Abusing "Freedom of Religion"

This is very troubling. A school in Quebec is ordered to shut down to shut down because it doesn't meet provincial standards.

The response? Well, instead of fixing the deficiencies (eg. following basic curriculum standards and having certified teachers), the people whose students attend the school decide to move to another province.

These events are examples of the key problems that I have with any private school that tries to separate itself entirely from the public standards and regulation. I have no problems with schools exceeding that standard, however, not meeting those standards is another thing altogether.

Unfortunately, many people seem to believe that their religious views take precedence over everything else in the secular world. This is demonstrably poor logic, and in the long run impairs the options open to their children.

For example, let us assume that this school chooses to teach a "theologically correct" version of physics (perhaps one that refutes any non-Newtonian mechanics). Up to a point, this might be fine, but for the fact that there is no "theologically correct" physics. When an unexplainable phenomenon is found, specialists in that domain seek an explanation that they can model, they don't simply sit back and say "God made it that way" as a pat explanation.

Now, let's consider a student who has graduated from a school teaching "theological physics", and walks into a first year physics course in college. They will likely be functioning with a significant knowledge deficit because they will have not been exposed to entire significant aspects of the discipline simply because someone decided it wasn't "appropriate" on religious grounds. (Or worse, simply taught badly by well-meaning but untrained educators who would not qualify for certification as teachers)

I'm not saying that these students shouldn't be educated within the context of their faith, but rather that there are compelling reasons that private schools can and should be held accountable to certain basic standards - regardless of ideology.