It is said that "It is in the states best interest to be more involved in parenting, even to the point of controlling what is taught in the home." Is it? For me, I agree with this statement in a sense, however for the most part I do not. Some benefits that I see by having the state become more involved in parenting include less troubled kids. Maybe if the state was in control of what was taught at home, kids would be raised up as better citizens. Would this solve the problem with child abuse? It is quite possible that this would minimize child abuse, resulting in better people: people who grow up as civil citizens, with better motives, morals, values...etc. This may be a stretch, but I can see that as a result of more state involvement of parenting, it would result in an overall better society, with less troubled kids.
On the other hand however, I cannot see this working one bit. The Constitution of the United States states in the First Amendment that citizens have the right to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition. If the state were to control what is being taught in homes, then that would violate the rights of every American citizen. The state would essentially dictate what can, and what cannot be taught. Doesn't this sound communistic? By this though, there is no guarantee that children would be brought up right, especially in a Christian environment. Even if someone is brought up in a Christian environment, it doesn't guarantee that they will grow up to be a good person who follows everything that they have been taught.
In a (perfect) Christian environment however, it is necessary that one be brought up in the right environment, as it would hopefully affect the way in which they live their future. God has enabled us with free will. We have that choice to either decide and follow Him, or turn our backs to Him. A good Christian environment would definately be good for kids to grow up in as it teaches how to live their lives in a way that is pleasing to God. Unless the state has a Christian influence when intervening within family life, I beleive that it would be more harmful. In a sinful world, this would never work. People wouldn't want their privacy and rights taken away from them. Therefore, this idea of the government controlling what is being taught in homes would never be successful.
