Posted on 05/16/2002 2:29:30 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
A private Christian school and a kindergartener's mother who stripteases for a living are quickly becoming the focus of the latest debate on religious freedom.
Officials of Capital Christian School in Sacramento, Calif., discovered that what they thought had been a private meeting with a mother of a kindergartner who violated her commitment to school policy had become a news story on the local CBS affiliate KOVR.
The story first came to the attention of WorldNetDaily when WND columnist Rebecca Hagelin was invited Wednesday morning to discuss the issue on CNN's popular afternoon talk show "Talk Back Live." The only information circulating at the time was a brief description of a broadcast report filed by KOVR-TV which broke the story late Tuesday evening.
The summary blurb summed up the story this way: "A mother says her daughter is getting expelled from kindergarten because mom is a part-time stripper. This is about a five-year-old girl who attends Capital Christian School in Sacramento. But her mother says when the school found out she was an exotic dancer they told her she had one week to get her daughter out of their school."
Since the school's position was entirely absent from the report, Hagelin contacted the pastor of Capital Christian Church, the sponsoring church of the school. Senior Pastor Rick Cole was clearly disturbed by the events and reluctant to discuss details. Cole did, however, agree to provide certain facts about the case that had not been disclosed by the mother when she contacted the local television station about the situation.
Although Cole did not reveal the identity of the mother or child, WND subsequently learned their identities from KOVR-TV reporter George Franco, but has opted not to disclose the names to protect the child's privacy.
Hagelin reported the other side of the story during her appearance on CNN yesterday.
"By air time Wednesday afternoon, I had secured two interviews with pastor Cole from my car phone," she said. "His greatest concern and reluctance to speak came from his desire to protect the mother and her daughter." Given that only part of the story had become national news, she added, Cole thought it important provide the rest of the story.
Cole explained that recently school officials had become aware that the mother in question works as a part-time strip-teaser dancer at a local club. Since her occupation is in violation of an agreement with and commitment to the school philosophy that parents must sign before the children are admitted to school, school officials, including Cole met the mother.
Not wanting to divulge the personal and confidential details of the conversation with the mother, Cole only briefly outlined the details of the offer officials had made the mother -- which had been left out of previous news stories.
"The school offered to waive the last month's tuition for the student so the young girl could remain in school to the end of the year if the mother would quit her job as a strip-tease dancer. They also offered to support the mother and walk 'hand in hand' with her as she worked through the spiritual issues involved and sought to better her life," said Hagelin. "The pastor believed that the meeting had been well-received by the mother, but the next thing he knew he was getting calls from the local media. I found Pastor Cole to be clearly upset that his efforts to help a woman in a very bad situation were not successful."
As a requirement for admission, parents of prospective students must sign a "commitment" to support the philosophy of the school. That philosophy, in part, reads: "Emphasis is placed on learning about God and the truths of God's Word in relationship to man and his world; recognizing that the way to God comes through personal faith in Jesus Christ; and Christian maturity comes by application of the truths of the Bible in all areas of life." In signing the document, parents agree to maintain a "partnership" with the school "regarding the standards and criteria of a Christian learning structure that involves the entire family."
"Although school officials see the mother's job as a stripper as a clear violation of her signed commitment, automatic termination of the relationship was not an option for them," said Hagelin. "The pastor and school attempted to help the mother better her life, and offered her both financial, spiritual and emotional support."
In Hagelin's interview with the pastor, he described how the role of the school differed somewhat from that of the church. While the church has open arms to all who wish to attend, he discussed how essential parental commitment is to the success of a school of 1,200 students that seeks to provide both high academic and spiritual standards for each and every student, noted Hagelin.
Reporter George Franco of KOVR told Hagelin that the mother has retained legal counsel and is considering filing a motion for an immediate injunction to have the child remain in school while the mother continues to work as a stripper.
Thank you for saying so. I work four jobs (my full-time job and three part-time, seasonal jobs) to help put my son through Christian school.
That said, I find the school's position hard to take. Jesus said, "suffer the little children to come unto me". He didn't add, "but only if you like what their parents do for a living."
Yes, Jesus would have told the mother to "go and sin no more". But He also wouldn't punish the child for the sins of the mother.
1) Does the school have a right to kick out the child. Yes. It's a private school.
2) Should the school kick out the child. I don't think they should. I think that keeping the child in school will help make a great witness to the mother, and hopefully the mother will decided to change her lifestyle. If there really is a problem with the child, then that is another story. I wouldn't want a child with bad language or behavior around the other 5 year olds.
Jesus would say "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone," and then he would turn to the woman and say "Go, and sin no more."
The hostility and name-calling toward the school officials that I have seen on this thread is really misplaced. The mother signed an agreement in order for her child to attend this school; she violated it. For the child to continue to attend the school, the mother needs to get in compliance with the agreement she signed or take the child somewhere else. The school has tried to accommodate her and help her, but instead she decides to take it to the courts and to the court of public opinion via a forum (Kalifornia TV media) that is openly hostile toward anything Christian anyway.
Actually, the churches I've been in would go the extra mile to help this woman if she were willing to forego her lifestyle. Good churches--and there are plenty of them--are not the judgmental goody-two-shoe-types everyone seems to ascribe to them. The men and women of many churches are very well aware of the dangers of the world, especially sexual temptation of every kind, and will give a lot to help someone come out of it. But she isn't appealing for this type of help, is she? She is digging her heels in and saying that she will not change and is looking for assistance to confirm her choice. That's what the church will not do, nor should it!
Hmmmm, you mean do the Christian thing...
btw...speaking of "Hemingway"(huh?), every time I see your name I think of a t-shirt my husband got at Sloppy Joe's in Key West. It was a picture of Hemingway...but oddly, after a few washings...a small hole appeared in his head. No kidding. I loved that t-shirt and wore it until it fell apart....always thought the 'hole-in-the-head' thing was weird.
I can't imagine anyone here thinking that daycare is good for kids.
But....You left one thing out.
The Child.
Yeah, could you imagine a "show and tell" project for this kid? No, really, the kid is not responsible, however the mother does have a governance over the kid that the school has to deal/interact with ultimately. The school has every right to view it is affected, since it is not merely a lone child, but a child who brings to school an alliance with the mother that is made of a diverse background that is over-imaginative, to say the least, and obviously found unacceptable to the constitution of the school.
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