Attending School
Attending school is an important duty of all citizens in a developed, democratic country like the United States of America because those children who go to school and get an education will soon be running the country and will need to have had the education to make proper choices about how to run the United States. In the US, nobody is denied the right to go to school and must attend until they are at least 16 years of age and at that time they may drop out. There are 3 main types of schools in the United States of America: public, government-run schools, private schools, and if a parent chooses, he or she may homeschool their child, giving them an education at home.
Controversy Surrounding Attending School
A 10-year-old Christian homeschooled girl who was described as "well-liked, social, interactive with her peers" was forced to attend a public school because the counselor who came to check up on her said that she was too vigorous in her defense of her Christian faith and has not had the opportunity to seriously consider any other point of view.
This story is important because it shows the mindset of people in authority who believe that objective knowledge is knowledge without religious content. In their opinion, religion is a negative factor and those who are "enlightened" have the right to take away parental rights to instruct their own children and force them to attend a government-run public school. This is a dangerous path of government meddling in private family affairs. It's not up to the government to decide that a child needs exposure to other religious viewpoints.
This story is important because it shows the mindset of people in authority who believe that objective knowledge is knowledge without religious content. In their opinion, religion is a negative factor and those who are "enlightened" have the right to take away parental rights to instruct their own children and force them to attend a government-run public school. This is a dangerous path of government meddling in private family affairs. It's not up to the government to decide that a child needs exposure to other religious viewpoints.
