Homeschooling Threatens Liberalism

As a primary mean of propagating ideas in modern society, education holds power to form (or manipulate) culture and beliefs across generations.  However, in a growing climate of politicization, schools have become avenues to furthering particular ideologies–rather encouraging pursuits of Truth.

In his recent National Review article, Kevin Williamson described the growing conflict in Germany over home education.  In his analysis, he argues that homeschooling is an existential threat to progressive government agendas.

Homeschooling terrifies the Left because the Left is at its core totalitarian, seeking to bring political discipline to every aspect of life — and control of education is essential to that project. The public school is in miniature what the Left believes the world should look like: Everybody arranged in orderly rows and moving about on an orderly schedule punctuated by bells, being taught about diversity and climate change by nice union ladies who also lead them to their federally subsidized lunches. If you can say “no” to that, you can say no to any part of the Left’s vision. Homeschooling is an existential threat to the privileged position of the institutional Left. The schools are the factory in which it manufactures its future clients.

From this perspective, home education can be seen as a safeguard of liberty, one that promotes family, subsidiarity, and free expression of ideas.  Perhaps, in a time when such values are steadily eroded, viable alternatives to state education become ever more necessary.