HAS THERE BEEN A THREAD ABOUT DOMENIC JOHANSSON YET?!

[CheerfulYank]

This little boy was apparently kidnapped by the Swedish government because his parents were home schooling him. I can't believe this is the first I've heard of it!

It's so heartbreaking; I would die without my DS. I don't HE but I certainly believe in everyone's right to do it if it's best for their family! Is there anything we can do?

I joined a group on FB that has petitions, letters to sign, etc, but I don't know what else to do. :( I am just aching for them.

[LastSummer]

This case may be rather more about the physical and mental health of the parents than home education.

homeeducationheretic.blogspot.com/2010/07/dominic-johansson.html

[CheerfulYank]

There's a facebook group for the boy that mentions the mental health things as part of a timeline, but it's put in a very different light.

It's so hard to know what the truth is sometimes! At any rate, it seems odd.

[musicposy]

I understood that home education is now basically illegal in Sweden since a new law passed last year.

I heard the Swedish education minister speaking on it last year; his argument was basically that because Swedish schools are so good there's no need for it and parents cannot better what the state offers. He also said that with home education they cannot monitor exactly what views and beliefs the child is being taught whereas in a state school everyone is taught the same approved curriculum.

Right. So that's OK then.

[CheerfulYank]

Parents have the right to teach their child their own views. And some parents just don't WANT to send their child to school all day. Again, not my choice, but parents have that right! Or they should. This is frickin' RIDICULOUS.

[TeddyBare]

Although this is a terrible case, and I'm all for home ed, I do feel the need to defend the Swedish government on this one. Home ed is not actually illegal, and if you live in a really remote part of Sweden it is often the only option. However they do not support it in cities where there are schools, unless the parents can show that there is no school which is compatible with their beliefs, so long as they are not beliefs which are illegal, such as "girls should not have an education" or something like that. All schools in Sweden are private and paid for by a voucher system, so there is much more variety of schools available to choose from. Finding a steiner school / forest school / religious school / non-Swedish language school is not really that difficult, so any parent who would have home educated for those reasons no doesn't need to.

[musicposy]

Yes, but some people choose home ed just because they love the idea of home ed and all it offers. My DD2 wouldn't want to go into any school, no matter what the ethos or belief, because believing in school as a system is not for her. I don't think she would fit a steiner school or a forest school any more than a mainstream comprehensive. She doesn't want to go to a school of any description. Why should she be denied that choice just because there are schools available? So what if plenty of different schools exist? It doesn't mean she wants to attend them or would be in any way better off in attending them. I cannot think of a single reason why going into a school - any school - would benefit her.

Home education isn't always about not finding the right school - it can just be because home education is better for a child than any school and offers freedoms that no school can. I think it's an appalling breach of human, parental and childhood rights to not allow home education just because schools exist.