SUMMARY: Uwe Romeike, his wife, and his children have left their German homeland for Tennessee where they are seeking political asylum. They say they were persecuted in Germany for their evangelical Christian beliefs and for homeschooling. School attendance in Germany is compulsory.One morning in October of 2006 police arrived at their German home and took the children, crying and upset, to school. This was after the Romeikes ignored repeated orders to enroll their children. Romeike said he wanted to teach his children at home because German school textbooks contain language and ideas with which he doesn't agree. Some of the books use vulgarities, teach disrespect for authority, and feature tales of the occult including vampires and witches. Romeike is afraid of being arrested and of losing his children if he returns to Germany.
According to Michael Donnelly, an attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association, Germany acts harshly against those parents whom they see as trying to create a parallel society. Lutz Gorgens, the German consul general for the Southeast U.S admits he is not familiar with the Romeike case but that he doesn't believe the assertions of persecution. Gorgens did say, "For reasons deeply rooted in history and our belief that only schools properly can ensure the desired level of excellent education, we (Germany) go a little bit beyond that path which other countries have chosen."
While the U.S. has an estimated 1.5 million students being homeschooled, there are only about 500 children in Germany being taught at home. Parents in Germany face fines, prison time, or possibly even the loss of their children if they don't send their children to school.
Bernadette Meyler, a Cornell Law School professor, says the U.S. is more tolerant of homeschooling because of religion's prominence in the country's founding and that Germany fears homeschooling could lead to separate societies in that country.
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COMMENT: It wasn't that long ago when the infamous Berlin wall came tumbling down and the symbol of a divided Germany no longer existed. So, in one sense, I can understand why a now politically unified Germany may fear a new division within its ranks.
Still, this discrimination against home schools and homeschool parents in Germany does not reflect well on what most people perceive as a compassionate and democratic country. It's not as if the Romeikes don't have good reasons for their decision to homeschool. It appears the textbooks in Deutschland may be even worse than our own books which often leave much to be desired. Why don't the German authorities clean up those books before forcing people into the government schools?
Another question: why don't the German authorities let the Romeikes and the other homeschool parents prove themselves first. Bible-believing Christians, unless required to do something against God's will, can be model citizens of any nation. Don't our Lutheran schools have American flags on their classroom walls and regularly recite the Pledge of Allegiance and stress patriotism? It is hard to understand why the German authorities should fear Christian home schools so much.
Germany may not have the religious influences in its founding as the United States experienced, but Germany has had something the U. S. has never had--a major religious leader who not only had a major impact on Christianity but also society. That, of course, is Martin Luther, and Luther in his Small Catechism stresses the role the head of the house should have in teaching his children. The German authorities would do well to study Luther's views on families and education.
Let's pray for the Romeikes and for the Christian homeschooling families still in Germany.
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1 comments:
As you pointed out - the Berlin wall came down almost 2 decades ago, but the compulsory school attendance law that was used by Hitler to indoctrinate the next generation, didn't crumble with it - somehow overlooked or perhaps too deeply rooted in the cultural psych to repeal without undermining it.
Home education has so many merits on its own, without 'confusing' the issue with religion, or 'parallel societies' as the German authorities put it.
There is more background information that you may find interesting at Educating Germany.
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