s to home school; and that, moreover, this tradition of the courts supporting home schooling has continued on through the twentieth century. The authors prove their point by citing several court cases, some of which are presented below:
(1) Farrington v. Tokushige (1927) - The court upheld the right of parents to direct the education of their children without unreasonable restricts such as statutes forbidding parents to either home educate or to select private and/or religious schools instead of public schools.
(2) Commonwealth vs. Roberts (1963) - The court upheld the right of home education stating that as long as children are educated, they may receive that education any way parents choose; be that choice a public school, a private school, or at home.
(3) Wisconsin vs. Yoder (1972) - The court overturned a statute forbidding religious education at home.
(4) Calhoun County Department of Education vs. Page (1983) -The South Carolina court upheld parental liberty to home school as a "basic constitutional liberty" guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Insight into the historical argument between home schoolers and the educational system is found in an article by Carrere (1983). According to Carrere parents choose to teach their children at home have traditionally done so for moral or religious reasons, or because they consider the public schools too conservative or traditional.
On the other hand, state compulsory attendance laws have been based on the desire to "Americanize" immigrants, the consideration for the welfare of the child and the community, and the safety of the state. Thus, the state's basic prosecuting argument has been the duty of education for the general public good. The defense against regulations mandating public education as fulfilling the general good has been the right of parental authority which has traditionally resulted in...