Posted on 12/20/2007 3:33:41 AM PST by Man50D
A Utah woman who was ordered by a juvenile court judge to enroll her children in public school or lose custody of them has abandoned her home, furniture and other possessions to escape the order.
Denise Mafi, a nine-year veteran of homeschooling, has confirmed to WND she and her children packed up their essentials – clothes and homeschool materials – and fled Utah over the weekend, spending more than 50 hours on a bus trip to another undisclosed part of the country.
There she has obtained an empty home, and is spending the Christmas break trying to find beds for her children and herself, and after the New Year, will involve the children in a local homeschooling process.
"We're shampooing carpets right now. We have no furniture. We have no beds," she said. "But my kids are not going to public school. They are not going where Jesus isn't welcome."
Her home, furniture and other possessions left behind in Utah? "I'm not going back unless the judge removes the threat of arrest," she said. "I'll fight for the cause but I'm not going to be a martyr."
The case erupted for Mafi because of an apparent paperwork glitch that could very well be the fault of her local school district. Now Utah home school officials say they have asked the state Legislature to review actions by the judge, whose office has declined comment to WND.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Judges Gone Wild
She has reported, and her recollection of events has been confirmed by attorneys, that (Judge) Johansen told her homeschooling fails 100 percent of the time and he would not allow it.
-----------------------------------------------
Man in black is a big dope!
Our Gestapo wear black robes.
Where is the children’s father?
“””So when she went to court with her juvenile son to have the charges dismissed (under a case held in abeyance procedure) stemming from a clash among children, she suddenly was presented with four counts against her for failing to comply with the state’s compulsory education requirement.”””
Sorry, but when juvenile deliquents get brought before a judge in juvenile court the first thing the judge does is look at their school attendance record (cause surprise surprise, they see a link between high absentee rate and deliquency).
So he finds they are “homeschooled” and the District can’t produce an affidavit from mom that states what her curriculum for the school year will be. So give them your copy mom.
There is a whole heck of a lot more to this story than what WND is spinning it as here. I think it should be noted that her oldest was in juvenile court, to which the judge ordered him to school. Mom instead took the kids and fleed. This isn’t about homeschooling anymore. Her son is going to be taken away, and could face juvenile detention.
What a mess.
This is an idea that anyone who lives in New Jersey has at least considered briefly. Best of luck to her and her kids.
This judge is a juvenile court judge, so in his experience he could very well be speaking the truth (being that the cohort of homeschooled children he sees are the ones who have broken the law).
If it weren’t for the fact that the public schools are so wretched, I would say that some incompetent homeschoolers should be ordered to send their kids to public schools. But as it is, no matter how bad the homeschool mom or dad, complaints by public education officials at best rise to the level of the pot calling the kettle black.
Then his words should have been “In my experience.....homeschooling fails 100 percent of the time and he would not allow it.<<
This man has no idea how tremendously uninformed and outright ridiculous he sounds.
I agree, there is more to this case but lets face it, the judge gave the fodder they needed to spin it this way.
The Heisman trophy winner (college football) was home schooled, btw
I support homeschooling (my own kids had it)), but there is a small subset of hoomeschoolers who are really “can’t be bothereds” or ‘ “I’ll mistreat my kids any way I want’s”
They mess it up for the rest of us.
Most homeschool programs are accepted if you can show "progress" .... if last year you learned common monomials .. amd this year you intend to teach Johnnie common binomials ... THAT'S progress .. and the curriculum is accepted.
We were evaluated by a (usually) church lady, sympathetic to homeschooling, and accredited by the gummint school system, every year and there was never a problem.
That's a nice little tidbit that somehow got left out of the story. It isn't quite the same story with this in it.
Hmmmmmmm
A “nine-year veteran of homeschooling”? And, this is the first substantive issue with one of the children?
Does Utah have testing requirements that this woman’s children must meet, like kids in other schooling environments? Standardized tests at grade level? If so, how did these youngsters do on the tests? That should represent evidence in contrast to the judge’s ridiculous statement(s).
Also, if she has been at this for nine years, it would seem reasonable that she would know what’s required in re state mandated reports and plans. She has been engaged with two home schooling organizations (at least since this issue has come up), so she has some resources available.
It seems to me that there is much more to this story than we are seeing...
He must have missed the Heisman Trophy presentation!
One of my sons Friends is home schooled and is now taking courses at a local College at the age of 15.
Five of my nieces and nephews are homeschooled....and they are way ahead of their grade counterparts at any public or private school.
I should note, that, they are taught by college-educated parents....although many of their fellow HS parents do quite well w their kids without any college.
One of my nieces decided to try a public high school for the start of her senior season. It drove her nuts....they were way behind on subject matter in advanced classes (this was a HS in a more-affluent area of Orlando)...and couldnt find her a desk to sit at in some of the classes. Needless to say, she returned to homeschool.
I am sure there are some homeschoolers who are substandard...but overall homeschool kids are way ahead of the public and private school kids.
Oh, and someone beat me to it already....the recent Heisman winner was homeschooled
I’m still not buying all this was over a misplaced piece of paper. There’s more to the story.
Really, Judge? So the lady down the road from me who home schooled her boys, one of which just got accepted at MIT on a full academic scholarship, is a failure? Interesting......
“It seems to me that there is much more to this story than we are seeing...”
Agreed. I’ve searched and found everything is either reference to WND, or Bio of the Judge.
Need more information.
Could you translate the poster in post 8? Thanks.
We taught our granddaughter until she reached the 1st grade. By then, she was reading at a 5th grade level, and was working on multiplication. For the next two years, she essentially occupied a desk, not learning anything in public school. They moved out of the district to another city where she is finally being challenged in school, but is still well above her grade level.
Having seen what happens, I can truly say that public schooling is being destroyed due to multi-lingual instruction, and a focus on the lowest common denominator, rather than pushing for excellence.
Children, what do you know of the leader? I machine translated to double check my very rusty high school German.
Caffeine, meet my brain. Brain, Caffeine.
You should do it! I FLED NJ and cannot believe that I waited so long to do it. Life is so much better.
If the judge actually said this, then he is too bloody ignorant to BE a judge, and should forfeit that office immediately.
Even a cursory study shows that, more often than not, home-schooled kids actually perform BETTER than those "public-schooled".
Good for her! I’d send her money if there was a fund! I am sick of these judges! They are acting like they are a king! We are nothing but serfs to be controlled or disciplined! She is showing courage and backbone! Good for her!
It means: “Children, what do you want from der Fuhrer?”
Kinda like Hitlery’s message. What do you want from government? baby bonds? earned income tax credit without earning any income? 401k match? free health care? Every time I hear about her latest offering, it makes me think of a dairy farm back in Wisconsin. The cows are fed everything they could possibly eat, but in return they give the farmer their milk and their children. With today’s methods of farming, the cow also ends up losing a much shorter life than would normally be the case. Isn’t selling your freedom great?
Der Fuhrer is, of course, the what the German people called Hitler. It literally means “the Leader.”
Brave woman!
I actually know someone who went through a similar experience, only the discord was not over homeschooling. Local authorities out to get her, threatened her with Child Protective Services intervention. She up and left. Within two weeks her home and business had been cleaned out by burglars, right under the noses of local police. She lost almost everything she had ever owned, but not her child. She always said she had no regrets.
Remembering that, I hope this homeschooling mother has someone she trusts, minding the house she left behind.
Otherwise her first clue that something’s wrong might be, that there’s no doorknob on her front door anymore.
Good luck to this woman.
That should be your tagline, since you don't have one.
Bingo, you’ve got it. There’s obviously more to this than just a homeschooling issue.
If it’s really just a simple “paperwork issue” regarding her homeshooling documentation, then it shouldn’t take more than a few days to clear it up. It’s almost Christmas break, so the kiddies wouldn’t likely be in public school more than a few days. Hardly the end of the world.
So instead of staying and resolving the issue, she flees the state, abandons her home and contacts WND with her story?
The mom says she “doesn’t want to be a martyr”, but I bet she really likes the attention...
Fletcher J
This is what it has come to. Citizens have to flee their homes in order to school their own children. That judge is an absolute disgrace. He needs to be thrown off the bench immediately. The school system and these judges need to be held accountable for their behavior. I am disgusted.
Maybe the kid had steak for lunch and got caught cutting it.
Utah—A Legal Analysis
(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Compulsory School Age
"a minor who is at least six years old, but younger than 18 years old."
| Option: 1 |
Option: 2 |
|
| Legal Option: |
File affidavit with local school district |
Establish a group of home school families as a regular private school |
| Attendance: |
Same as the public schools |
None |
| Subjects: |
Same as public school core curriculum |
None |
| Qualifications: |
None |
None |
| Notice: |
Yes |
None |
| Recordkeeping: |
None |
None |
| Testing: |
None |
None |
I can understand her moving, but why did she have to ‘flee’? Was the state holding her hostage and not allowing her to leave or something?
This blog http://principleddiscovery.com/ has some interesting background — seems the blogger went and searched other sources for more info about Mafi.
Interesting reading.
Strange. A few home-schoolers who are nutcases mess it up for all home-schoolers, but there are thousands of examples of how public schools are screwing up kids. Yet, the same ones calling for an end to home-schooling because of the few nutcases never say a word about the public schools.
Homeschool Ping
If she was being threatened with jail, then it's an accurate, and legal term.
Mark
It’s an old, human story.
Towards the end of the Roman Empire, freeman Roman citizens would show up at the large estates of the Roman Senators, and in return for food and shelter, would surrender their citizenship and make them, and their children in perpetuity, serfs. This was the beginning of the Italians, and Europeans principalities.
Judges like THAT are the ultimate vindication of the 2nd Amendment!
I have a couple friends (brothers) who were homeschooled, and their younger siblings as well.
One’s an Iraq veteran who came home last year with a wife and two kids (and the MSM tells us that “none of them have come home”) and the other is an engineer at Tinker Air Force Base in OK.
“I think it should be noted that her oldest was in juvenile court, to which the judge ordered him to school.”
According to the blog cited by twinzmommy, http://principleddiscovery.com/ , the child in trouble is Ms. Mafi's nine year-old son with Aspergers’ Syndrome who hit a neighborhood girl and then was charged with assault.
Not sure, but this might not quite amount to a hill of beans.
Sounds like the judge is a totalitarian ass who will not receive in this life the punishment due him.
sitetest
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