we have increasingly held the view that education is a private good, which should serve the individual interests of educational consumers, rather than a public good, which should serve the broader public interest in producing competent citizens and productive workers. First, consider our traditional commitment to preserving local control. The core issue here is the wide and deep strain of libertarian sentiment that lies at the heart of the American psyche. The urge to preserve individual liberty is a key to understanding American society, and it is what defines our distinctive approach to politics, economics, and education. Don''t tell me what to do" has long been our national slogan. By it we have meant in particular that government should keep off our backs -- especially government that is far removed from our local community. All you need to do is remember that this nation was born of an uprising

educational bureaucrats, ideological indoctrinators and other beneficiaries of today’s system. What scienceonline will happen when the growing number of homeschooling families withdraw their political support for the enormous taxes required to fund today’s $300 billion government system? To combat these threats, defenders of the status quo are fighting back with all the legal, legislative, and economic weapons at their disposal. The most insidious of these tactics is the systematic undermining and co-opting of the homeschooling movement by establishing government homeschooling programs. Government homeschooling programs set seductive lures before families by providing “free” resources, teachers, extracurricular activities, facilities, and even cash reimbursement. When enough families have voluntarily returned to the government system, it will be a relatively straightforward matter to

recapture the rest by imposing mandatory homeschooling oversight regulations. Will this seduction succeed in eliminating independent homeschoolers and derailing the growing free market in education? Economics and the history of private schools versus government schoolsprovide ample lessons on what to expect. With more students getting even busier these days, the new library system in Bismarck public schools has been a godsend. The new system, which went online this fall, gives students, as well as anyone with an Internet connection, access to the library and all its functions. with kids today, so many work or are involved wit activities, so this will give them access when they get home scienceonline at night," said Konnie Wightman, the district''s library media coordinator. The school district was using the Central Dakota Library Network and an operating system called Info*Lynx, but the cost to

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