Ron Paul Launches Home Schooling Program
When he retired from Congress in January, few believed that Libertarian icon Ron Paul would go quietly into the night, and they have once again been proven correct with the announcement that the three time presidential candidate is set to launch his own home schooling program.
“I am pleased to announce my new website: www.ronpaulcurriculum.com, which will feature an online home school curriculum for students K-12…. be sure to tell your family and friends!” Paul wrote on his Facebook page this weekend.
“Here, students learn the basics of Western Civilization and Western liberty — how it was won, how it is being lost, and how it will be restored. (Not can . . . will.),” the website reads.
Paul promises to deliver an “education in liberty like no other,” including specific courses on “the economics of the Austrian school,” as well as courses in science and mathematics.
“Students also learn the basics of American history, the United States Constitution, and American geography.” the site notes. “They get two courses on free market economics. They get two courses on government, including a how-to course on reclaiming America, one county at a time.”
In a commentary piece released yesterday, Ron Paul himself said “A common feature of authoritarian regimes is the criminalization of alternatives to government-controlled education.”
“Dictators recognize the danger that free thought poses to their rule, and few things promote the thinking of “unapproved” thoughts like an education controlled by parents instead of the state. ” The former Congressman added, noting that “…Children do better when their education is controlled by those who know their unique needs best, rather than by a federal bureaucrat.”
Paul’s home schooling website includes a video description by Ludwig von Mises Institute senior fellow Tom Woods, who notes that Paul’s curriculum provides a free K-5 program, meaning that students and families will be able to take the learning course for up to six years “without spending a dime.”
“By September 2nd, we expect to have the material for grades 6 – 10 available.” Woods states. “We’ll continue to add grades until December 2015 — our target date — when we expect to have the entire K-12 curriculum finished.”
“Ron Paul just guaranteed his ideas aren’t going away. This is where the Revolution gets interesting.” he states in a written commentary.
Director of curriculum development, Gary North, also notes in an introductory video that the curriculum will “teach the Biblical principle of self-government and personal responsibility,” and will focus particularly on “the history of liberty” and “liberty’s rivals.” North also notes that the program will heavily center around the US Constitution and how it “has been hijacked.”
North also notes that Paul’s program will use primary source documents only, rather than textbooks, which North says “are screened by committees” and “dumb down the material.” He also notes in a separate article that the Ron Paul program will not bend to state regulations which he considers to be “an illegitimate infringement on the right of parents to educate their children.”
”Any compromise here, philosophically speaking, is a compromise with tyranny.” North writes.
For Ron Paul, the program represents the fulfillment of a promise he made during his farewell speech to Congress last November when he suggested that the home schooling movement would play a “revolutionary” role in restoring limited government.
The former Congressman will also release a book later this year on education and the liberty movement.
“For people wondering what Ron Paul has been up to since retiring from Congress, then, here’s your answer. And he has more announcements coming.” Gary North urged.
Home schooling is now the fastest-growing form of education in America, with around 2 million children being educated outside of state education. Not surprisingly, because of this, it has been frequently targeted for strict regulation by the US government. Parents who have chosen to home school have also been regularly portrayed as suspicious or dangerous.
