Agree that the government shouldn't provide phones or cars. But children are forced to go to school. If students aren't receiving an education, what justifies removing their freedom and forcing them there every day? How would somebody defend the constitutionality of schools when viewing them as having no requirement to educate?
But children are forced to go to school
No they're not. Children are required to have an education expoerience, not a school experience. You can homeschool or send them to a private institution or to another country for education, etc etc etc.
what justifies removing their freedom and forcing them there every day
It's not about education. It's about training them to do something they don't want to do for roughly 8 hours a day. It's work training.
How would somebody defend the constitutionality of schools
There's nothing in the Constitution about schools however a SCOTUS judge might be able to make a case that in order to adaquately avail yourself of Constitutionally provided rights you must have a basic education.
It is not the government's responsibility to provide an education but it is the parent's responsibility to ensure that they have one.
Children are required to have an education expoerience, not a school experience
That seems to be nearly the exact opposite conclusion from this case, viz the state must provide a school experience but it doesn't have to be an education experience.
I get what you're saying about parental reponsibility and how the parents need to provide instruction in addition to what happens in school--whether at home or in the public schools. However, that's not even close to practical to expect minimum wage workers to give their kids necessary and adequate instruction, nevermind willfully neglectful or abusive parents. Leaving kids at the complete mercy of having good parents would produce even more dysfunctional illiterates than we have today, and that would be disastrous for both the economy and society. Since we're using schools are day care facilities and warehousing kids 9 months of the year there, they might as well gain useful skills and literacy during that time.
It's right there next to the "shall not be infringed" clause.
No, you don't have a right to education. You don't have a right to health care. You don't have a right to home ownership. You don't have a right to phones. You don't have a right to cars.
This is what happens when society becomes used to getting everything from a government.