On The Run! And Running Out Of Options! Will We Ever Find Freedom?
We are The Whittam Family.
We live and breath for our children
and since they were born they have never been without their Mother.
And for the last 6 years I, their Father, have only worked 6 months
a year so that I can spend as much time as possible with my family.
and since they were born they have never been without their Mother.
And for the last 6 years I, their Father, have only worked 6 months
a year so that I can spend as much time as possible with my family.
We even sold our house and went travelling through the winter months in our tinyhouse on wheels, this brought us even closer than ever before and made us realise that there was much more to life.
Another reason we wanted to have a house on wheels
was because it was illegal to home-school in Sweden.
was because it was illegal to home-school in Sweden.
We knew the day would come when the
state would demand we stopped being free and hand
over our children to be turned into competitive consumer sheep.
state would demand we stopped being free and hand
over our children to be turned into competitive consumer sheep.
Goodbye Sweden!
That dreaded day came, and seven months ago we were forced to leave Sweden with our four children after receiving numerous threats from the state, we were fully prepared for this event and quickly packed up our tinyhouse and headed for calmer seas.
It was heart breaking, especially for Louise who was born and bred in Sweden and knew that she might never again get to celebrate mid-summer with her family in the land she knew and loved so much.
Family is everything.
We refuse to have our children judged by a general standard that we know will dampen their spirit and make them feel like they constantly have to fit in to a society that's broken at the best of times. We want our children to blossom and realise their true potential which can only happen when they are free to explore THEIR own interests and beliefs, coupled with an individual education that’s tailored to fit their style of learning (if they so choose), which in my eye's can only be taught by their parents.
Knock Back, after Knock Back, after Knock Back!
We feel as though we are constantly being pushed back, whenever we find a place we want to be, we than find out that it won't work due to the obstacles that are put in place by the various states in Europe. We found our little piece of paradise in a beautiful part of Spain where we have been coming for the last four years. You wouldn't believe our luck when we found out that this is the only district in the WHOLE of Spain that has completely outlawed home-schooling. Hmmmm! I suspect that might have something to do with the amount of people that moved here who have an alternative lifestyle just like we do.
A Light At The End Of The Tunnel.
Whilst in Portugal we met a Swedish teacher who informed us that if we joined an international (Montessori) school in Sweden, then it would be possible to continue living and travelling the way we have been, this meant we could go back to Sweden in the summers to visit our family and continue being free. Suddenly we thought that all our dreams would come true, but this was short lived. A week ago the Montessori school we had contacted informed us that this was no longer an option and even they had to abide by the new laws that are popping up all over Europe.
The End Of The Line!
We are really starting to feel like there is no option left for us. With every passing day we feel like all the doors are being slammed in our face and the only option is to keep our children hidden and off the radar, like all the other homeschoolers in this region. Is there no other way, must we hide like criminals and live in constant fear?
Bye Bye Europe!
We are starting to think that we've been looking in the wrong places and that maybe, we should broaden our horizons and start looking elsewhere for the chance to live a life of true freedom. There must be somewhere that will except us for who we are, there must be a way, and if there is, I WILL find it, and we WILL go to the end of the earth for our children.
We would like to thank everyone
who supports and believes in our vision
We know we are on the right path
and that one day, we will find home.
who supports and believes in our vision
We know we are on the right path
and that one day, we will find home.
We hope that you continue to follow our journey
Wherever it may take take us.
Wherever it may take take us.
I wish you all had access to come here to the United States. Some states have hoops you have to jump through, but the United States every state has home school laws on the books, some have more restrictions than others do. I live in the State of Indiana, and we are considered a green home school state, meaning the state have very little restrictions on home schools. We don't have to report to the state at all, we don't even have to register with the state. The only way we even have to tell the local district is if we have had them in Public School then withdraw to home school, but then we just give notice in writing that they are being transferred to private home education and they give you a copy of your kid/kids transcripts. All we have to do in my state is provide 180 days of education each year, but the state leaves it up to me, to decided what that is. I have never had any interference with the state and my home school.
I hate that so many countries have made home schooling illegal. It is BS if you ask me. Home schooling to me is a natural right, shoot how do they think people were educated before the industrial revolution that normalized schools? Apparently they think there was no education before then.
Oh and I have never been asked for attendance records ever and my baby graduates in May....
Yes! it seems that America and Canada have a much better acceptance for home-schooling.
I just wonder how we would get our tinyhouse over the pond =)
I'm willing to leave countries behind but this is the most perfect, comfortable and cozy house we have ever lived in and we couldn't live without it.
@markwhittam: if it fits in a container, it doesn't have to be too bad...probably better than having to buy a new one and doing all the work on it. But then again, you'd have to weigh up the pros and cons for either I guess... Leaving it and not selling would always leave you with a home across the pond :) If that would be anyway possible. America is starting to hunt down 'other thinking people' now too, more restrictions in homeschooling and I think their CPS is probably one of the worst. I am starting to believe 3rd world countries are a better bet than any western one at the moment. (heck, we are ready for that revolution I think....)
I understand that totally and I am sure shipping overseas would be really really salty. I wish other countries would take our lead on home schooling. It is a constant fight to keep our rights to home school one it seems we fight yearly or nearly every year. We do have to watch them close as law makers are sneaky always trying to pass some restrictions. But so far we have stopped all of them in my state. My thoughts are with you my friend. Be safe
sell the dang thing and get a new one when you arrive. What's the big deal?
I have deep respect for you and your wife to stand by your beliefs even though society is trying to make it impossible for you to live by them. My boyfriend and I have the same dream, a house on the road and live a free life. I am also thinking about homeschooling myself, as our daughter is a free spirit too, and I don't want to bound her with the standards that are used in normal schools. I also want her to be able to explore her skills and try things she likes. But, she is now 2 years old, and here in Hungary she is obligated to go to kindergarten at the age of 3. I am already a bit scared for what's coming to us by then. On the other hand, I see ourselves moving somewhere else within the next year. But the thing is, how are the rules over there? I find the experiences her on @familyprotection very helpful as this is a part that I am not too known about yet, as she just a little baby when we left. Now it is in the near future (so it feels haha)and I read the same things, Europe is making it impossible. I don't think Hungary will be the country where we need to be when the time comes she is obligated to go to school. I think we need to explore other options. But I don't mind either, I am not bound to this country, and if it were up to me, I would love to see the world the next years to come. But wouldn't it be awesome if every free spirit in the world could live up to their beliefs? I hope you find the right place for your family, and in the meanwhile I keep following your journey :) Btw I feel for your wife, as she doen't get to celebrate those events with her family, I kind of know how it feels. As long as I haven't won a case against CPS / government about the children, I am too freaking scared to enter the country too. Something says I should stay away, but I am not sure why. Maybe the government is still afraid of me blowing the whistle, and they have a trick up their sleeves when I enter the border. And I am also scared that they will do something against our youngest as we tricked them (sort of anyway) by leaving the country. I can imagine they will try to take her as soon as they know where we stay in the country. Not taking that risk.. There will be only one reason for me to enter that border line.. To get my 2 oldest and leave again :)
We never had this luxury, but we will make sure that this is a reality for our children.
I believe we will find our place in this world and I hope that one day that you will find freedom and that your children find home.
Bless.
Indeed, we didn't either but we will do our best to make sure the children (all of them) will.. Because that is what we will keep fighting for having them all together with us seeing the world.. thanks!
I know how you guys must feel. I have the same. Walls are closing in and not knowing what to do is my every day worry at the moment. What about Portugal? Isn't homeschooling legal there? The thing that gets me is that one country can have homeschooling legal but then vaccines are mandatory. It's driving me nuts. And I am also re-thinking our options for going abroad. Central and South America seem quite good regarding homeschooling (but not everywhere either). I am sure you will find a way! We will too. ❤️️
Yes! It seems that Ireland is really starting to come down on home-schoolers. I wonder if it is to force the travelling community to into houses and schools?
Portugal is a grey area, no one seems to know the rules because I have heard conflicting stories, I think it's possible if we start our own school which is not completely out of the question.
Portugal seems quite laid back but of course, if it's a gray area, it's hard to know exactly. For us, Portugal is still on the books. My kids were impressed by the country and the people, still talking about it and even the youngest, who was barely three in November, asks me why we don't live there now. Funny enough, I couldn't get as far away from the big city when I moved to Ireland from Holland, but after spending some time in Faro and Lisbon, I wouldn't even mind spending some time in the city.
Congratulations Mark to You, Your Family, the @FamilyProtection Team, @Canadian-Coconut, everyone that has written Posts, comments & UpVoted and many others that I may not even aware of...
Through the efforts of many... the message/awareness is going Global... Proudly ReSteemed...
Perhaps what @TecnosGirl suggested... Indiana may be good choice as far as home schooling.
Or perhaps the idea from @TaliaKerch, that in some places in Russia, the State pays the parents for homeschooling... or the idea You suggested in this post, the International (Montessori) school in Sweden.
Cheers on whatever decision Your Family chooses... GodSpeed...
What a horror show!
Thank God your lovely family has your heart protecting them.
Wherever you must go to allow them to continue to love to learn, as all children do until it's ground out of them by Prussian indoctrination methods in prisons for little kids, you must go.
Peace.
I'm so sorry your troubles continue @markwhittam; been following your journey for a while now. It was always close to home because I was home/unschooled partly in Denmark and my parents dealt with an assortment of hassles even in the 1960s and 1970s.
The US/Canada (or "the Americas") might be one of the more attractive options you have, if you're up for the adventure. At least in the US, people CAN still home school, subject to SOME state-by-state regulations.
As for your tinyhouse, you can totally take it with you-- I know this because my cousins took their camper across the Atlantic. Since its dimensions are probably close to street legal limits, I would suggest a RORO (roll on, roll off) ferry-- there are surprisingly many options available, and it's what my cousins did because they wanted to tour the US and Canada in a camper for six months... and it turned out to be cheaper to take their own, than rent for such a period. You are basically charged in Euros per cubic meter. My cousins used Sea-Bridge (German company; Hamburg is the port of departure, convenient to Denmark), but there are many others. Of course, you also have to figure out visas and such, but that's a separate issue.
https://www.seabridge-tours.de/html/verschiffung_usa_canada.php?language=english
Anyway, I hope solutions will present themselves!
Thanks for the info, this gives me hope! We would love to go there and test it out but leaving our comfortable tinyhouse behind is not an option for us! This is the beat home we've ever had!
Thanks for the feedback @denmarkguy
Hi Mark,
I recommend Paraguay, where you could get a Permanent Residency quite cheaply (about 2000$ per adult if you use an agency) without the need to stay there permanently in the beginning to get the Residency.
Once you have the Residency, it is also easier to stay in the other Mercosur countries. I have not looked into the homeschooling situation there, but I guess the authorities don´t care so much about Gringo children and as long as you are willing to travel anyway through Southamerica, going to another country every three months or so, you should be fine anyway.
In general there is a lot of anarchist stuff going on in those countries south of the US, I think you will find your place there.
Personally, I prefer Asia, but the whole visa and property rights situation there for foreigners is much less favorable for long term stay.
Right now, I am still lazy and in hibernation, but maybe later this year I go to Paraguay and check it out.
Thank you @likedeeler! I would love to go and live deep in the Amazon, drink ayahuasca and become one with nature. ONE DAY!
Very interesting. I'm currently in Europe but the Central/South American situation certainly has it's appeal if things don't shift here.
Actually hoping you come to the US via the ferry. So much wild beautiful nature here, if not quite as much great architecture. There are so many places you can boondock here you could travel around the country, teaching as you go. I know a lot of people who were home schooled. The actual school system might be worse than in Europe, but much easier to stear clear of.
Mark I know that it feels like The Twilight Zone because every time you come so close it just feels like the same ol’ same ol’ all over again. I am really hoping you all find your “home” soon.
You said the very thing I fear, it seems eventually no matter where we go or live any type of school outside of the system will be banned and outlawed. That is a really scary feeling and I hope it never comes to that . Don’t give up Whittam family, wherever home is it is waiting for you!!! We’re all still hoping and praying for you all! ❤️
Thank you @crosheille!
You know me! I never give up, I'll just have to think outside the box and try out new possibilities, I do feel sorry for people who are more rooted and are starting to feel the pressure from the state. We are very lucky that we can move with the tides and avoid the tsunami’s!
Thank you for your prayers!
Bless.