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.
Whaddya say we go to Hooters and get some lunch before this crowd tries to close that down too.
If they were the evil hypocritical illegitimo you seem to want to believe they are, they wouldn't have made the offer in the first place. They have no responsibility to either educate her child just because she hands them tuition in neatly folded bills or find her a decent line of work to keep her same standard of living. It's a sleazy, tawdry profession she chose, which she knew -- unless, of course, she is a complete idiot -- that she had to keep secret to avoid just this kind of situation.
Suffice it to say, that while I wouldn't have wanted to bring a Porn Actress home to meet Mom (potentially too many diseases), I'd have absolutely no issue with a Nude Dancer.
Simply being a Nude Dancer does not by Default make the Lady a Slut, a Whore, or a Porn "Actress". Let's face it, in Today's economy, even if you have a good job skill set, it can be difficult to support a Family. Try being a Single Mother, with a limited job skill set, but a great Body. Would she really be better off doing a 40 hour week slinging Burgers, for minimum wage, OR doing a 20 hour week making a considerable amount more money for simply Dancing Naked?
Quite Frankly, with the amount of Strip Clubs in this Country, and the vast number of women who perform in them, my guess is you've probably run across more than one who put herself through College doing it. And considering your viewpoints, can you say it's surprising that they wouldn't have mentioned it to you?
And what's the crime in doing it? So far, the only thing I can see that this Lady did wrong was letting these Fundi Web Surfers push her around. They aren't accusing her of Hosing down the customers, just taking off her clothes. So What?
Have you ever been in a Strip Club? Ever put a dollar up on the Bar? (Don't Lie now, that's a Sin too, remember)
Do you know that's how they found out, or are you just making things up?
They did offer to provide her help (the nature of this help may have included some job offers).
I don't have a problem with the private school's having their own rules, honestly. It does seem to me that the mother is trying, though, and cares about her daughter to have placed her in a christian environment.
Of course, the kids always pay, and why should good christians be any different?
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