Most German homes school families have left the country or have stopped homeschooling because of severe pressure from the government. The remaining 25 families that continue to home school in Germany are defending their unpromising cases in court. Penalty payments for some of them amount to $5,000 US; some are in an early stage of court battles; some are facing undeserved custody battles; for others jail has already been executed. Please pray for persistence and wisdom in each case.
Several home school defense societies have been busily publishing leaflets, books, websites and thus promoting homeschooling. Please pray for some positive affect from these promotions that both the government and judges would be affected and change their attitudes. Please also pray for all members of Parliament (both federal and state) to change their mind and become supportive rather than hostile.
Lobbying by sending out letters or petitions doesn’t seem to change anything for good. There is a lot of discouragement on the part of the defense societies regarding how to support the hunted families. Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit (Network for Freedom in Education) is operating a chatroom which used to be quite active. Unfortunately, it has declined and seems to have become meaningless or insignificant. Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit lacks ideas for further promotions of the home school movement in 2009. Please pray the Lord would give them wisdom and will guide their steps. Pray also the Lord will provide someone to come alongside them who will have the ideas they need.
Please pray for a revival of dedication to the home school movement. Pray that those families who stopped home schooling would feel convicted to home school once more and pray also for new families to begin homeschooling regardless of the disadvantages. They need courageous and determined parents who are willing to fight to secure what they feel is best for their children.