All Laws Regarding Compulsory Education Should Be Repealed - Essay Example

165319 Critically evaluate the proposition that 'All laws regarding compulsory education should be repealed'. In Britain, schools are not compulsory, but education is. The Education Act 1996 says that Education is compulsory, but school attendance is not. "Freedom to educate children at home forms an intrinsic and essential element of educational provision in our society, a right which has been protected by a succession of Education Acts. Law is clear that while education is compulsory, school attendance is not" http://www.underhill.nildram.co.uk/law.htm#Law In Section 7 Parental Duties say: "The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full time education suitable a) to his age, ability, and aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs he may have either by regular attendance at school or otherwise," (ibid). Parents are answerable to the authorities if their child is not receiving age-specific education, while 'it is their decision whether to use schools or provide education at home'. Parent was described as (a) who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him, or (b) who has care of him" (Section 576 of the said Act). The importance of parental duty to secure good education for the child is detailed only in Section 7. If the child is enrolled into a school, parents will have no other obligations or constraints. Under section 444 (3), a, flexi-time and part-time schooling is allowed. Home educating children with special education needs (SEN) including learning difficulty, or any other needs that might hinder the regular attendance at school or otherwise are mentioned in Section 7. UNESCO's report has brought out many salient points like integration of pupils with disabilities or learning difficulties into mainstream schools which it called 'mandatory pedagogic integration, or school-based integration and this pertains to only schools. 'Above all, integration in this sense involves dealing with the individual needs of each child, subject to the capacity of a mainstream school to meet those needs' http://inclusion.uwe.ac.uk/csie/unscolaw.htm The survey goes on to explain an important circular letter from the Minister of Education of the Flemish Community in Belgium in 1994 which accepted the 'equivalence' principle in integration. In other words, although some pupils could not follow all the lessons of the regular programme due to their disability, they could graduate with approved replacement lessons. The 1873 Act of Employment of children in agriculture was repealed by Lord Sandon's Act of 1876 about the compulsory education which said "It shall be duty of the parent of every child, to cause such child to receive efficient elementary instruction in reading, writing and in arithmetic, and if the parent fail to perform such duty, he shall be liable to such orders and penalties as are provided by the Act," Hancock (1879, p.457). It is believed that universalization of compulsory education is necessary for reduction of poverty all over the world. Is compulsion right in any matter Surprisingly it is the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights that has provided the political and moral support for compulsory education. Article 26 of this declaration says that 'Elementary Education shall be compulsory' and Dakar Frmaework for Action reiterated the same. European Association for Education Law and Policy says: "Legislation should provide for the goal of high standards in the provision of education and the development of mechanisms and policies, and adequate allocations of public funding, to support this aim; but it would probably need to leave the degree of specificity for national standards to be determined by individual states" http://www.ua.ac.be/main.aspxc=.ELA&n=47283 It also says: Under the UK model, the rules on inspection and teacher qualification have become intensified because these matters are seen as integral aspects of the new quality agenda for schools. At the same time, new risks of civil liability have emerged, related to issues of quality in education. (ibid). Truancy has been another issue where parents could be prosecuted and this had been a legally unstable ground that considers parents' rights along with those of the children. Is it right to term them as 'irresponsible' this has become a modern dilemma and we find challenges to compulsory education. It is not perhaps right to say all the laws of compulsory education should be repealed, even though some of them need some looking into under the changed circumstances. But for years now, there had been challenges to truancy laws and compulsory education laws. Ming Zhang, in his article, Time to Change the Truancy Laws Compulsory Education: Its Origin and Modern Dilemma says: However, the problem of modern education systems in the USA and UK has given rise to a libertarian perspective and even deschooling campaign, which advocates a voluntary schooling system. It is also mentioned here : Referring to John Calvin's doctrine, libertarian writer David Botsford (1993) considers that the modern schooling system was created by a sixteenth-century tyrant and religious maniac to prevent his barbaric religious and political doctrine from exposing to free market in ideas. Studies of compulsory-attendance laws in Britain." (ibid1) Compulsory minimum schooling legislation and the absence of tuition fees is almost universal in all the developing and developed countries. Naturally they involve a lot of extra expenditure and investment for the governments. But enabling the child to maximise its own ability is seen as of paramount importance. Still there is an argument that schooling need not be beneficial to all the children. "Schooling ability is defined relative to other activities and low schooling ability need not imply low ability in other activities. For example, a youth who is a gifted musician, may experience a negative rate of return from formal schooling" Chiswick (1972, p.356. There are speculations that the word 'compulsory' could be infringing the rights of children as well as parents. Minimum compulsory education age had been another factor that has been challenged in recent years even in USA. "Even as the right to educate one's children at home has become more established over the past 20 years, the right of parents to determine when their children are ready begin or finish formal education has steadily eroded. Minimum compulsory education ages have been falling and maximum compulsory ages have been rising" The Home School Court Report, Home School Legal Defence Association, September/October 2000, Volume XVI, No. 5. The fundamental law of education has been questioned many times because sociologists feel that even though compulsory education is the most necessary thing in the world to empower the child, there are possibilities of a child being eminently unsuitable for formal education. It might be more interested in vocational education or in a particular art and formal education could work as a negative force to such inborn talents and might kill the talent itself. In America, Paul Goodman is appreciated as the writer who created awareness against compulsory education, though not very successfully; but his refreshing views on liberty, freedom, individuality and human rights prevail even after 30 years. His books, especially Growing up Absurd, Compulsory Mis-Education, which touched psychoanalysis of education, is highly appreciated. He believed in liberating children and youth from the clutches of 'System'. "If the Enlightenment of which Goodman was so enamoured is defined as the cultural movement from force to persuasion, from vassalage to liberty, from segregation to fraternity, and from abject ignorance to something resembling knowledge, it is education's purpose to assure that the Enlightenment's promise will not crumble and will not be forgotten" James S. Kaminsky, Paul Goodman, 30 Years Later: Growing Up Absurd; Compulsory Mis-education, and The Community of Scholars; and The New Reformation-A Retrospective Education's role must be properly understood away from romantic individualism, compulsive and traditional slavery to education, and social conditions. Most of all, it is better to judge the child for its own merit before schooling, or after a certain years of schooling, when the natural tendency of the child could show. Even though compulsory education works very well, there are cases where it comes as a burden. "For the vast majority this is true, but as sometimes happens with the man-made laws, there are a few - a very few in our case - for whom a setting aside of the requirement of the law would be exceedingly wise both for their own welfare and for that of the community," Deutsch (1917, p.74). Article II-74 - Right to Education, of European Constitution, the right includes the possibility of receiving free compulsory education to all citizens. Home education has not been above reproach. BBC reported that home teaching needs more checks: Professional Association of Teachers called for more monitoring: "Sometimes families wanted a "closer relationship" with their offspring, had religious or cultural objections to mainstream schools, or were waiting for places in the primary or secondary school of their choice, it was said". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/3937169.stm Compulsory Education Laws have worked very well over the years. But it is a matter of argument if they are still necessary. Another matter that never fails to create conflict is the minimum and maximum age restriction. Many Americans today argue for non-restrictive laws that have no mention of age. Age restrictions in education, funding, healthcare are becoming a burden on society. They are leading into denial, exclusion and discrimination. According to Geography of childhood, weaving the values that sustain us into childhood education, making them aware of nature and its sustainability are more important than proper school education. Field focussed education is favoured by sociologists and psychologists. Reclaiming the heart in nature education has to be given preference. Sharing nature with their own inborn arts is better than cramming information into their minds which they might not appreciate because present education alienates children from nature as famously said by Richard Louv, 'nature-child reunion' is necessary. Children need wild places for the growth of their mind. Mapping cultural geography of childhood psychologically supports the individual throughout life. As Poet Wordsworth said, compulsory education negates geography of childhood. Shute (1993) says in the Preface (p.9): "We went against Hitler and the Fascists as if they and their system of political thought came from an alien planet. Yet all fascists and all authoritarians began as babies and went through whatever systems existed in their country to bring them to adulthood, just as our children do." He also argues that respect and freedom are corroded with 'a disease-causing society' and says schools are bad places for children where the space is warped and explosive ideas are crammed into the child's head. Such ideas would never be helpful in life for the child. He feels that formal education fosters the fascist state of mind and it is a well-meaning tyranny. He says schools have fascist environment that prevents children the right of running away. He feels that compulsory education kills the 'real person inside that child'. While agreeing that corporal punishment has improved the situation, he says adult imperialism still prevails. He feels school should be a place where truth can be told. It is important to note that even though all compulsory education laws need not be repealed, there is an urgent need of having a second look at them. They are highly traditional and perhaps were sorely needed in those days. Today education is available in many ways and it need not be only through schooling. Genius brains of earlier times had no great schooling. It is necessary to note that age restrictions, both minimum and maximum should be thrown out of every field as they are the root cause of discrimination and exclusion in every society. They are worse than race, colour and creed discriminations. They are the silent killers of a progressive society. They exclude the biggest and most vulnerable group of society. As Rousseau said nothing is more important than human freedom and its spirit. It is a debatable point if schooling that curbs such a spirit is absolutely necessary. Schooling can produce ordinary workers, clerks, rule-abiding professionals and other common lot; it could never produce a Leonardo da Vinci or a Shakespeare. Perhaps it is time to allow the child to decide on the mode and time of its own education. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Chiswick, Barry R., Minimum Schooling Legislation, Externalities and a Child Tax, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 15, No. 2. (Oct., 1972), pp. 353-361 2. Deutsch, Abraham, A Phase of Compulsory Education, The School Review, Vol. 25, No. 2. (Feb., 1917), pp. 73-87. 3. Hancock, W. Neilson (1879), The Feasibility of Compulsory Education in Ireland, Journal of the Statistical Society in London, Vol. 42, No. 2. (Jun., 1879), pp. 456-479. 4. Paul Goodman, 30 Years Later: Growing Up Absurd; Compulsory Mis-education, and The Community of Scholars; and The New Reformation-A Retrospective. JAMES S. KAMINSKY Auburn University 5. Shute, Chris (1993), Compulsory Schooling Disease, Educational Heretics Press, Nottingham. 6. Time to Change the Truancy Laws Compulsory Education: Its Origin and Modern Dilemma MING ZHANG, Principal Education Welfare Officer, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, UK 7. The Home School Court Report, Home School Legal Defence Association, September/October 2000, Volume XVI, No. 5. ONLINE SOURCES: 1. http://www.underhill.nildram.co.uk/law.htm#Law 2. http://inclusion.uwe.ac.uk/csie/unscolaw.htm 3. http://www.ua.ac.be/main.aspxc=.ELA&n=47283 4. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.0264-3944.2004.00260.x Read More