March 7, 2008 1:42PM # ‘Loyalty to the State’ By [Adam B. Schaeffer](https://www.cato.org/people/adam-b-schaeffer) --- SHARE The California court decision that essentially [bans homeschooling](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2008/03/07/MNJDVF0F1.DTL&type=printable) has [sparked](http://www.openmarket.org/2008/03/06/children-as-the-tools-of-the-state-educational-bait-and-switch/) a [lot](http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NzY3NzlkYjdjMzcxODU2ODQ3ZmRkZWFmM2IwMmE4NjQ=) [of](http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTBiMGMyNmRlZmVhYjQ5YzcxZTFmZDY1ODA5ZDBkOTk=) [concern](https://www.cato.org/2008/03/07/certifiably-wrong/), and rightly so. The decision quotes this revealing and chilling statement from a California court case in 1961: > A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare. Seldom do the defenders of the government education monopoly reveal in such forthright language the true purpose of their position; they are training children to be loyal subjects of the state, not free citizens of a republic. The logic behind support for a government education monopoly and opposition to school choice is chilling and clear. These fundamentals are too often obscured or lost in a forest of concerns regarding standards and curriculum, even in the case of those, such as [Sol](http://www.city-journal.org/2008/forum0124.html) [Stern](http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_1_instructional_reform.html) and Diane Ravitch, who profess a desire to promote American values. To all who feel a twinge of sympathy at the mentioning of civic education and patriotism, just remember the patriotism and attachment to American civic traditions that fueled the American Revolution grew from a diverse population [without](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=7040) a government education system. And remember that our private schools do a [better](http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/friedman/downloadFile.do?id=255) [job](http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/friedman/research/ShowResearchItem.do?id=10023) teaching the principles and structure of American government and American history, the knowledge of which most often leads to a natural, uncoerced, organic patriotism that is the strength of this country. Freedom, not state indoctrination, creates good American citizens. ##### Related Tags [Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).