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.
So I guess Pat Robertson's wifey poo is screwed then (as many pastor's wives would be). She wears gold. And I don't see anything in that passage that says: *Note* Gold wedding band excluded.
But we'all will jest shuffle off to the back of the bus and keep real quiet. We'll try not to look up and make eye contact with Your Highness, massir.
Please don' beat me no mo'. I'll try to be good, boss.
But your "mean spirited and uncompassionate moral condemnation of people" is OK because you don't invoke the name of Christ, I suppose?
You're proving my other point about you: It's Christianity you're taking aim against, not just Christians.
You're having a definite comprehension problem.
If you'll bring the margaritas, I'll bring the glasses.
If sfgate.com's article is accurate, she's extremely confused!
"I'm not proud of (my job) but I'm proud of why I'm doing it, and that's for my daughter," Silvas said. "I'm in agreement with (head Pastor Rick Cole of Capital Christian Center) that this is not God's plan for my line of work. But this is something I'm doing for a reason."
Silvas said she took the job at Gold Club Centerfolds about a year ago when her daughter's father stopped paying his half of the school's tuition. Faced with having to cover the $400-a-month tuition herself, Silvas turned to stripping and quit her real estate job.(over having to pay $200 tuition?)
There's a lot of single moms who do what I do," Silvas said. "The money is good. I can work three days a week and make the equivalent plus a little more in a 9-to-5 job five days a week." (So to have 2 days a week off, you decided to strip?)
"I've always been extremely sensitive to the fact that a lot of people, especially those in the church, wouldn't agree . . ., so I kept it to myself," Silvas said. "And now everybody knows."(But she took it to the media, not the church.)
Silvas said she understood why church officials feel the way they do and that she would be willing to look for another job over the summer if the school would let her daughter finish kindergarten.
"I don't want to come off like I'm bashing the church, although I feel that they have let me down," Silvas said. "If they could just make it a goal that when it's time for my daughter to start first grade I'll find a new job, that way I could look for something that is a good fit."
She quit her REAL ESTATE job!
There's a lot of single moms who do what I do," Silvas said. "The money is good. I can work three days a week and make the equivalent plus a little more in a 9-to-5 job five days a week." (So to have 2 days a week off, you decided to strip?)
If you are scraping by, 200 dollars more a month can be quite alot. It is not 2 days a week it is 4 or most of the week. Yes that is a big deal for a single mother with a young child.
I noticed her detracters refuse to admit that she is trying to do more for her daughter than probably most conservatives here at FR.
How on earth do you justify such an asinine assertion.
Have you never learned to distinquish the difference between "thinking" and "wishful thinking."
"… they counseled the mom …"
I wonder if the counseling included how to obtain employment that paid as well, or was it just a condemnation of the "sin" of stripping.
Who said anything about the child hurting anyone? The whole point here is that when the word inevitably gets out what her mother does for a living, that child could BE hurt...It is a distraction from learning for her and the students around her that she doesn't deserve to have to deal with and it wouldn't be a bit different if she were in a public school (maybe worse).
Kids will be kids...CRUEL to other kids because that is their nature. They haven't learned to handle themselves as adults yet.
The child told in open class what her mom did.
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