The Dangers of Being Lumped Together
Apr 7th, 2007 by Annette
Questions about government homeschool programs
**snip**
The danger comes when the government attempts to control all home educators - even the independent ones - once enough home educators participate in the government programs. That’s what happened in Alberta. One year the government said, “We want to help you.” The next year they said, “Since home educators are costing the government so much money, they need to be more closely regulated.” The Alberta legislature lumped all home educators together, whether or not they were part of government homeschool programs, and increased regulation on all.
[…] 1. is not a generic term. 2. is not a program, but rather an education option to be recognized as separate from public education. 3. should not be lumped in with ps-at-home programs and its regulations. In Alberta, Canada, homeschool advocates were not able to keep independent homeschooling from being lumped in. Perhaps, we can. Homeschoolers in the United States have them to hold up as an example of what happens when the government comes to “help” homeschoolers. […]