Over the last weekend in April, the German homeschooling group, Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit (Network for Educational Freedom) sponsored a colloquium at Rothenfels castle along the Main river in .
The participants had workshops, discussions and speeches about various topics relating to home education. A number of speakers working with European network partners along Germany`s borders shared the educational possibilities and liberalism in their countries. This highlighted once again the German situation of enforced compulsory schooling without exception, which places Germany in the shameful position of being at the bottom of the league in Europe.
Educational and legal questions about a free access to education were presented at the colloquium as well as results of brain research and attachment relationship theory to emphasise the advantages of education without any coercion to attend school. As Germany is one of the states that have signed the Charter of Human Rights, the participants appeal to the governments of the German provinces in a declaration to grant freedom for individualised education, in line with human rights.
Photos taken during the Colloquium are available online. (mechanical translations of the pages are available from Google, or your favorite translation page)
Press release (in which I recognize the names of Pat Montgomery of Clonlara, Peter van Zuidam from the Netherlands, and Rina Groeneveld who has commented here at NewsComm)
Blog (English and German): Int. Kolloquium zu Home Education, 27. – 29.4.2007
Links to the talks in German and English
Pictures and Impressions (in which I recognize Melissa Busekros — 3rd photo, seated on stage)
posted by Valerie
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[...] 2nd International colloquium on homeschooling held in Germany Over the last weekend in April, 2007, the German homeschooling group, Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit (Network for Educational Freedom) sponsored a colloquium at Rothenfels castle along the Main river. [...]