Posted on 12/20/2007 3:33:41 AM PST by Man50D
A Utah woman who was ordered by a juvenile court judge to enroll her children in public school or lose custody of them has abandoned her home, furniture and other possessions to escape the order.
Denise Mafi, a nine-year veteran of homeschooling, has confirmed to WND she and her children packed up their essentials – clothes and homeschool materials – and fled Utah over the weekend, spending more than 50 hours on a bus trip to another undisclosed part of the country.
There she has obtained an empty home, and is spending the Christmas break trying to find beds for her children and herself, and after the New Year, will involve the children in a local homeschooling process.
"We're shampooing carpets right now. We have no furniture. We have no beds," she said. "But my kids are not going to public school. They are not going where Jesus isn't welcome."
Her home, furniture and other possessions left behind in Utah? "I'm not going back unless the judge removes the threat of arrest," she said. "I'll fight for the cause but I'm not going to be a martyr."
The case erupted for Mafi because of an apparent paperwork glitch that could very well be the fault of her local school district. Now Utah home school officials say they have asked the state Legislature to review actions by the judge, whose office has declined comment to WND.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Judges Gone Wild
She has reported, and her recollection of events has been confirmed by attorneys, that (Judge) Johansen told her homeschooling fails 100 percent of the time and he would not allow it.
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Man in black is a big dope!
Our Gestapo wear black robes.
Where is the children’s father?
“””So when she went to court with her juvenile son to have the charges dismissed (under a case held in abeyance procedure) stemming from a clash among children, she suddenly was presented with four counts against her for failing to comply with the state’s compulsory education requirement.”””
Sorry, but when juvenile deliquents get brought before a judge in juvenile court the first thing the judge does is look at their school attendance record (cause surprise surprise, they see a link between high absentee rate and deliquency).
So he finds they are “homeschooled” and the District can’t produce an affidavit from mom that states what her curriculum for the school year will be. So give them your copy mom.
There is a whole heck of a lot more to this story than what WND is spinning it as here. I think it should be noted that her oldest was in juvenile court, to which the judge ordered him to school. Mom instead took the kids and fleed. This isn’t about homeschooling anymore. Her son is going to be taken away, and could face juvenile detention.
What a mess.
This is an idea that anyone who lives in New Jersey has at least considered briefly. Best of luck to her and her kids.
This judge is a juvenile court judge, so in his experience he could very well be speaking the truth (being that the cohort of homeschooled children he sees are the ones who have broken the law).
If it weren’t for the fact that the public schools are so wretched, I would say that some incompetent homeschoolers should be ordered to send their kids to public schools. But as it is, no matter how bad the homeschool mom or dad, complaints by public education officials at best rise to the level of the pot calling the kettle black.
Then his words should have been “In my experience.....homeschooling fails 100 percent of the time and he would not allow it.<<
This man has no idea how tremendously uninformed and outright ridiculous he sounds.
I agree, there is more to this case but lets face it, the judge gave the fodder they needed to spin it this way.
The Heisman trophy winner (college football) was home schooled, btw
I support homeschooling (my own kids had it)), but there is a small subset of hoomeschoolers who are really “can’t be bothereds” or ‘ “I’ll mistreat my kids any way I want’s”
They mess it up for the rest of us.
Most homeschool programs are accepted if you can show "progress" .... if last year you learned common monomials .. amd this year you intend to teach Johnnie common binomials ... THAT'S progress .. and the curriculum is accepted.
We were evaluated by a (usually) church lady, sympathetic to homeschooling, and accredited by the gummint school system, every year and there was never a problem.
That's a nice little tidbit that somehow got left out of the story. It isn't quite the same story with this in it.
Hmmmmmmm
A “nine-year veteran of homeschooling”? And, this is the first substantive issue with one of the children?
Does Utah have testing requirements that this woman’s children must meet, like kids in other schooling environments? Standardized tests at grade level? If so, how did these youngsters do on the tests? That should represent evidence in contrast to the judge’s ridiculous statement(s).
Also, if she has been at this for nine years, it would seem reasonable that she would know what’s required in re state mandated reports and plans. She has been engaged with two home schooling organizations (at least since this issue has come up), so she has some resources available.
It seems to me that there is much more to this story than we are seeing...
He must have missed the Heisman Trophy presentation!
One of my sons Friends is home schooled and is now taking courses at a local College at the age of 15.
Five of my nieces and nephews are homeschooled....and they are way ahead of their grade counterparts at any public or private school.
I should note, that, they are taught by college-educated parents....although many of their fellow HS parents do quite well w their kids without any college.
One of my nieces decided to try a public high school for the start of her senior season. It drove her nuts....they were way behind on subject matter in advanced classes (this was a HS in a more-affluent area of Orlando)...and couldnt find her a desk to sit at in some of the classes. Needless to say, she returned to homeschool.
I am sure there are some homeschoolers who are substandard...but overall homeschool kids are way ahead of the public and private school kids.
Oh, and someone beat me to it already....the recent Heisman winner was homeschooled
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