Kindergartener's stripper-mom in church-school flap

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Thursday, May 16, 2002

[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.

[ThinkingMan]

I'll say this, though: Buffet is a marketing genius. He's marketed the same 3 chords and repackaged that tired Southern Mullet theme to Parrotheads for years now so successfully that's he's got his own g-dam PBY.

But it's a good three cords! I suggest that you listen to his radio station on margaritaville.com for 8 hours straight- you will be assimilated!

[VRWCmember]

Why should anyone else pay for my mistake?

Because one of the sad facts of life is that sometimes your mistakes affect others, especially those closest to you. How about this counter-question: Why should the rest of us pay for your child's (or brother's, sister's, mom's, uncle's, cousin's, etc) avoidance of paying for your mistake?

[Hemingway's Ghost]

I think you got the winner. GOD that song was GAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY.

I counter with:

Goodbye my friend it's hard to die. When all the birds are singing in the sky. Now that the spring is in the air Pretty girls are everywhere. Think of me and I'll be there. We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun . . .

[malakhi]

Of course they did. They taught her child, didn't they?

But isn't it tainted money? By taking it, they are taking dollars stuffed into her g-string by lustful men drunk on demon rum.

[Don Myers]

"Exactly. Of course, she probably has no skills at all."

Many modern, young, liberated women of today are finding out that their best skills and interests are horizontal in nature, and they start at a very young age.

[TxBec]

thank you. I do transcription out of my home and make a decent living.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

But it's a good three cords! I suggest that you listen to his radio station on margaritaville.com for 8 hours straight- you will be stripped of the ability to enjoy life in any meaningful way until you die!

[GADIST64]

Being afraid to socialize with the rest of the world isn't the issue. Jesus had dinner with the people who had jobs that were considered wrong (like the job that this mother has) but he told them what they were doing is wrong and offered to help them. If it were a matter of myself coming into contact with a person who had a job that i disagreed with , it would not be a big deal....However, I should be able to control some of the influences that are placed around my children until they can differentiate for themselves what is acceptable or unaceptable. If I lived in San Francisco, I would not want my child to be exposed to rainbow sex education. I should be able to send him to a school that teaches the philosophy that I agree with, and I would expect that school to uphold the same rules for me and my child as every other parent and child at that school.

[ksen]

Does the school then have the right to exclude ANY occupation they disagree with?

Since it is a private school I would think they can discriminate based upon whatever criteria they choose, so long as it was not illegal to do so.

Say Criminal Defense Attorneys ?

LOL, we can only hope so.

-Kevin

[patent]

So I'm assuming that y'all are throwing out children when it comes to your attention that a parent has engaged in adultery? Or if an unmarried parent becomes pregnant via fornication? Or someone lies under oath, or is charged with a crime?

You seem to have invested a great deal of emotion in this discussion, but you are forgetting a great deal here. “For all have sinned.” We have all fallen short at times, you, me, this pastor, this woman. I doubt this pastor is throwing children out because a parent has sinned once, etc. In fact, they did not do that to this woman, did they? They called her in, worked with her, tried to financially help her.

Go and sin no more. But she refused to change. It would not surprise me if the school did throw out a parent who publicly lived as an unrepentant adulterer, but would not throw out one who committed adultery and then repented. Same with her, if she had repented they made it clear they would work with her.

As to your argument at the top of the thread that they should have replaced her salary as a stripper, are you serious? Why? You enroll a kid in a school, then go get a job of the sort you know the school made you promise not to get, and you then expect them to pay your full salary?

How about if you become a drug dealer after enrolling your kid? Should they replace that salary too?
Used her computer to produce virtual child porn? (Hey! It’s legal now, right!)
A bank robber?
A patent lawyer?

Why should the “offer her a job at similar wages?” How is a poor Christian example or witness not to do this, and what tenet of Christian theology, or what verse from the Bible requires a Christian to replaces someone’s high wages from a sinful lifestyle? They tried to help, but they have no obligation, moral or otherwise, to pay wages like that.

Aren't those biblical principles, or are we picking and choosing?

What Biblical principles?

patent

[ThinkingMan]

"We nearly shot him" What if he had put up a pink fence with sparkles while listening to it- I bet you WOULD have shot him! :)

[ksen]

And as Pastor Cole carries his deposits in, singing "what a friend we have in Jesus" in his car (a large sedan, no doubt), you think that month of free tuition means diddly?

Nice, very nice.

Cheap, chiseling creeps like him who pretend they're holy really hack me off.

How do you know he is pretending? Maybe he really believes it when God says to "Be ye holy, for I am holy."

Do you think he actually said anything to the child?

I have no reason to believe that he didn't say anything to the child. What makes you think he didn't?

Or was he a gutless worm like so many of 'em?

Maybe we should make "'em" sew yellow crosses on their clothes so we will know who to stay away from.

-Kevin

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Someone posted a picture of Strippy on a duplicate thread.

here

In my humble opinion, she looks gorgeous. But I reserve the right of retraction until I can see her nekkid.

[TopQuark]

Would Jesus have expelled the child? Maybe not, but the rest of mankind has different capabilities. I read this merely as the school trying to protect the rest of the students.

[ksen]

All too often, I see a trend by people to want to do business with other self-procaimed "christians" only (that that that is any guarantee that you won't get screwed - anecdotally I can say that you're more apt to get screwed - but that is a different subject).

I have to agree with you there. I am also leery of doing business with someone who says I should do business with them just because they say they are Christian.

-Kevin

[ksen]

I bet the school still cashed her tuition checks.

I'm sure they did to, as long as they didn't know she was a stripper. We don't know what happened after they found out.

-Kevin

[flyervet]

Sounds like you're a big fan of Javert, eh?

Look at it this way: if your child's health and welfare were on the line, would you be more inclined to give in to the temptation to steal?

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Link to the story in the Sacramento Bee, which has pictures and more info.

[ksen]

There are more details to this story than the press is reporting.

*GASP!*

-Kevin

[Centurion2000]

bump