State control of education is necessary, because it ensures
the transmission of commonly held American cultural values essential to
the population of our institutions. via Spunky
Implicitly, a value transmitted by compulsary education is that state
control of education is necessary. Likewise, posting speed limits,
erecting traffic signals and driver testing implies that state control
of driving is necessary; food and drug regulation implies that state
control of food and drugs is necessary; professional licensing implies
that state control of labour is necessary; and environmental
regulations implies that state control of industry is necessary.
It follows then that the speaker (or writer) believes that state
control is an essential value that needs to be transmitted. Consider
the following:
If state control is not an essential value to be transmitted then it cannot be essential to the transmission of those values.
If it is necessary to the transmission of those values then it must be
one of the values transmitted. Otherwise, not all of the essential
values are transmitted.
The real issue revealed by this logical fallicy is that it is unlikely
that a homeschooled child will learn that state control of education is
necessary. The real concern expressed in this statement is of a child
acquiring an education which does not precondition it to state control.
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