Constitution on Compulsory Education

          According to the Constitution of the United States, neither the federal nor the state governments have the right to impose compulsory education laws on us. By doing so, they have overstepped their bounds which are outlined in the Constitution, as well as stepped on the natural rights God has blessed us with.
           When the founders created the Constitution, their main objective was to form a Nation where the liberties of the People were protected first and foremost. In order to do this, they knew that they would have to set up a government that would protect those liberties from all enemies; this government itself would therefore need restrictions and boundaries to keep it from interfering with the lives of its citizens. They had learned from their experience, and the experiences of their ancestors, that no government could safely be entrusted to direct the lives of a people. Government can be so easily corrupted, and so easily twisted as to makes restrictions on their powers a necessity for the welfare and liberty of the inhabitants of the land; the founders knew and understood that. This is why they created the Constitution in the way that they did:
         “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (Preamble to the Constitution.)

Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
     To make it plainer: we have more rights than are listed in the Constitution; that list shall not be used to say that we don't have other rights. To apply this amendment: the government can't tell us that we don't have the privilege to raise and educate our children as we see fit, simply because that right isn't explicitly listed in the Constitution. We retain it as a natural, God-given right.
     "But," you may ask, "surely you'll agree that all children ought to be educated? What if the parents are neglectful to their child and does not take steps to make them educated?" To this I say: "You are implying that you want some guaranty that all children will be educated. That guaranty does not exist now even with our compulsory education laws!" Many children are still doing poorly in schools and not getting the education they deserve. Guaranties of that sort are not possible in a free society because it aims to eliminate agency: the idea is that since humans make mistakes, in order to get a desired result consistently from them one must make them incapable of failing; in this case that is concerning parenting. One of the best incentives for learning is when the parents are involved. The family is ordained of God: He created Adam and gave him a "help meet," or a helper that was equal to him, that would complete him and his needs; her name was Eve, and she was the first wife and mother on earth. Then He commanded them to multiply and replenish the earth. In this is the implication that they had charge over the upbringing of their offspring. This commandment to multiply and replenish all the earth has been handed down to all mankind. Now, when God tells us to do something He always prepares a way for us to do it; this is why I believe that all parents have been blessed with certain attributes and resources that make them capable of raising their children well. I also know that God is perfect: He always does what will yield the best results in the long-term. This to me means that since the organization of families is ordained of God, having children be raised by their own parents is the optimal way for them to grow up. May I just say right now that are certain situations where this may not be true. This is not because the principle is untrue, but because people are not perfect, and God allows people their agency. Still, I propose that because families have been designed and put into place by God this signifies that children being brought up as their parents see fit is the best way for them to be brought up. And because parental authority is so obviously natural, we should reserve responsibility and authority over children to the parents. This is the best guarantee we have of raising wise and educated children.
         We have to make a choice between liberty and impossible guaranties. As Benjamin Franklin said, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” That's the truth, and I would assert that if you give up your essential liberties for some fantastical security, you are going to end up with neither. Your liberties are your security, and that is why the Constitution was put into place. This is seen as bright as daylight in the Declaration of Independence where the founders explain why they are separating from England: their God-given, natural rights were not being respected. They  wanted to live in such a way that these rights could not be taken away; Hence, the separation. Next, because they realized that only individual liberty could ensure safety, they created a union between all the states, and built the Constitution to protect the rights of its people.

 Because of the punishments in place for not abiding by the compulsory education laws, the State governments have violated the 4^th amendment:
Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

     Wouldn't you say that arresting a person for protecting their child from what they consider to be harmful is an unreasonable search and seizure, and that therefore we are not secure in our persons? What about forcing a child to go to public-school? Isn't that a search and seizure?

Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

     Hear that? “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge---” that means to take away from--- “the privileges---” such as directing the upbringing of our children, because of the 9th amendment--- “or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;  nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."  Due process of law means that the parties specified must act according to the laws of the land, which protect the liberties of the people. Simply passing a law to change something that is illegal in the Constitution into something legal would not be due process of law. So even though Compulsory Education is legal, it's not Constitutional. States' Compulsory Education laws are unconstitutional because they require the parents to give up their privilege to have the authority over the upbringing of their children, using search and seizure as a threat in order to enforce it.

Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

     To get to the point: because of the 4^th, 5^th, 9^th, and 14^th Amendments, it is prohibited both to the federal government, and to the states to impose compulsory education laws upon us, so therefore that power is reserved to the people.

     In conclusion: according to the Constitution we have the natural right to direct the upbringing of our children, and no state or federal government has the authority to deprive us of that right. We now need to choose to either believe in flimsy promises which supposedly guaruntee prosperity that infringe upon our rights, or to protect our fundamental liberties, which are our best bet to creating our own prosperity.
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Resources:
          http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/educ/compulsory-education-overview.aspx (about Compulsory Education laws.)
          http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am4 (a site with the Constitution of the United States.)
          http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/1.28?lang=eng#27 (Genesis 1:28 -- our charge to multiply and replenish the earth.)
          http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/2.18,%2020-24?lang=eng#17 (Genesis 2:18, 20-24 -- Eve, a "help meet" for Adam.)

Whose children?

      Education is a thing of great value in our society, and most people would do almost anything to obtain it. The large majority of the People all want to get a good education, and think that everyone should be able to do so. The problem is this: it is neither the government's responsibility nor choice whether or not we are educated; it is only ours and our parent's. Solutions made by the government to solve our personal problems can only lead to restrictions on our liberties, and dependency on those who ultimately cannot take care of us as well as they think.
      Compulsory education is an insidious canker in our society. Why? Because education needs freedom and space to grow, to develop, to move at its own pace. It should not have a strict hand confining it to rules and regulated ideas and set standards for all. It flourishes best when it has room to gain new knowledge, room where that knowledge can circulate freely, room where it can create a common well of knowledge and ideas. When governments mandate compulsory education, they feel the need to define what constitutes an education. And that means infringing on our rights to the upbringing of our children. That means a clamp-down on anything different than what they deem “correct”, it means rules and regulations and set standards. Different ideas, different beliefs stop circulating; the agency and creativity of human beings are stemmed. It escalates to a point where they desire to gain total control on the hows, whats, wheres, and whys of your education. And guess what? At that point, your education is taken out of your hands, your parents' hands, and the hands of future generations.
      Many people do not have the money nor the means to get the education they want. I believe that it is our responsibility as human beings to do what we can to help them get that education. But my worry is this: what happens if we give that responsibility to the government, and allow them to make sure that every body is educated? I'll tell you what happens: they take it into their own hands to educate and care for us, and then we become dependent on the government to supply us with that education. We become dependent on the government to solve our problems. We become dependent on the government to make our choices for us and lead our lives. And when we become dependent on the government to do that, we become nothing more than mindless sheep under lock and key, because we think only those thoughts that they want us to think. They cannot take care of us. Look at the Native Americans stuck on the reservations because they are too dependent on the government to supply them with what they need. And guess what? Those people, those human beings, are living in horrible neglected conditions, all because the government has interfered with their lives, and created almost total dependency. The government is not doing a good, nor even a competent, job of taking care of those people.
     One thing that would greatly help those who cannot afford an education is a freer school system, where it is easier for people to direct their own education and schooling. If the school system were freer, there would be more private schools created by people. The best way to make schooling available to all is through people working towards that goal out of their own free will. Through community for the community. Not through government force for the community. Since there are so many people who believe that all who want to should be able to get a good education, they could make that difference in a freer school system by being able to build their own private schools. Then they would be able to direct their own school as they see fit, and be able to make it possible for those in need to get that education--- without the government interfering. There are already many private schools and people who do that, through scholarships, grants, funding for scholarships, donations, funds, and many, many other ways. If the government stays out of the way, no new laws regarding the matter will be made, which laws would restrict the actions of the People, by the People, for the People.
      As a side note to this, if there were more schools being built freely, there would be more jobs created for people--- without any of the government's “help”. The totally, completely, absolutely 100% natural outcome of not having our choices made for us.
      Today, because of the compulsory education laws accepted by all of the States, the federal government has joined the oppression. They have taken it upon themselves to regulate laws setting standards and rules for schooling. Because of all of the government interference, it has been increasingly difficult for parents to homeschool. Why? Because the government thinks they can do a better job of directing the education of your child than you can, and they think they have the right to force you to let them do that. There is constant pressure against parents, telling them that they are somehow too stupid or irresponsible to rear their young. The thing is this: yeah, maybe I don't think I can teach my child Science, but it is MY job to make sure they learn that--- not the gov's job--- and there are many options out there, many alternatives, lots of sources and other routes. Just because I don't teach my child the same way, or the same things, the government wants me to doesn't mean I'm incompetent. It's just different. I can be just as responsible as any government, and even probably more so, without silly laws and regulations. You can see how far they've wheedled themselves into our lives and into our systems. The question is, do you want our nation to end up like those on the reservations? When is this going to stop? When are you going to take a stand and defend your rights to raise your own children?