In Buffalo, N.Y. a single mother has been arrested and lost custody of her kids after she decided to take her children out of public school to homeschool them. She felt as though her two children were in a "failing system" and officially un-enrolled them. A week after doing so, someone from Child Protective Services called and asked why her kids weren't in school. She claimed that she homeschools them and that she could furnish the documents if need be. She thought everything was in order, however a month later CPS and the police came to her home. She was told, "Its too late now to show these papers. The judge has laready made the order. We have to take your kids." The mother refused to give her kids up and was arrested for obstructing justice. The court summons was for child neglect. The mother hasn't seen her kids in three weeks.
1. Do you feel as though her prosecution is justified?
2. What are your views on homeschooling?
I don't think she deserved any of the punishment that she received. There may have been more going on in the home for all we know, but from the article itself I feel as though it was unjust to detain her and take her kids. I also don't agree with homeschooling because I feel that children should grow up around peers and learn to have social skills and such. I think kids should be around each other while growing up.
http://www.offthegridnews.com/current-events/mom-arrested-loses-children-because-theyre-homeschooled/
Replies
Good summary but be sure to reply to student comments as it's worth 20 points. -5 late.
I feel as if the punishment was completely unfair, she had the papers to prove that she was homeschooling them and like you mentioned from the article that is all she seemed to be charged for. I think homeschooling can be okay for a little while but they should have to spend some of the time in public schools so they can learn to speak to everyone and socialize a little more.
I think taking precautions was a smart idea. There is not enough information here for me to determine if it was right to take away her children. I do believe that the mother should not have taken the kids out of school because they were in a "failing system" unless their school was underfunded and run down. Homeschooling really is not bad, you just need someone to teach the kids effectively.
If the mother had all the paper work and everything, then her prosecution wasn't justified. I think if you believe your child isn't getting a sufficient education, you should be allowed to school them yourself. I'm very nuetral about homeschooling. I don't think it's bad when the kids aren't being taught well enough.
I dont think this is okay, from the way it sounds everything was going okay with the mother and her children. More could have been going on at their home than we know. I think it differs on the child. I would prefer if my kids went to public school in order to make friends and have a social life.
I don't think she deserved to get her kids taken away from her for wanted the best for her kids. I like homeschooling its not something I would do myself, it takes a lot of time to actually set down and teach your kids and have a job. I don't mind parents that do that or anything. I don't feel like the kids are any smarter or dumber I feel like they are all the same.
This is extremely crazy because maybe the teachers were bad and maybe her kids were getting bullied. She fully had the right to take them out of school and home school them, there is no problem with that. I believe homeschooling is good under a certain degree because the children could say no the the parent homeschooling them because they are more comfortable saying that to them.
No its bull crap. A parent has the right to take them out of public school and homeschool them. Homeschooling is not for everybody but I honestly think it is a good way to school your children
I think they should at least give her a chance to show them the papers that the kids are learning what they need to learn. I think homeschooling is good for some and terrible for others it really depends on the kid and access to other social interaction.
I think this isn't justified at all. The mother didn't really get a chance to show that she was actually educating her children. She could have been giving them a better education than the public school for all they know. I think there are many pros and cons to homeschooling. It really depends on the curriculum, who is teaching it, and if the child gets the social interaction they need.
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