Telma Pileggi Vinha, professor at the School of Education of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp)
The arguments of those who oppose the approval of the project vary from criticism for depriving children of the space of socialization in schools until the opening for entrepreneurs of the branch to profit from the hiring of private tutors or the sale of teaching materials and videotapes.
The controversy also involves other services provided by schools, which include the protection of children and the articulation of care with health and social assistance areas.
Those who defend the teaching modality say that the project represents a step forward because, for the first time, a federal government recognizes the freedom of families who do not want their children in schools.
However, according to supporters of the proposal, the text presented on Thursday still needs to go through adjustments throughout the proceedings in the House and Senate. Among the points pointed out by the National Association of Home Education (Aned) is the discussion about a possible debureaucratization of the rules created by the MMFDH.
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Needing help for your home schooling journey: https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
Information on getting started: https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/
and
Information on getting an exemption: https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/
This link is motivational: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/
Exemption Form online: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-exemption-form-now-online/
Survey: Parents overwhelmingly support school choice, distrust federal government
American families aren’t accessing the school types they prefer and do not trust the federal government, according to results of an annual report “Schooling America”, produced by EdChoice, a national nonprofit organization that promotes state-based educational choice programs.
The majority polled overwhelmingly support Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), tax credit scholarships, school vouchers and charter schools.
The survey asked public school parents and the general public about their views of the four types of educational systems in America: public schools, charter schools, private schools, and home schooling. It also asked respondents about their views of the federal government’s role in K-12 education.
The majority of parents are involved with public school districts, the report found, with 89 percent having children who attended public school for at least one year. This percentage mirrors the data reported by the U.S. Department of Education, the report notes. Current public school parents are generally satisfied but at least one-third reported “major issues” with their schools’ responsiveness, communication and support outside the classroom.
EdChoice, which argues that families, not bureaucrats, are best equipped to make K-12 schooling decisions for their children, found that the majority of those polled do not trust the federal government when it comes to education.
Read the rest of the survey results here: https://www.watchdog.org/national/survey-parents-overwhelmingly-support-school-choice-distrust-federal-government/article_edacf2ec-03c9-11e9-963f-c3ca67c5bf2f.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR3FOhGXKrqhTtCUjqg7lUj0RYdo4e7BXHxgJH5oQRGhvR6jopDPU1eDWrM
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Needing help for your home schooling journey: https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/
And
Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:
Information on getting started: https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/
and
Information on getting an exemption: https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/
This link is motivational: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/
Exemption Form online: https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-exemption-form-now-online/