Homeschoolers shouldn’t miss this article, if ever doubting their home education decision.  We don’t have to wonder why homeschooling is increasing.

The Daily Policy Journal‘s unschooler-on-the-job reports about some Idaho, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Oregon school activities:

What Homeschoolers Are Missing Out On Lately

In Turner, Oregon, an elementary school perpetrated on the helpless, impressionable young children carelessly left in its custody what can only be described as an act of unmitigated terrorism.

The post offers other stark examples of what homeschoolers miss out on in the public schools.  That school socialization just isn’t worth it.

A teen boy in Missouri was taken out of school in September of 2012, reportedly to homeschool. He was found in a cold basement, handcuffed to a pole, lying on the concrete floor, with few blankets.  Claiming to homeschool as this one family did, while an overwhelming number of homeschoolers serve in the role of educating and nurturing their children, should not be a call for increased homeschool regulations.

The police report describes the stark conditions, along with the frightened and emaciated state of the boy.

As of now, no charges have been filed.  KSHB‘s reporter, Sarah Hollenbeck, discovered this family has been in the Juvenile Court in the past.

Gremli also said this family has been in Clay County Juvenile Court before where they argued that their son, who has developmental disabilities, was “problematic” and abusive to his stepmother. Gremli said on two occasions the state offered help to the family, but the boy’s father and stepmother in his opinion didn’t seem very open to dedicating their time to the programs.

It seems the father should have taken the time, along with the offered help. Reading the news acounts of the boy’s living circumstances, it appears many warnings were out there well before September.

The Kansas City Star‘s reporter,  Christine Vendel, talked to the neighbors:

 About four months ago, neighbors stopped seeing him. One caught a glimpse of him, pale and frail, taking out the trash. That neighbor had heard the teen was going to move in with his mother soon, and that the teen wasn’t attending school anymore because he would run away instead of returning home after school. A relative told that neighbor that the family restrained the teen because the teen “attacked” the stepmother and ate raw meat out of the trash can.

As always seems to happen in cases like this, the need for more homeschooling regulations pops up. Actually, I’m wondering if the question regarding more monitoring of homeschoolers was only raised by KSHB [Abuse case raises concerns about homeschooling].  But they did speak with homeschoolers.  I should note the interviewed homeschoolers were at Skate City, not in the basement.

According to this news report from New Jersey: “Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle will introduce legislation to regulate the home schooling of children. This comes on the heels of a recent investigation by the State Department Of Children And Families into the tragic may death of eight-year old Christiana Glenn of Irvington.

“Christiana died of malnutrition and an untreated broken leg. She was also supposedly home schooled. Vanieri Huttle’s bill would require medical exams and submission of student work portfolios for home-schooled children. It would also prohibit children under the supervision of DYFS from being home-schooled.”

Discussion of this potential leglislation is under discussion at the HEM Networking group, a free forum for homeschoolers prodvided by Home Education Magazine: “This bill is bad. Public school students are not required to undergo medical exams. Furthermore, there has been no evidence that homeschoolers in NJ are not doing a good job and that they suddenly need supervision by the public schools.”

In a contribution to the HEM-Networking group discussion, former HEM News & Commentary editor Valerie Moon shared a link to author Milton Gaither’s review of Timothy B. Waddell’s “Bringing it all Back Home: Establishing a Coherent Constitutional Framework for the Re-Regulation of Homeschooling” in Vanderbilt Law Review. Waddell, a recent graduate from Vanderbilt Law School and now a clerk for the U.S. District Court of Alabama, here presents a constitutional argument for increased regulation of homeschooling and much else besides.

Valerie shared this excerpt from Gaither’s review:

“As my summary indicates, I really liked this piece. It is the last of a long list of legal articles I’ve reviewed over the past few weeks, and it is the best of the lot in my view. John Holt wouldn’t like it because in his view it was always better to have things unclear than clear, for then you could get away with more. But I for one appreciated not only Waddell’s summary of the issues but his proposal as well. I know some of my readers will react strongly against what I’m about to say, but Waddell’s proposal to me does a good job of maintaining the freedom to homeschool while at the same time providing a mechanism for catching children whose parents are being abusive or neglectful. A homeschooling family that is doing its job should have no fear of outside evaluation–should welcome it in fact, as it will demonstrate to the public at large how effective homeschooling can be.”

This underscores a longstanding concern we’ve had with Gaither’s position on homeschooling, as he deliberately frames John Holt’s pioneering work for homeschooling freedoms in an unfavorable light, while dangerously welcoming government oversight of families.

CBS News’ Political Hotsheet has an article about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child:

31 GOP Senators Oppose U.N. Children’s Rights Convention
by Brian Montopoli – 36 comments

Thirty-one Republican senators are cosponsoring a resolution opposing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to the conservative group ParentalRights.org, which is pushing the resolution.

The resolution, which you can read here, states that the convention “undermines traditional principles” of U.S. law and calls efforts to sign on to the treaty “contrary to principles of self-government and federalism.” It says the convention should not be put before the Senate for a vote.

As Mother Jones reports, the legally-binding U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child was issued in 1989 to establish rights across country lines for citizens under the age of 18. The only members of the U.N. not to have signed on are the U.S. and Somalia, though the latter plans to ratify it this year.

American conservatives have long opposed ratification out of fear that it will impinge on their right to raise their children as they see fit. Among the complaints on the ParentalRights.org website, which is led by homeschooling advocate Michael Farris, is that under the treaty parents “would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings” to their kids.

Continue reading this article at the link above, and note the lengthy and informative comments at the end of the article.

Homeschooler Jamie Rhodes has her Viewpoint published:

Parents choose to homeschool for a variety of reasons by Jamie Rhodes.

This is in response to the editorial, article and letters calling for stricter homeschool guidelines and laws. There are many points of view, however the general theme seems to be that public institutions offer a place where children can be monitored for abuse. Where they will receive proper nutrition and guidance. Where they can make friends and be properly socialized.

In the Calista Springer trial, a basis for a lot of these claims, she was in public school for many years. The school reported the problems they saw. The state dropped the ball.

I am the parent of children with special needs. One of them has pervasive developmental disorder — not otherwise specified, the same diagnosis as Calista Springer. I know first-hand what it is like to parent a child like this.

~~~
It hurts my heart what happened to Calista. I understand the difficulties her parents had in raising her. I also understand the extremes they went to were, in fact, abusive. However, confusing the lack of follow through from the state and how it failed to help Calista with the fact that she was homeschooled shouldn’t be taking place.

The tragic story of Calista Springer, on many levels, is similar to what is happening in the UK where authorities tried to blame homeschooling for the death of a child.

The issue is not going away, and with the likes of Michael Pearl’s teaching in our midst, we can be almost certain of it. Jamie Rhodes courageously presents a calm, reasoned response based on personal experience, and she should be applauded. We need more strong voices speaking up against child abuse.

Mommy Life – Growing outrage at Michael Pearl and his response to child’s death

I think it’s a scandal when a man who last year raked in 1.8 million from Christian parents sincerely seeking to improve their parenting skills is revealed to be a man of pride, arrogance, and contempt for others.

Michael Pearl himself escalated this into a scandal by his reaction to criticism, which revealed his true heart.

Come, Weary Moms! – Child Discipline or Child Abuse?

Much of this is the result of very misguided or overwhelmed parents trying to implement “Biblical” discipline in their homes. THIS IS NOT BIBLICAL DISCIPLINE AND IT MUST STOP! As compassionate Christians and as a home schooling community, we must have ZERO tolerance for abusive parenting. If we seriously want to preserve the abundant liberties we enjoy as home schooling families, we’re going to have to make sure that our movement is not characterized by such aberrant behavior.

thatmom.com – so does Michael Pearl bear any responsibility for the death of Lydia Schatz?

Michael Pearl’s ideas have consequences. He told his readers that he recommended that children be disciplined with a piece of 1/4″ plumbing supply line and that the Bible says it is to be used on the back, which he defines as “anywhere from the shoulders down to the feet”, even telling parents that “the small of the back down to the thighs is the most effective.” Lydia Shatz received just such a beating before her death; her sister received kidney damage as a result of the same method of “child training.”

Don’t tell me Michael Pearl bears no responsibility.

Comment at PATH – Mimi Rothschild

Often we can know more about someone from what they do not do. In this case, I have read no statement from the Pearl’s about the tragic loss of Lydia Shatz and the injuries sustained by her sister. By failing to do so weeks after the child’s death, they display a callousness and lack of love that is repulsive to me.

~~
I hope that the Christian homeschooling community will continue to speak out against this outrageous teaching and its founders so that no more child suffer as Michael and Debi Pearl’s twisted heresy.

Contending with the Culture – Tragedy in a homeschooling family

The parents must answer for what they have done. And those who taught them that this was an acceptable manner of discipline must answer for what they have taught.

You have probably read the text of Michael Pearl’s Laughing Note on Facebook, “It has come to my attention that a vocal few are decrying our sensible application of the Biblical rod in training up our children. I laugh at my caustic critics, for our properly spanked and trained children grow to maturity in great peace and love”

The content of the fb Note is significantly different than the website statement Neither bother to mention Lydia Schatz’s death – no mention, no sadness, no remorse.

Some reaction:

Mommy Life – Michael Pearl laughs at his critics, no apologies for dead children

What an arrogant man! As a mother of 12, ages 9-41 (all very accomplished and emotionally healthy) and grandmother of 12 (all homeschooled), I laugh at Michael Pearl that he finds the world divided into those raised according to his rigid program and those raised with grace (failures all, in his eyes) .

But I’m not laughing that so many people have been fooled into believing this is a good Christian leader. Not a word of remorse about the plumber tubing! Not a word of remorse about two dead children!

For shame!

No Longer Quivering – No Laughing Matter: Michael Pearl & His Chicken Mock Critics

Holy shit! ~ I am having difficulty finding words to express the anger ~ the fury ~ which I felt rising up within me as I read Pearl’s utterly preposterous claim that children raised according to his methods will be sharing the message of God’s love. Pardon my French, but ~ WTF?!!

Quite Garden – Michael Pearl Responds

His closing zinger:

“Even my chickens are laughing . . . well, actually it more like cackling, because they just laid another organic egg for my breakfast and they know that it was that same piece of 1/4inch plastic supply line that trained the dogs not to eat chicken….”

I’m not kidding. That’s an apparently genuine response posted on the ministry’s blog.

Water Lilly – Michael Pearl Laughs at Critics

Releasing the… statement with its dismissive tone is unbelievable. It speaks to an arrogance that defies Christian comprehension, mercy, grace, and humility.

The content also defies comprehension, but I’m not sure my brain has quite processed all the claims made above. I will probably have to come back to that another day.

Sweeping the cobwebs – Pearl Laughing All the Way to the Bank

What is it called when you make millions of dollars advocating abuse? Blood money.

And finally from To Train Up A Child

Get your own copy of TO TRAIN UP A CHILD and find out what all the squawking is about.

Paradise Post reported on Feb. 18th that the Butte County District Attorney’s Office was examining the ministry, No Greater Joy Ministry in connection to 7 year-old Lydia Schatz’s death. The Paradise Post has recently published a follow up piece, Questions about ministry grow, the district attorney talks of Michael and Debi Pearl and their No Greater Joy Ministry:

In addition to the quarter-inch plumbing supply line, District Attorney Ramsey said he now has evidence that is a direct connection between the Schatz case and the teaching of the Pearls and No Greater Joy Ministry. However, he would not disclose the evidence at this time. It is unlikely however, that the Pearls or their ministry would be, or could be, held accountable in any legal sense.

Ramsey doesn’t believe such a charge “would fly.” He says the Pearls have specifically warned its followers against hitting children, or spanking in any way that severely injures children – which the Schatzes are accused of doing. They also warn parents not to spank their children in anger.

Even if the Pearl’s can’t be held legally accountable Muse Mama is bringing back the boycott:

I am asking that other parents join in another Boycott. But I think we need to go a bit further than just our blogs. I think we need to talk to our Pastors, write letters to our Homeschool organizations, write local talk radio hosts who might discuss it, and talk to other parents. We have to get the word out that these methods don’t place the rod of discipline in parents hands, but a loaded gun. If parents follow these instructions to the letter, it is a manual for child abuse.

In the May 5th, 2004 edition of the NewsComm Newsletter, Editor Ann Lahrson Fisher, wrote:

Because homeschoolers are routinely stereotyped by the behaviors of a tiny minority, homeschooling freedoms for all may be endangered. Can homeschoolers who decry the whipping of children afford NOT to speak out against this antiquated child rearing practice?

And if the media comes knocking, hoping for another horror story for the Dark Side of Homeschooling Part 3 – Baby Whipping, just what are we going to say to them if we don’t stand up against using this device?

I recommend you read the voices of these strong Christian women:

in which I discuss the unthinkable

Senseless Deception

The Pearls, abuse and a false gospel

Vulnerable, To Abuse

How many children must die before Mike & Debi Pearl are held accountable?

When Parenting Kills – What Can We Do?

Another sickening case of abuse, this time in the local news in California:

[E]vidence suggests the girl who died was being disciplined “for hours” last Friday in the parent’s bedroom for mispronouncing a word during a home-school reading lesson.

When police searched the family’s Crestwood Drive residence, they took a photograph of a 15-inch length of tubing lying on the parents’ bed next to a children’s book about a frog and a toad, which Ramsey said the deceased youngster had been reading from.

“a 15-inch length of tubing lying on the parents’ bed next to a children’s book about a frog and a toad.” Time for some soul-searching.

Read the entire report here:

Paradise couple face murder, torture charges in death of daughter – Oroville Mercury Register.

Other coverage:

DA links fundamentalist “training” to Paradise girl’s death – Chico Enterprise Record.

Christian Parents Biblically Beat Child to Death for Mispronouncing Word – Paliban Daily.

Healthy people don’t use homeschooling as an excuse to abuse their children – Appeal-Democrat.

The Associated Press has picked up on an abuse case involving “home-schooling”:

PHOENIX — Authorities say a grand jury has indicted a Phoenix couple on child abuse charges involving their 14-year-old daughter.

Police say the malnourished girl was locked in a bathroom without running water for two months, beaten with metal rods and forced to exercise until exhaustion because her father said she had stolen food and cheated on a home-school test.

The ‘news’ in this post is that the AP has picked up this story. Expect another round of anti-homeschooling fervor.

Homeschooling has been implicated in abuse and HEM has covered abuse cases in the past. Abuse is abuse, and, as in this case, it is a shocking, sad thing. I will, once again, ask the larger hard question – Who is encouraging these families to torture their kids? They need to be called out.

~~

Some more thoughts:
Two Recent Custody Cases involving Homeschooling

Thoughtful speculation:
Are Scott and Andrea Bass a Quiverfull couple?

HEM is running a piece on neglect and abuse laws in our upcoming March-April 2010 issue.