Sweden Bans Homeschooling: What would Pippi Longstocking say?
Monday, June 28, 2010 at 9:48AM Educational Freedom Takes Another Hit: Sweden makes homeschooling illegal
Our homeschooling friends in Sweden have suffered a major blow: On June 22, 2010 the Swedish Parliament effectively wiped-out the ability of families to choose homeschooling except under “exceptional circumstances.” Swedish homeschoolers explain why this is so bad on their website:
The writing on homeschooling in the new law is basically the same as in the old law. The law requires a fully satisfactory alternative to school and that the authorities can look into the homeschooling. However, the new law adds a third requirement: "there must be exceptional circumstances". Lawyers have told us that “exceptional circumstances” in a Swedish juridical context means as close to a definite "no" as you can get, regardless of the circumstances.
Also in the motivational text of the law, which explains how the new law on homeschooling is to be interpreted, the following can be read:
"Current school conventions make it clear that the education in school shall be comprehensive and objective, and thereby be created so that all pupils can participate, no matter what religious or philosophical views the pupil or its legal guardian/s may have. In accordance with this it is the opinion of the Government that there is no need of a law to make possible homeschooling based on the religious of philosophical views of the family."
Page 523 in Prop. 2009/10:165 (Swedish Government proposition)
So with the stroke of a pen we see how one’s religious and philosophical views are viewed as subjective baggage that government bureaucrats can dictate to be discarded and left at the door of government schooling. I’m surprised that Swedish alternative schools didn’t kick up more of a fuss about how this law will affect them, but my understanding is that they, too, are of recent vintage in Sweden and therefore are not that well established as a political or social force.
My contacts in Sweden have indicated they will probably move to Great Britain next year, which recently dodged it's own bullet to educational freedom (see my earlier entries re. The Badman Report), when the law takes effect, so they can continue homeschooling in accordance to their religious and philosophical beliefs. Swedish homeschoolers note that their government hates bad publicity and hope that an international outcry might shame the government into repealing or not enforcing the law.
The fierce independence and unconventional philosophical views of Pippi Longstocking, one of Sweden's most famous fictional characters and an autodidact, certainly seem diminished in light of this law. Indeed, a modern-day Pippi would have to flee to a country with more educational and personal freedom than Sweden in order to have her adventures now. Perhaps we should encourage all homeschoolers to boycott travel and goods from Sweden until they allow families the educational freedom to raise and teach their children in accordance with their religious and philosophical views?
Reader Comments (4)
That's just sad. It's so disheartening to see supposedly enlightened countries completely disregard their citizens. Government should take care of the things it's good at and leave the raising of children to individual families.
Interesting. On one level, Sweden is actually more free in terms of educational choice than we in America are. Indeed, they have adopted Milton Friedman's vouchers in that country. You can take them with you and choose your privately run (secular) school.
On another level, they've instituted absurdly autocratic legislation such as this. I guess you can't expect that much from a country that believes rights and liberties are expressly granted by the government as opposed to "unalienable" and "self-evident."
I'm homeschooled myself as well as my sister and that's because we both have mild learning disabilities that made normal school impossible for us until we were in highschool. I graduated with a 3.6 and my sister with a 4.0 both of us agree that had we not been homeschooled we would have dropped out of school and would not be in universitys now. Taking away homeschooling options will only hurt those children.
Sweden disregards its citizens in many ways, home schooling being only the tip of the ice burg. Sadly, the overwhelming sentiment was that citizens could not teach their children better than well trained teachers. That might be right if there were well trained teachers in Sweden. Unfortunately, Sweden listens too much to Pippi Longstocking and in many ways, lets its children have far too much choice in how they are taught. Sweden has a saying 'in the best interest of the child' which is used to justify almost anything a politician wants to say. The proof is in the pudding as one looks at the way Sweden has slipped further and further down in the worlds educational evaluations.