Also, this exact thing could (and does) happen here in Nebraska. When a non-custodial parent objects to a child's homeschooling, the law is clear...the child must be sent to public school. In this case in China, she lost.
A test conducted by the Galaxy Primary School in Shijingshan District this month showed the child, who should be in the second grade, had already reached the level required for grade four students. The boy said in court that he enjoyed his home education.
The mother lost the case because there was no evidence proving the child was unhappy because of the father's education system, according to the court.
But he'll still have to go to school. Because the laws in China are changing.
China's revised Compulsory Education Law, which came into effect this month, says carers of any school age child should send them to school for nine years of education. But the law doesn't say what punishment will be given to those who ignore the law. "A punishment ... wasn't written in because the punishment may be difficult to implement. But home education is absolutely not advocated," said an official involved in revising the law.
I wonder what will end up happening. On the one hand, it is easy to imagine, given China's history, what kind of persecution they are capable of. I doubt that it would get that dramatic since homeschooling does not appear to be at all ingrained in Chinese culture...and doesn't seem to be carrying the religious movement behind it. But China also appears to have a habit of simply ignoring a lot of things, too. (That is based solely on impressions from very limited sources!)
In other news, my favorite blog from China has just been taken over by Chinaontv.com. Onemanbandwidth posted his last post, although he will be writing a weekly article for the new owners.
Related Tags: homeschool, home school, China
