two similar events happening in homeschooling lately here in Canada.
1. in Alberta they want to pass a law saying that every child educated whether in public, private or homeschool needs to be educated in the same way regardless of religious convictions.
ERGO: if the government says that it's okay to be gay/lesbian.. then you MUST teach your children that it's okay as well.
In spite of the well articulated concerns of homeschooling families, the Alberta Government is continuing to drive toward the swift passage of their intrusive legislation. Bill 2 is the new Education Act that will mandate compliance with the Alberta Human Rights legislation for all students in Alberta, including homeschooled students in their own homes. The government’s spokesperson, Donna McColl, has stated, “Whatever the nature of schooling – homeschool, private school, Catholic school – we do not tolerate disrespect for differences.” Although these statements were later repudiated, they clearly show that even within the government, there are those who would use this legislation to limit the freedom of parents to pass their beliefs on to their childrenMy concern with this law is two-fold
1. how can they prove if a person educated (as part of their schooling) that we must love each other but we can disapprove of sin being actively lived out or if one is merely educating their children in one's faith stance?
2. it's putting an extra requirement on homeschooling families that they aren't putting on same faith, non-homeschooled families.
Since I don't live in Alberta I'm not sure if there is much I can do. But I'll be looking into it.
More information can be found here at the HSLDA blog. understanding what to do politically can be found here.
2. in Ontario they want to pass a law saying kinda the same thing but they don't specifically mention homeschoolers. This is a bill that is anti-bullying. Sounds good eh? BUT when one group or groups is/are elevated over other groups it just becomes government mandated bullying over the non-protected groups. The legislation will only address bullying on a selective basis, and will discriminate against children with traditional faith values.
here is where you can learn about bill 13.
The school director has stated the human rights come before faith issues and the human rights commission does not take a pro-faith stand. So where does this leave children of faith? How are they protected?
write your MPP, become acquainted with this law, and let's see what we can do to help our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. Seriously. If we do nothing... the social engineering of the government wins out and our children lose.