But were they really homeschooling?
Julie at Shanan Trail shares the horrific story of a teenage girl tortured by her step mother and forced to live on six ounces of water and some toast every day. She was locked in her room at night to keep her from relieving her thirst in the toilet and weighed only 48 pounds when authorities removed her from her home.
After the second investigation.
The first article, dated October 13, she quotes does not make a big deal of the fact that the girl was being homeschooled, but leaves out a bit of information. Like a previous investigation which sustained the abuse allegations, but since this came out in the same paper the next day, perhaps it was only due to the fact that they were still gathering information. After all, when considering how best to protect children in the future, this kind of information is very pertinent and much more helpful to officials than a reflexive call for increased monitoring of all homeschools:
The children enrolled in Carnation Elementary School in 2001, but their parents pulled them out to be home schooled three years later. Even so, they still had been attending an alternative program once a week.
After the complaint, the children never returned to the school, officials said.
“We’ve had no contact, no referrals or calls or complaints since that one in March 2005,” Shapley said. Seattle Times
The Associated Press provides just a little more information that is relevant as well. And lends a little more credence to the argument that those who wish to break the law are not going to be the ones monitored when laws are made more strict.
Riverview School District officials said the girl had been attending a once-a-week class for home-schooled students when the teacher raised the concerns in March 2005. Her parents withdrew her from the program, and afterward failed to file yearly reports required from parents who home-school their children. Associated Press
Washington State already requires homeschooling parents to notify the state and submit to either approved standardized tests or evaluation by a certificated instructor. None of this was done in this case, so can the family even be legally considered a homeschooling family? Or were the children merely truant?
Julie is absolutely right that gigantic red flags should have been flying when the family pulled their child from an academic program after an abuse investigation, especially when the allegations were sustained. Even if the case is closed because the state thinks the “crisis has passed.” This would be the third case (see Jacks and Ramirez) I can think of off the top of my head where a few questions upon withdrawing a child after abuse reports might have prevented further abuse (and even death).
I know many object even to notifying the state when we decide to homeschool, and I seriously doubt such notification could ever protect a child from an abusive situation. But not even bothering to file the simplest of paperwork (for example in the Banita Jacks case in Washington, D.C.) seems to be such a strong pattern for these abusers, I do sometimes wonder if that small step isn’t beneficial to legitimate homeschool families by providing a clear separation between those who are educating their children and those who say “homeschool” to deflect suspicion.
As homeschooling becomes more common, and fewer people are asking, “Is it legal?” it is quite likely that an increasing number of child abusers will pull their children from the school system in order to hide their abuse. Not that they didn’t before, but now they can say “we’re homeschooling” and stop some of the questions. Between that and the increasing fragmentation of our communities to the extent that a neighbor of an abused child says to reporters, “I never knew they had a daughter,” we have the potential for far more cases to go undetected.
Is that simply the price of freedom? Or are there some simple steps we can take to help protect these children?
Thanks for the link. While the first article didn’t make a huge deal out of the fact that the girl was homeschooled, I don’t think that the inclusion of the fact is innocuous either. Previous abuse stories which are tied to the homeschooling community have already created an image that homeschooling hides the abuse of children.
Besides, I have never once seen an article about a publically educated child who has been abused that said, “The child attended Such-And-So Elementary School…” Educational choice and abuse are two separate issues. And, everyone seems to know that when the child is educated in a more culturally acceptable way.
True. And I can’t imagine it won’t become an issue later on. But I do remember watching reports on television where the teachers of the abused children are interviewed and the comment is always, “We never had any idea…” Largely to protect themselves. If they say they had any suspicions and didn’t act, they would be held accountable.
I would be a little less suspicious, if it read something more like, “Although the family claims to have been homeschooling, none of the paperwork required by the state has been filed in the last three years. Also, the child had been enrolled in a program which she was withdrawn from after suspicions were raised…”
In other words, something that directly tied the homeschooling to the history and the fact that CPS had already been involved with this family and had reason to be monitoring the situation.
Even in the follow up, this information doesn’t come up until quite a bit later in the article, meaning the author didn’t see it as important as the rehashing of the details of the abuse and the arrest of the parents.
OK, you know my story.
But it would be the ultimate in irony for me to have to file paperwork with the school district that abused my child! That’s why we homeschool in the first place!!
I understand where people are concerned, but I wouldn’t want things to move in the direction it seems to be going. Before you know it, we’ll have “licenses” to have children that expire each year. We’ll have to get the kids their shots so we can get the new jingly metal tag for their collars…
Ok, I’m being silly. But I blogged on this story yesterday, and despite having a licensing process, you do see how people drive on the highway, no?
Once again, not a homeschooling issue. The family did not follow the law to be legally homeschooling in their state. This raises the question of what are the officials who are supposed to follow up on such things doing?
IMO it’s like gun laws, they keep the law-abiding citizen law-abiding and the non-law-abiding remain criminals. And no one is truly protected.
I agree, Christy. And like gun laws, it is those with illegal weapons who are committing most of the gun crime. Someone who wants to abuse their child isn’t going to be so worried about the finer points of the law, either.
I don’t like the idea of mandatory registration, either, but then we have to register here so I’m likely not as sensitive to it as some would be. But do registration laws help separate legal gun owners from those with illegal guns? After all, without the registration, there is little difference.
And quite true, Mrs. C. The easiest thing at the moment which directly deals with criminals without sucking the rest of us into the same thing would be for there to be some follow-up when a family with confirmed abuse allegations immediately pulls a child from school after the investigation is over.
But I’d be a little leery that every parent who withdraws a child from school will then be held suspect.
Except for the Sean Paddock case (who was not even of compulsory age), all these horror stories I’ve read come from families who pulled their kids out of government-run schools to “homeschool” after the families were already involved with the child welfare authorities.
I don’t think it’s a horrible intrusion for the states to run the names of families pulling their kids out of government-run school through their child welfare database. Not that the families in the database should automatically be denied permission to homeschool, but it *IS* a possible red flag that might warrant additional monitoring depending on the circumstances.
And even in the Paddock case, there were signs before the child was placed that their might be issues with the family.
I wish there were simple steps we could take to protect children, but these issues are never simple, are they? The waters are murky when it comes to these cases, and government intervention is no substitute for true community.
I would like to think that some of these instances could be stopped if the families had support from friends and neighbors. That is probably wishful thinking, but without supportive relationships it is hard for any family to thrive.
My guess is that the stepmother didn’t have the greatest upbringing herself. And dad’s “wow, I knew they didn’t get along, but didn’t know it was that bad” isn’t very convincing when your 14 year old weighs less than five year old.
I’m not sure how much family can help when someone goes off the deep end like Banita Jacks. IIRC, the children’s relatives were concerned about the situation but were unable to prevent the tragedy.
My dad had a cousin with schizophrenia and it was a rollercoaster ride trying to help him. What he needed was some sort of supervised living arrangement to make sure he actually took his medication as prescribed but he refused & the family could not force him into one. Legally, the only thing we could do was to have him hospitalized for 3 days at a time whenever his functioning deteriorated to a point where a judge would deem him a serious threat to himself or others.
That is a good point, Crimson Wife. Even an involved and concerned community and family really would only be picking up the pieces after the abuse happened, although hopefully it wouldn’t go unnoticed for years, at least.
Mental illness and child abuse go hand in hand. It is difficult to imagine how a healthy and stable adult would do more than perhaps lose their temper on an isolated occasion, but even then I can’t imagine that a healthy person wouldn’t have barriers that they just wouldn’t cross no matter how upset they were.
You may say or do things you regret, but it isn’t quite the same.
True. I grew up dealing with alcoholism, but I was never in fear of my life. We learned to cope with the moods that went from happy to grumpy overnight. Members of my extended family really helped me to deal with things, but mental illness is a different issue altogether. It is a roller coaster and so hard to treat.
To keep from bawling when I read this, I didn’t click over to the article, but I imagine that the parents were very unstable. Family can only help so much, and it is heartbreaking to watch.
If one parent is concerned, can they remove the children from the home? For instance, move somewhere else. That would be a legal battle, too, I suppose.
You know one thing that is typical of families who are removed from the home by CPS? A number of informal placements prior to CPS involvement. Growing up “passed around” is unfortunately more common that you might want to think. That doesn’t appear to be an issue here, but it is so sad to talk to a kid whose major life lesson is that “home” is only where they are staying until the people they’re living with find somewhere else for them to go.
Stories like this break my heart for the kids involved. I just want to reach through the articles and hug the child…and feed her!
I’d have to agree with you about “they weren’t really homeschooling” if state required paperwork wasn’t properly filed.
Sometimes I worry that stories such as this will cause an outcry for my state to put stricter laws on homeschooling. On the other hand, we removed my oldest child from public school because she was mentally and emotionally abused by the teacher. Perhaps there should be stricter laws on the school district as well! My 2 cents.
That is what really bugs me, Amy. It happens in school and all of society recognizes that as an isolated incident that was fortunately caught and addressed. No one calls for the closing of public schools or stricter monitoring.
But when it is someone who is purportedly homeschooling? Shut them all down! Why can’t we recognize it in the same light? Something horrible that we need to be on the look out for, but something that is not part of the educational choice itself?
Bad things happen, we must accept this. I know it is difficult, but, this is reality. In a world where independence is a core part of mainstream theology, many cry out for more regulation and intervention! But, even with more regulation and intervention, bad things will happen. child abuse is a complicated issue, what is child abuse, what is not, and all that.. The only solution in our particular political system, for individuals to take, is,prayer to the One True God, loving our neighbor, laying down our lives, and intervening, as neighbors, friends and family.
The lines can be blurry, regarding parental rights and these issues, along with knowing when action should or should not be taken. I am my childs parent, not the government! Homeschooling is not a crime, and refusing to report my intention to homeschool even when the law says i must, is not a crime(this is a bad law). The trend toward regulating homeschooling, is a bad one, only meant to bring the government into our cherished homes and families, more and more… Don’t get me wrong, I still obey the laws in my state, but, i do not agree with these laws, and hope for a future without the government telling me how to be a parent. The media DOES use these stories to criminalize parenting and homeschooling, and so does the government.. I am unapologetic when it comes to my stand against more government intervention, as this path does not lead to a good place. It will only succeed in ripping away the rights of millions and millions of people who long to love their children and teach them what they see fit and not what the government mandates.
I say,If you see abuse, by all means, intervene, but, do it, in a loving and caring way, supporting parents, who probably have a lot of learning to do themselves, why not teach and support these people? Why, involve the police, or child protection agencies, who only succeed in demonizing, and alienating. Of course, i say this, only when we see something that calls for further action.. Yes, bad abusers should be jailed, but, when we see little things,that might be suspicious, neighbors, friends and family should get involved, not the government. It is always abuse, when, we see spanking, or hear a toddler scream, or something like this. Or when a parent chooses to homeschool, and i do think that government does link the 2.
Okay, i probably sound, like a i have a big chip on my shoulder, and i guess i do. I have an abusive background, i was terribly abused as a child, and i would have loved someone intervening, but, i also, have seen the other side of things, where, governmental intervention, did nothing, good or concrete, that actually solved the problem. Government can’t change things, only God and his people can. If you have any questions about the One True God, and his One saving Church, you are more than welcome to visit http://www.theepistemologicworks.com