• About Me
• Contact
• Unit Studies
• About this template

Get a Trackback link

2 Trackbacks/Pingbacks

1. Pingback: Homeschooling? How involved is your husband? « Only Sometimes Clever on July 14, 2009
2. Pingback: Principled Discovery » Homeschool poll: How involved are dads in homeschooling? on July 14, 2009

60 Comments

1. JJ Ross, July 9, 2009:

   Hear hear.

2. Christy, July 9, 2009:

   Hear! Hear!

3. April, July 9, 2009:

   Hear!! Hear!! Oh, sorry, I thought we were gradually escalating the hears. I think the answer is in your question: “Why can’t we just let it be about the best interests of the children in this case without putting ourselves in the defendant’s seat?”

   We see ourselves in the same place and get scared. A perfectly honest reaction, but perhaps not the most reasonable.

4. mrs darling, July 9, 2009:

   This stuff makes me so mad. I tutor a little boy who is attending a charter school that allows children to take part of their classes at home. Its a state charter school and the kids are part of the system. After joining that you lose your homeschool status. YOu are in now ay a homeschooler.

   Well get this! The state (caseworker) is now trying to say that the boy has to go to a regular public school because the charter is homeschool! She has no idea how this charter school works but thinks she is Gods answer for this poor little boy.

   The grandmother who has custody of the child is fighting it out in court!

5. Charity, July 9, 2009:

   Maybe cases like these do not directly impact our homeschooling freedom, but they do illustrate the second-class status we have (to turn on over-used phrase). I think that’s why people get so worked up about them.

   When I started homeschooling, the state tried to make me get my ex’s signature before they would approve me. (I have full legal and physical custody, so I told them no.) The thing that bothered me about it is that I did not need his signature when they went to public school. That means that public school is the default option. Homeschooling is a special case, requiring special permission. As long as that remains the case, do we really have homeschooling freedom?

   If the kids are already homeschooled, it should be left as is. Would the court order children to stop going to public school due to divorce?

6. ChristineMM, July 9, 2009:

   To answer your question about rights of mother versus rights of father regarding parental rights. Seems to me the issue is when the mother and father have different opinions on what is best and both have equal parental rights the judge may go with what the MAINSTREAM does.

   I think the issue of being “safe” with choosing to do what 99% of people do: send their kids to school.

   If the judge sides with the mother’s alternative education desire for her parental rights there may be an outcry from other Americans as to why to support an alternative parenting choice over the mainstream.

   We living an “alternative lifestyle”, which to me, is what the “homeschooling life” is, don’t like to hear that our freedoms may be in jeopardy but the fact is America still likes to go with the crowd, go with the flow and do what others are doing. Even though the country was founded with individual rights as key in the 2000s we are more about groupthink as a nation IMO. So many would rather be ’safe’ and just do what everyone else does (even in the face of proof of negativity with the ’safe’ thing sometimes).

   Remember even breastfeeding is still not the majority. With all that is known of the good of breastfeeding our nation is still mostly a formula feeding nation. Trying to convince people that breastfeeding is good even with many scientific studies is still not enough to sway the majority of mothers to breastfeed per AAP guidelines (through at least the first year of life).

7. COD, July 9, 2009:

   I wonder if the outcry from the right would be as intense if the mother was a high power corporate attorney who wanted to put the kids in school and dad was a college drop out artist who had be staying home and doing the homeschooling?

   That’s a probably a different conversation though…

   I think ChristineMM pretty much nails it. Without any evidence that the “normal” choice will harm the kids, the judge will go with normal every time. It’s just the way the world works.

   Maybe HSLDA can create a ‘Pre-nup in a box’ that protects the mom’s (or dad’s) ability to homeschool in the case of a divorce.

   Kidding about the Pre-nup. I think.

8. Sandra, July 9, 2009:

   Charity, how correct…treated 2nd class. prejudged = educational freedoms not being upheld in our courts.

   I presume that domestic court judges experience instant losses of critical thinking ability and ability to do what is in the children’s best interest when it comes to homeschooling. Even facing a GALs testimony to the court that it would be best for the children to continue homeschooling, judges ability to uphold the societal “norm” (gov school) remains healthy. Laziness/inconvenience for them may have a large play.

   How, with such blackhole insensitivity, courts allow the children’s lives to be further wrenched apart by denying them to continue with THEIR normal homeschooling lives…… leaves one to be wide -eyed saying …….”please understand why we must take on compassion and concern and make these messy cases about “us” (homeschooling families and communities) and our freedoms.

   Is there agreement that there IS foul play when a judge allows a parent to enter home education as a custody playing card in their courtroom….when it can be determined that there’s been an established history of mutual, previously uncontested educational decisions by the couple ? To allow such is unjust, and permits one parent to hold the children’s lives hostage by way of judge’s prejudices.

   It is very much a home education freedom issue, for the divorce situation allows a judge to exercise his power unjustly.

   Re: HSLDL rule:
   As a general rule, homeschooling only becomes an issue in a divorce case when the parents cannot agree with each other about the children’s education. Because they cannot agree, the judge must decide what’s best for the children based on the evidence before him. HSLDA.org

   I believe the majority of these cases are not as described above, but rather are cases where the couple did have mutual agreement to home educate their children ! Coming to the court’s door however: one parent/attorney entity utilizes the “homeschooling card” in their custody attempt. The judge naturally allows it, due to his prejudice. Did I repeat myself or what ; )

   HSLDL needs to defend these cases !

9. JJ Ross, July 9, 2009:

   Have to disagree, with most of what Sandra says and also the way she says it (accusing judges of being unjust is like accusing doctors of being assassins, and apart from being false and likely libelous, it does the opposite of what we’d hope in terms of making home education seem reasonable and healthy for thinking children!)

10. Crimson Wife, July 9, 2009:

    In these types of cases, the burden of proof ought to be on the parent who seeks a change in the child’s education. The status quo ought to be the one presumed to be in the best interests of the child unless proven otherwise.

    Right now it seems like the homeschooling parent is often treated as “guilty until proven innocent”. Not to say that it automatically is in the Naeger or Mills children’s best interests to continue homeschooling. But the burden of proof ought to be on the fathers to prove that it isn’t, not the mothers to prove that it is…

11. Christine Field, July 9, 2009:

    Just want to chime in to say there is more than one option for homeschoolers seeking legal assistance. Homeschool Legal Advantage is available to advise and assist wherever we can.

12. Nance Confer, July 9, 2009:

    Well said, Dana and ChristineMM.

    It’s not always about us.

    Nance

13. JJ Ross, July 9, 2009:

    Cw, the problem with that “ought to be” is that all bets are off once the family is broken. Mom isn’t entitled to the presumption that her homeschooling life should simply go on with the kids just as it was before. (Dad doesn’t get that presumption either, and of course neither do the kids.)

    It’s my understanding that alimony is pretty much a thing of the past, so moms go to work now after divorce whether they are qualified for much or not, and whether they choose to or not. The judge cannot make the family like it was.

14. Mrs. C, July 9, 2009:

    I know a family that continued homeschooling after a divorce. I understand that we can’t know all the facts in a divorce case, but it does *seem* like public school is the “default” option.

    Then again, would we hear anything at all on the news about a divorce ending amicably and the children continuing to homeschool? How do we know if there is even a problem with bias on the part of the judge?

15. Justice, July 9, 2009:

    Doesn’t anyone find it strange that homeschooling was fine with the father, but know it’s not.

    Sounds like punishment and retaliation.

    What about the child’s rights also? It would seem if a child was being homeschooled for 8 years and was doing well that the child should not be forced to change the arrangement either.

    This was a very bad decision imposed upon this child and the mother. And what is wrong with mother’s rights, are you somehow suggesting that mother’s make bad decisions for their children?

16. JJ Ross, July 9, 2009:

    If a married (not divorcing) dad won’t support homeschooling in the first place, or changes his decision at any point even without the radical change of circumstance a divorce indicates, “justice” doesn’t say secular courts should force it on his kids anyway.

    It’s worth considering for all of us though, how any parental rights amendment might deal with disagreements between parents with “equal rights” to govern their own children . . .hmmm.

17. JJ Ross, July 9, 2009:

    That’s not to excuse any of this, in or out of court. It doesn’t even scratch the surface of how I feel and what I think about all this, sorry. It’s not a simple question, more like a matter of ultimate human concern.

    That’s really how I feel, that what’s best for children and families is a huge, never-ending challenge for humanity to face, not just a handy partisan rallying cry for or against any particular device of law or policy.

18. Lynn, July 10, 2009:

    Doesn’t anyone find it strange that homeschooling was fine with the father, but know it’s not. Sounds like punishment and retaliation.

    Sounds like the father needs a “Speaking Tour” and a “Friends of” website to protect his own reputation. Or, maybe he’s above that kind of thing. As usual, victim propaganda seems to be enough to go on for now.

    The sanest thing I’ve read all week:

    Dana: “The mention of parental rights I find interesting. So long as the father is being granted custody, why do we choose to focus on the erosion of the mother’s parental rights rather than those of the father? Because he opposes homeschooling, his rights are somehow not part of the discussion?”

    Great post.

19. Sunniemom, July 10, 2009:

    I agree with Dana and ChristineMM, but I think CW has a point too. If this situation were slightly different- if the kids were in private school and a parent wanted them put in public school…? IMO the argument for not uprooting the children from ‘normal’ would reign supreme, and the parent promoting public school would probably look like a cheapskate.

    I agree that this case is not about homeschooling rights and homeschoolers should not start subscribing to the Helpless Victim of the Month Club, but home education is still a red-headed stepchild, and the well-being of children in the midst of the upheaval in their home does not appear to be the focus, at least that’s my perception with the limited information available. I’m wary of the presentation of these cases, because it seems that more information comes to light as time goes on that can change the picture completely.

20. JJ Ross, July 10, 2009:

    Private school is a good parallel, sunniemom, thanks for reminding me, because tuition like many previously affordable family expenses can become unaffordable under the changed economics of divorce. The parent arguing finances may look cheap but a JUST judge must take changed finances into account anyway.

    And let’s not forget that much more commonly, custody fights threaten kids’ plain old vanilla public schooling! Divorce involves one or both parents moving out of the family home and often out of their public school zone, if not that school district or city. Education continuity/change is a tough issue in most divorces, not just homeschooling divorces.

    And by extension, what about all the public school families who are not divorcing but whose marginal finances and unstable jobs/living arrangements force their children from school to school to school, in and out and all about? Homeless families have no address for school zoning at all, which was a tragic problem back in the 80s when I was working for a large district in school policy. What is “just” for these children?

    You can’t solve the real problem if you don’t understand the real problem. If we homeschooling parents really do champion the best interests of all children, sympathize with all other families, and intend our family values to be reflected in public policy, we’d incorporate all of that into our advocacy.

    But even if all we care about is homeschooling, or worse, only homeschool families who are most “like us” in method, party, class, church and world view — we still help our own kind most by crafting and then publicly presenting home education concerns as universal, applicable to children and families generally.

21. Dana, July 10, 2009:

    Sunniemom!!!! Renae and I were just lamenting the disappearance of your website the other day and I’ve been meaning to email you ever since. It is so nice to have you drop in!

    OK, I now return this thread to it’s regularly scheduled programming. My tea kettle and children are calling for me…

22. Dana, July 10, 2009:

    From what I’ve read, we know almost nothing about the father or his motivations and not much more about the mother. We can fit it into whatever story line we want, but without actual evidence, I don’t think it is fair or just to assume he was fine with homeschooling before and now wants it to end just to spite his wife.

    And a thought: What if it is just about the alimony/child support? There is quite a movement building right now about how dads are abused in these situations with payments they can’t afford to make. There are a few stories out now about “deadbeat” dads who stopped making payments when they lost their job and the courts refused to adjust their payments.

    I don’t know what this guy makes, but it would have to be quite a bit if we’re expecting him to support a wife and three children in the same lifestyle they are used to without her working.

    I know there are other options, that mom can work and homeschool (especially since the children seem to be older) but do we have to automatically assume that dad is just causing trouble?

23. Dana, July 10, 2009:

    And on “the children’s best interest.” That was lost the day the parents couldn’t come to an amicable agreement on their own. Whether it was public, private or home school, the best for the children would have been to have two parents in agreement and fully supportive of the educational choice. They couldn’t and now the court must decide.

    Sure it is annoying and not exactly right (and why the mother really needs a good lawyer who will look at what research is available along with cases where courts have ruled children should stay in private schools despite the wishes of one of the divorcing parents), but it isn’t in the same class as a judge ruling homeschooling unconstitutional.

24. Dana, July 10, 2009:

    Interesting point, JJRoss:

    If a married (not divorcing) dad won’t support homeschooling in the first place, or changes his decision at any point even without the radical change of circumstance a divorce indicates, “justice” doesn’t say secular courts should force it on his kids anyway.

    In my own political activity last election, one homeschool dad I know was involved in trying to get more interest from homeschooling fathers. I’m hoping this isn’t representative of homeschooling as a whole, but it surprised me how many fathers basically responded with “Oh,yeah. She homeschools but that is really her thing.” They were tolerant, not supportive of the decision.

    If any of them ends up in a divorce, I’m sure they’ll ask to have their kids in school.

    So maybe for those of us most concerned about preserving liberties and protecting our ability to homeschool, we should start in our own homes. Maybe we should make sure we are 100% together on the educational choices we make now while we’re married.

    And this is just a random thought, but if we treat every major decision like this, maybe some families can be saved before they end up in court.

25. Crimson Wife, July 10, 2009:

    In the statistically unlikely event that my marriage failed (I did the calculation once to make a point to someone trying to scare me out of being a SAHM and it was something like a 2% risk of divorce), I know that my kids would wind up having to go to a traditional school. My DH is definitely skeptical about homeschooling but agrees that it doesn’t make sense to pay private school tuition while I’m a full-time homemaker.

    I would fight to keep them out of the government-run schools, but I’m willing to accept them being enrolled in a decent private school. It isn’t what I would prefer; however, getting a divorce and having to reenter the paid workforce is already a less-than-ideal situation. You do what you have to and hope that the kids won’t suffer too much.

26. JJ Ross, July 10, 2009:

    Such good points!

    So we could say in general, homeshcooling dads have mainly put that decision in the mom’s hands and just trust her to carry out the education. If/when that trust is shaken for whatever reasons to the point that the family breaks up, of course the leaves are gonna fall off their happy homeschooling tree, along with the trust.

27. Sunniemom, July 11, 2009:

    [quote]Sunniemom!!!! Renae and I were just lamenting the disappearance of your website the other day and I’ve been meaning to email you ever since. It is so nice to have you drop in![/quote]
    Thanks Dana- my mom (who lives with us and is 81 yo) has had a significant downturn in physical health and mental acuity. So I flipped the off switch on my blog so I wouldn’t be frustrated about it sitting there like roadkill. Nice to be missed though.

    I think you make a good point that homeschooling is often a ‘mom thing’, and that dads are disconnected, but I find this is true in many homes period. I wonder…. when the marriage, for whatever reason, begins to falter, what weight should an uninvolved father’s input have on the newly evolving family dynamic? Is that a fair question? And vice/versa when that’s the case.

    JJ- I agree that attempting to ensure justice and equity to all children should be the goal, and discussing this family in the context of this particular situation doesn’t negate that. I simply think it is valid to acknowledge that home education is not given the same consideration or validity as public and private schooling. But family instability definitely affects the children, no matter what educational method the family uses. Believe me when I say I put my money where my mouth is- my husband is a chaplain in our county jail system, and we often find ourselves helping families pick up the pieces of their lives, get further counseling and submit to programs to help them kick substance abuse, and minister to the children caught in the middle. When all that is going on, the last thing on my mind is whether or not they homeschool.

28. JJ Ross, July 11, 2009:

    “I simply think it is valid to acknowledge that home education is not given the same consideration or validity as public and private schooling.”

    I’m not persuaded that’s a fact, in general. Have we evidence?

29. Milehimama, July 11, 2009:

    I think there may be a trust issue involved, as well. I do the bulk of the homeschooling, and while my husband is supportive (not merely tolerating, good point though), he TRUSTS me to educate the children, trusts that we are “on track”, trusts that I know what I’m doing. In a divorce situation, there is no longer that element of trust.

30. Melisa H., July 12, 2009:

    I can’t help but wonder if the bigger question here is, if it is all in the best interest(s) of the child(ren), why then were the parents unable to work through their differences in their marriage in the first place? With most divorces, it is usually not a case of abuse (verbal or physical – and yes, those cases exist, but are not a majority) and not even necessarily infidelity. I have heard of way to many divorces that were described as we “fell out of love” or “I am not sure I ever loved him/her in the first place.” My favorite one that I heard was, “I was bored with our relationship.” HELLO out there – my parents were married almost 40 years before my mom died and I saw my parents marriage tested and tried to the max. And yet, they persevered and kept their marriage.

    Too many people just simply decide they are fighting too much and rather than work through it, they toss in the towel. I guess for most people, it is all about taking the easy way out – not doing the absolute work it can take to make a marriage work.

    So, rather than blame the judge for going with the default since the parents obviously could not get their act together and work it out (hmmm, probably how they got into divorce court in the first place), let’s make certain the blame is placed squarely on the shoulders of the ones who caused the situation and thus placed the rest of our rights regarding homeschooling at risk – the parents.

    Just my .02 on this.

31. cathmom, July 12, 2009:

    I think Milehimama has a really good point about trust.

    And not all dads are so-so about homeschooling. My dh, while he is not involved with the day-to-day homeschooling, is possibly more pro-homeschooling than I am. He would even continue homeschooling if I died rather than put them in school! And I have enough life insurance to enable him to do so.

32. Dana, July 13, 2009:

    I know not all dads are so-so. My husband is probably more convicted about homeschooling than I am! That’s why it surprised me how many dads really seemed to wish their wives didn’t homeschool. It was nothing near a scientific study.

33. JJ Ross, July 13, 2009:

    Cathmom’s comment suggests more food for thought. Such a committed pro-homeschooling dad may lose trust in the mom off the other end of the education continuum. The issue isn’t so much what if she died — because then he’d have complete control without court intervention, to follow his own education ideas; the issue is whether she and her children would be any better off in a custody fight where trust has broken, if he thinks he can homeschool them BETTER than she!

    I think it’s the same problem.

34. Dana, July 13, 2009:

    And there’s this:

    It is not uncommon in home-school families for education to become a point of contention when parents decide to divorce, said Brad Haines, executive director for the Missouri-based Families for Home Education. But it is unusual for the cases to get public attention because most parents want to keep details of their divorce private.

    Perhaps a lot more common than we realize.

    There is a lot of anger in a divorce, as well. It isn’t an easy time to sit down and speak with the other person about the future of the children so these kinds of disagreements are destined for the court.

35. Dana, July 13, 2009:

    And a correction: It is private school, not public school to which they may be sent.

36. Crimson Wife, July 13, 2009:

    I saw that article too and that the children in question are 14 and 16. So there is more of a legitimate concern IMHO about Mrs. Naeger’s ability to homeschool them than if they were younger.

    Not to say that she couldn’t very well be doing a great job, but if I were the judge I’d want to know more about how she’s handling the harder-to-teach subjects like math & science. Are the kids enrolled in an ISP, community college, or online classes? Using a tutor? Using Teaching Textbooks or D.I.V.E. into Math?

37. JJ Ross, July 13, 2009:

    That’s deep water though, CW — once you ask, you’d have to act on what you find. What if e.g. the judge asks, gets shown the anti-evolution church curriculum they’re using (CA had a curriculum credit case like this a couple of years ago)and is forced to conclude the kids are young Earth creationists, which he determines won’t serve their best interests going on into secular universities?

38. Crimson Wife, July 13, 2009:

    The CA case you reference is not analogous because the parents were perfectly fine with the way the private Christian school was educating their children. The Dept. of Ed. did not provide any proof that students who had completed those courses did any worse in college level science than the typical graduate of the state’s government-run schools.

    The reason a judge has any say in the Naeger children’s education is because the mom and dad cannot agree about it. Mr. Naeger has raised a concern about his ex-wife’s ability to homeschool through high school. If I were the judge, I wouldn’t care about the specific POV of the coursework but rather whether she has a plan for providing those courses.

39. JJ Ross, July 13, 2009:

    I’m just sayin’ — if the dad raises the concern and the judge asks what the plan is, only to get answers that don’t satisfy or worse, alarm him, home education itself (not just those particular children) are ill-served.

40. Dana Hanley, July 13, 2009:

    I’m sure she’d have similar difficulties if she were to try to explain unschooling to the judge if that were her methodology of choice. In the rare event a homeschooler ends up in court here, it always seems to be unschoolers trying to get away with not having a scope and sequence or something. Is home education ill-served because we have methodologies which don’t line up with the state’s obsession with statistics?

    How much like the state do we have to be in order to be able to be free to educate separately from its goals?

    I don’t know. But it seems a little like we’re back to making it more about us than the case itself.

    Chances are the private school they’re looking at has the same religious point of view, anyway.

41. JJ Ross, July 14, 2009:

    “. . .similar difficulties if she were to try to explain unschooling to the judge”

    No doubt. And Dana’s right that it’s like private school too. Seems to me that’s why we (all of us) need to be wary of family court judges going into reviewing specific curriculum, programs or plans and directly ruling on their relative merits or limitations.

42. Dana, July 14, 2009:

    Just everyone stay out of court and no one needs to worry. And I won’t have much to write about, but that is ok. Y’all want to hear more about my garden anyway, don’t you?

    I have more summer squash to harvest today and need to find some recipes. They’re coming in fast, now!

43. JJ Ross, July 14, 2009:

    Lol, one of our superintendent’s cabinet members — the asst supt for special ed services — used to tell me that my job supporting her was simple, just two things: keep her out of court and out of the newspapers!

44. Crimson Wife, July 14, 2009:

    Dana- I don’t know what kind of squash you’ve grown, but if it’s butternut, I highly recommend this recipe. I personally am not an olive fan, so I leave those out.

45. Dana, July 14, 2009:

    Aah! Where’s the link? I’m all for squash recipes. This is actually summer squash, but I love butternut. I’ll be buying it when it comes down in price at the store!

46. Crimson Wife, July 14, 2009:

    If homeschoolers aren’t willing to provide curriculum info in a divorce dispute over the child’s education, then the judges are going to automatically favor the parent who wants to enroll them in a traditional school. It’s like that saying of Ronald Reagan’s, “trust, but verify”. If we want judges to trust us when we say that we can educate children as well or better than a traditional school, we need to be willing to give them the information they need to verify that claim.

    And no, I definitely do not believe the government should require ALL homeschoolers to provide a curriculum for review like New York state does. That’s too intrusive to be a general requirement. Family court judges make rulings on all sorts of matters that are normally the sole domain of the parents.

47. Crimson Wife, July 14, 2009:

    Trying the moroccan squash stew link again: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aida-mollenkamp/squash-and-chickpea-moroccan-stew-recipe/index.html

48. Mrs. C, July 16, 2009:

    BTW, in that last link you provided, Dana, it mentions that the wife was a member of Francis Howell school board and withdrew when she found out how bad the schools were there. Did you know Francis Howell schools are infamous for abusing disabled people, even by Missouri’s low standards?

    http://nomoseclusion.blogspot.com/search?q=Francis+Howell

    I don’t know if she got wind of how people were routinely abused in this school district or what her reasoning was, but just FYI. Abuse is abuse. And school board members know more than the usual guy off the street about what’s really going on.

49. Pat Riota, July 25, 2009:

    It is amazing how quickly stories change and get off track.

    I am a homeschooler in St. Louis. The only reason homeschoolers in Missouri became involved in this case in the first place is because an order was written to evaluate the mother’s competency to homeschool through high school.

    This is outside the scope of the law. Had the order been, as in similar situations, to compare and contrast the homeschooling vs traditional schooling as it pertained to the best interest of the children, this case would be a normal custodial case and of no interest to the homeschooling community.

    The concern is that the seed has been planted that maybe some of us aren’t competent to teach through high school. For those lobbying to increase regulation and reporting requirements for homeschoolers this would provide them with a great example to reference when making their argument.

    There is also a concern that such a precedent could also be used by other people – like neighbors, friends, family members, doctors.., to level educational neglect claims. It need not be limited to estranged spouses.

    This is how rights are eroded. This can sometimes serve as the inpetus for legislative changes.

50. Pat Riota, July 25, 2009:

    Almost forgot.. as far as the parental rights issues are concerned….

    I think most people I have discussed the case with are actually concerned about the parental rights of both parents, not just the mother’s. It seems to me that most people are just concerned that the courts would put a gag order on parents and prohibit either one of them from discussing things with their children. One can only imagine how difficult it has been for both parents to not be able to help their children through this most difficult time. One can only imagine the stress these children must be experiencing because their own parents can discuss information about their own future with them, where they will live, where they will go to school…etc.

51. B., July 25, 2009:

    The bottom line it this Dad is a powerful Attorney and he is getting his way with the courts.

    1.The kids who are teens now and WANT TO CONTINUE HOMESCHOOLING
    2.Dad supported Homschooling the whole time prior.
    3.Lisa is an amazing Mother!
    3.The kids are being ignored because its the the answer the father “POWERFUL ATTORNEY” WANTS.

52. Pat Riota, July 25, 2009:

    Also, in one of Lisa’s talks to some homeschoolers, that I attended, she specifically mentioned by name some of the providers of her children’s outside instruction. Many of them are teachers and experts in their fields. They have private tutors and attend excellent learning centers. She indicated that the eldest is enrolled in dual enrollment classes at one of our better private universities. I wish I had enough money to offer as much to my own child.

53. b., July 25, 2009:

    PLEASE JOIN A PROTEST TO HELP SUPPORT LISA WITH THIS BATTLE.

    WHEN JULY, 28
    WHERE THE ST. CHARLES COURT HOUSE LOCATED ON 2ND STREET IN DOWNTOWN ST. CHARLES MO.
    TIME: 8:15 AM.

54. JJ Ross, July 25, 2009:

    Gosh, if you want to be credible when you say this:
    “I think most people I have discussed the case with are actually concerned about the parental rights of both parents, not just the mother’s. . .”
    then it might help not to immediately add this:

    “The bottom line it this Dad is a powerful Attorney and he is getting his way with the courts.”

55. Dana, July 25, 2009:

    Thank you for your comments, Pat. You don’t really need to convince me of her qualifications to homeschool her own children, regardless of their age or level!

    I can’t divine what the motivations of parents are in these situations. I don’t know exactly what it means that he supported homeschooling before and doesn’t now. I don’t know really what being a powerful attorney has to do with it. Do powerful attorneys not have the right to use their knowledge, wealth and power to seek what is best for their children?

    That alone is insufficient evidence to lead me to believe he is merely messing with his children’s lives.

    Like I stated in the entry, I have no problem with you guys out there supporting her. I hope the judge looks past the reflexive distrust of homeschooling to make a decision that is best for the children.

    But we also can’t lose sight of the fact that the court is being forced to make a ruling on what he thinks is best for these children. Not an enviable position for any homeschool family.

56. Brandy Pedersen, July 29, 2009:

    Lisa, was has been homeschooling her children for nearly a decade, her husband has supported this for a decade. The bottom line is the childeren are both teens and the court should listen to what they want they have rights. Those rights should be protected. Why not let the mother finish what she started. Lisa deserves your support and so do the children. The fact that her husband is an ATTORNEY, should not sland the integrity of this case. Everyone KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE on what goes on in this case. Is it going to be justice only for the powerful and rich or is it going to be JUSTICE FOR ALL!

    Brandy Pedersen

57. Dana, July 29, 2009:

    I don’t think the fact that he is an attorney should have anything to do with the case, but for some reason, B. seems to think that is a reason to oppose him.

    Personally, I agree with you if all I’ve heard/read is true. That wasn’t the point of my entry. This is a divorce case, and when we bring these things before the court, there is a chance of it turning out badly for the child. What I don’t like is trying to turn it around and make it about me and the rights of all homeschoolers.

    Divorce cases are messy, and the judge is being asked to make a decision between two people who have an equal legal and moral responsibility in the decision. Like I said in the entry, I hope he comes to that entry based on the best interests of the child, not some reflexive feeling that school is where a child belongs.

58. B, July 31, 2009:

    I was in the trial for 2 days the expert in the field of EDUCATION SAID THE KIDS SHOULD STAY IN HOME SCHOOL THEY ARE THRIVING! The kids want to continue to homeschool and the Mother is the only one for a decade who did anything about the kid’s edcuation. THE KIDS HAVE NEVER BEEN IN ANY TROUBLE AND ARE GOOD KIDS THEY HAVE RIGHTS TOO! THEY LOVE HOMESCHOOL AND THE FRIEND THEY HAVE IN HOMESCHOOL IT WOULD BE CRUEL TO FORCE THEM TO SCHOOL NOW!

59. b., July 31, 2009:

    THE NEXT COURT DATE FOR LISA NAEGER IS SET FOR AUG, 25 COME OUT TO SUPPORT HER PLEASE! YOU CAN CALL THE ST. CHARELS MO. COURT HOUSE FOR THE TIME OF THE TRIAL

60. JJ Ross, August 2, 2009:

    Shouting isn’t proof of a strong case, you know.