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Dear Mr Ed Balls and the DCSF- No thank you

11th October 2009 by Jax Blunt 12 Comments

Inspired by Helen’s letter to Ed Balls from her blog.

Dear Mr Balls

I will not give up this fight. These are my children, not yours, not the state’s. I will choose with them what they learn, and we will not follow any curriculum determined by remote politicians in Westminster, even though we may appear to follow curriculum here already. The point is that we choose how and when, and I will not allow you to test or grade my children or my teaching. That is my business and my responsibility, not yours.

I will not submit to your licensing arrangements, nor will your inspectors interview my children alone. Even if they were criminals they would have representation and rights, and you seem determined to trample on those rights without any cause or justification.

I will not accept the manipulation of figures you are trying to use to justify your invasion of my family’s privacy, and I will not back down or run away. I will continue to spread the word, blow bubbles, support my friends and pester politicians, committees and journalists, making life as difficult for you as I can.

I have never voted labour, and you have guaranteed I never will. I am even considering becoming a conservative activist to ensure that you do not get back in at the next election, and trust me, I’ve never considered that before.

You will not destroy my right nor interfere with my responsibility to raise my children as I see fit, and I will work to ensure that all of my children, even the one not yet born gets to live and learn outside of your surveillance and database state.

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Filed Under: home education review, political stuff, Stealing your freedom

About Jax Blunt

I'm the original user, Jax Blunt I've been blogging for 16 years, give or take, and if you want to know me, read me :)

Oh, and if you'd like to support my artistic endeavours, shop my photographs and art at redbubble

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. HelenHaricot says

    11th October 2009 at 10:27 pm

    see, you said it FAR better. everyone – that is what i meant to write!!
    .-= HelenHaricot´s last blog ..By: HelenJ =-.

    Reply
  2. littlepurplegoth says

    11th October 2009 at 11:36 pm

    Wow… just Wow.
    Going to write my own now.
    LPG
    (p.s. I’m so glad I’m not the only one having to contemplate the conservatives…)

    Reply
  3. mieke says

    11th October 2009 at 11:46 pm

    Bravo! With you ALL the way, Jax 🙂
    .-= mieke´s last blog ..Home Education – A Cover for Abuse – If Recommendation 7 Goes Through =-.

    Reply
  4. Maire says

    11th October 2009 at 11:47 pm

    Yep, spot on.
    .-= Maire´s last blog ..Dissembling some of Badman’s stats (again) =-.

    Reply
  5. Disorganised1 says

    12th October 2009 at 12:15 am

    Hopefully he won’t have time to implement many of these interfering proposals, but whatever he does do remember why you started home educating in the first place. The options are never explained, the alternative is always hidden, but there are alternatives.
    P.S. I once met Mr Balls ~ odious, unctious and patronising.

    Reply
  6. Beth says

    12th October 2009 at 12:22 am

    Great – please can you publish this as a pledge that we can all sign up to

    Reply
  7. Sarah says

    12th October 2009 at 5:50 am

    Well said!
    .-= Sarah´s last blog ..The post below … =-.

    Reply
  8. Tech says

    12th October 2009 at 11:01 am

    An again… BRAVO!! Seconded, motion carried!
    .-= Tech´s last blog ..What’s a SAHM then? =-.

    Reply
  9. Father Ignatius Brow says

    12th October 2009 at 9:18 pm

    Keep up the wonderful work and may your children thrive…
    …but as I have said elsewhere and will keep saying because it seems to be central to the debate…
    Beware Home Educators – you are up against the centralising instincts of the socialists – socialists have a complete disregard for liberty and individual freedom because it threatens the organs of state including state organised education (through which they can pump their socialist propaganda).
    Education otherwise is the only form of education that recognises the value of the individual over the group. It recognises that society is not the same as THE STATE and it recognises that society is a product of individual free choice not a separate imposed order.
    That, sadly for home educators, is completely at odds with the aims and ambitions of socialists in general and this Labour government in particular, which thinks it has a god-given right to meddle in every aspect of our personal life for the sake of “the greater good” and “social order”.
    Sadly for this country, socialism is the fastest route to the totalitarianism of national-socialism yet invented (with half our productive economic capacity nationalised in all but name we are half way there already).
    Blessings for freedom and education otherwise,
    Father Ignatius Brown
    PS: Where do I sign the petition?

    Reply
  10. kellyi says

    14th October 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Hope you don’t mind, I copied your idea. I did link to you at the top of the page.
    .-= kellyi´s last blog ..Dear Mr Balls – No Thank you =-.

    Reply
  11. Caroline says

    14th October 2009 at 8:22 pm

    blogged my ‘Dear Ed’ – not so eloquently, but yo might like a read!
    .-= Caroline´s last blog ..Dear Ed Balls & the DCSF – no thank you! =-.

    Reply
  12. Elizabeth@Frabjous Days says

    14th October 2009 at 10:50 pm

    Hear hear. With bells on.
    .-= Elizabeth@Frabjous Days´s last blog ..It’s a girl! UPDATE #2 =-.

    Reply

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