| Judge: Controversial home-school ruling hinged on mother's church |
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| By Bob Allen | |
| Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | |
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RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) -- A North Carolina judge, whose recent ruling that a home-schooling mother must send her three children to public school stirred national controversy, said in a written order March 17 that his decision was based largely on concern that the woman's church is a dangerous cult. Controversy erupted after Wake County Judge Ned Mangum ruled in a divorce case March 6 that Venessa Mills of Raleigh, N.C., must stop home schooling her children and send them to public school. A March 11 story on the conservative website WorldNetDaily.com quoted Mangum as saying the mother had done a good job at home schooling, but it is time for the children to have a "more well-rounded education" in public school. The order outraged home-school advocates, who said it violated her parental rights. A friend of the mother, and a home-schooling mother of four, started a website called Homeschool Injustice to urge supporters to pressure public officials to have Mangum removed from the case. The story appeared in the Raleigh News & Observer, gained the attention of Focus on the Family's CitizenLink action center and earned a link in the March 13 Drudge Report. The editor of the North Carolina Baptist newspaper weighed in March 12 with a blog saying the ruling "raises the warning hackles of home-schooling families the nation over." "I am not one who sees the tentacles of government under every bed, but home schooling has been proven a solid, effective and character-building method of education for the past generation," wrote Biblical Recorder Editor Norman Jameson. Jameson said parents are the best judges of how to educate their children and described Mangum's order as "scary stuff." In his written court order, however, the judge said the two parents disagree about the children's education, leaving it up to the court to decide what is in the best interest of the minors. Mangum said Thomas and Venessa Mills were happily married for many years, but the relationship began to change in 2005 when she left the church they attended together to join the Sound Doctrine Church, a Washington state group that witnesses described in sworn affidavits as a "cult." One witness, a former member of the Sound Doctrine Church, told the court the group is run by fear and manipulation and is not a healthy place for children to grow up. An online tract for the Sound Doctrine Church says what most churches have is not love, but rather "a thin veneer of polished flattery and token socializing." "In order for Jesus to give life to our Bible studies, we must allow him to drive nails into our hands and feet," wrote former Sound Doctrine pastor Timothy Williams. "We must permit our very hearts and lives to be taken. If you are not willing to allow this to happen concerning your understanding of the Bible -- indeed, in everything you think you understand -- then you will not enjoy the love at Sound Doctrine Church." Robyn Williams, the blogger who worked to mobilize support for Venessa Mills, said the wording of the final order is "substantially different" from the judge's earlier verbal ruling and attempted to "destroy the character and credibility" of the mother. "The whole order is blatantly intended to shift the focus away from the issues of justice regarding home schooling, financial support, and adultery -- and instead use 'shock and awe' tactics to pull attention into a mudslinging free-for-all against Venessa Mills' church and religious beliefs," Williams wrote. -30- This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
                Comments (6)
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written by barry51, March 18, 2009 Cult or not, this is a bad ruling.
written by Ken, March 18, 2009
I don't know anything about the Sound Doctrine Church. For all I know, it may indeed be a cult. However, if it's that dangerous, why weren't the children taken away from their mother? Something about this case doesn't pass the proverbial "smell test."
We are setting a dangerous precedent when we start forcing parents to send their children to public schools. We are setting an equally dangerous precedent when courts can decide whether or not a church is a "healthy environment" for children. Sometimes it might be necessary for courts to step in, but they should do so with extreme caution. As it stands, this case looks like a serious blow to religious liberty. Christians of all denominations should be concerned. Public Schooling is generally best
written by Slick, March 19, 2009
As a former public school teacher, holder of a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, a former associate professor of education at the college leven, and observer of home-school children for many years, I can attest that very few parents are equipped to educate their children anywhere near as well as is required for American life today. There have been some home-schooled children who do turn out okay but they are very few. I have had a number of home-schooled students in my college classrooms and except for one missionary kid, all were woefully undersocialized and most rigid in their thinnking. Not particularly good student either.
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written by HS MOM, March 20, 2009 Not particularly good student either. My homeschooled ninth grader called that a sentence fragment. Slick
written by Ken, March 21, 2009
My wife is a college professor, and many of her students are products of the public school system. Many of them do not know the most basic facts of history, and several of them have worse grammar and writing skills than I had in the fifth grade.
Home-schooled children regularly out-perform public school children on standardized tests. Many public schools, by contrast, are turning out students who can't read their own diplomas. In short, your argument just doesn't hold up against the facts. ... written by tj282828, March 22, 2009
Slick,
I believe you miss the point. A court should not be taking authority away from parents when there is no sign of abuse. The father allowed the home schooling while he was married, and has changed his mind in the mist of a divorce. The children are well educated according to the article. Who is a judge to tell a mother what to do with her own children. Where is separation of church and state when it is actually needed. The state or judge does not like the mom's church, and thus overrules the parent. Any mom or dad should shiver at such a decision. In regard to your defense of public schools and attack on home schooling, you need to take a look at the facts. No child left behind has finally made public schools test their students. What have these test proved? That children are not learning! Most public school teachers were mediocre students themselves, and let's face it. . .the best and brightest do not teach in public schools. While there are exceptions to this, it is for the most part an accurate statement. Public schools are failing our children and therefore threatening our nation's future. Teachers unions defend the status quo, killing vouchers/school choice, charter schools, merit pay, etc. They despise home schooling because it robs them of a child which equals money from the state for their pay checks. For you to attack home schooling and therefore hold up the public education system as the solution is to ignore the majority of testing and studies which show public schools wanting. Education reform is a major issue because everyone understands, even Democrats, that public schools are failing our children. While public school is failing our children when it comes to teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, these schools are really failing our students spiritually. Education is very poor if it does not address why we are here and what our purpose is. Public education is not allowed to answer these questions. By law the answer, Jesus Christ, cannot be taught. Christ-centered education is superior to secular education because how can one understand the world without our Lord. Thus public education not only fails to teach basic skills, it also fails to keep our children out of hell. My main point in all of this is at least home schooling tries to solve these great problems in our education system. Those who defend public education are simply defending failure. I can certainly respect those trying to improve education (Home Schoolers), but those who defend the current failure we call public education earn my ire. Usually those who defend the current education system work for it, thus they are selfishly defending their pay checks. Our children deserve much, much better! Readers alone are responsible for the content of the comments they post here. The comments are subject to the site’s terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of the ABP News. Readers whose comments violate the terms of use may have their comments removed or all of their content blocked from viewing by other users without notification.
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