Ron Paul Launches K-12 Homeschooling Curriculum

Ron Paul, the retired Texas Congressman and GOP/Libertarian presidential candidate, has founded an online homeschooling program for grades K-12.

Are you ready to be schooled by Ron Paul?

The content developed by Paul’s staff of educators will focus on the basics of Western Civilization and Western concepts of liberty under the US Constitution. Paul’s academically rigorous curriculum will provide a through grounding in principles of self-government and personal responsibility, which is the foundation of the free-market economy, says Gary North, director of curriculum development and Paul’s long-time collaborator. Students will also learn practical skills such as how to set up a YouTube channel and start a home-based business among other things.

The Ron Paul curriculum for grades K-5 is being offered free and will become available online as of September 2, 2013. For grades 6-12, the tuition is $250 per year for each student, plus $50 per course, which are self-taught and self-paced. Courses will be rolled out over the next few years. Content will include online video lectures, reading assignments, and weekly student essays.

In Ron Paul’s farewell speech on the House floor, which may have been a precursor to this new educational program, the former lawmaker said in part: “We cannot expect a federal government controlled school system to provide the intellectual ammunition to combat the dangerous growth of government that threatens our liberties … Expect the rapidly expanding homeschooling movement to play a significant role in the revolutionary reforms needed to build a free society with constitutional protections.”

The Ron Paul curriculum will not be accredited by government educational authorities however, and the program is not seeking accreditation. Paul’s website insists, “There is in fact no agreement among the experts on what constitutes valid curriculum standards.” The site also addresses what it considers a fundamental contradiction in some parents’ desire for accreditation. “The reason why people want to pull their children out of public schools is that they really do understand that the state has destroyed modern education … Unfortunately, however, a lot of these parents still trust the state, and they want to make certain that the state has approved the curriculum their children use.”

Would your family be interested in Ron Paul’s libertarian-oriented K-12 curriculum as an alternative to the public schools?