Parents are Responsible for Children’s Education

When our children need shoes we take them to the shoe shop that we think is most suitable. We seek all the advice that we can from the shop attendant, presuming that they are experts in their field. But in the end the parent decides which shoes to buy.

The same applies to education. We look at all the possible schools that are suitable for our children and send them to the one that we think is best. We presume that the principal and teachers are experts in the field of education and to a large degree leave them with the day-to-day tasks of teaching our children. However it is still the parent’s responsibility to make sure that their children are educated properly. 

In Australia, as I am sure it is in many other countries it is illegal for parents not to educate their children. Failing to educate your child should be considered a form of abuse. If a teacher were to become aware that a parent is not educating their child they should report the parent to the relevant authorities. However this does not mean that children must be educated exactly as their teachers choose. 

I have decided that I do not wish my children to receive religious instruction (or any other time wasting alternatives) as part of their school education. I am forever being told that I am not permitted to remove them from school. It is complete nonsense. I am responsible for their education. I am accountable to the department of education if I fail to provide it to them. I am not answerable to the principal or teachers any more that I am answerable to the shoe shop attendant.