Friday, January 28, 2011

Should government interfere with homeschooling parents because of religious and socialization concerns? | Lynn R. Mitchell | Opinion Zone | Washington Examiner

Should government interfere with homeschooling parents because of religious and socialization concerns? | Lynn R. Mitchell | Opinion Zone | Washington Examiner

"The 11-year-old girl was homeschooled through 4th grade and then ordered into public school because of a lawsuit by the father who objected to the mother educating their daughter at home. The parents divorced when the daughter was two months old."

Again, the states don't give a rat's rump about religion or your religious beliefs. I learned long ago that is not an area you should use to fall back on, unless you can find a judge gullible enough to truly believe religious choice has any merit.

This appears to be purely a case about a man wanting control over his ex-wife. It happens all the time and the courts usually side with the parent wanting the child in public school because that is the territory the judges are most familiar and comfortable with. Once a parent realizes this, such as this dad, they will push the issue, knowing they will better their chances for a victory over the other parent. It has nothing to do with education or what's best for the child. It's a power play.

This dad should be ashamed but he'll get his comeuppance once his daughter comes of age. She won't have anything to do with him for what he's done to her mother. The one thing he's overlooking is where his daughter's loyalty is and that loyalty lays with the woman who gave birth to her. I've seen many of these daughters grow up and make their dad's lives a living hell for doing just what this dad is doing now. That karma thing can be a real bitch!

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

thats sometimes the case, but its not always that black and white. I have a friend who's ex wife is bipolar and has gravitated towards a very fundamental almost cult-like religious sect. She homeschooled their kids and increasingly isolated them. He was concerned that they were only being exposed to very limiting religious views that conflicted with his own beliefs and not allowed to be exposed to the bigger community around them. They took no outside enrichment classes, no longer participated in sports or scouts,didn't participate in a homeschool support group.
He was concerned that they weren't learning what they needed to learn the way she was homeschooling them. The kids are his too. He was NOT trying to control his ex-wife, he was trying to influence and participate in his children's lives. He wouldn't have minded the kids being homeschooled if they were exposed to the "real world" and immersed in a local homeschool community, but they were isolated. His only recourse was to petition the court for them to be made to go to public school. The judge ruled that they go to school pending a custody hearing. He eventually got custody and the kids are now homeschooling again.(unschooling actually!)