A story on worldnetdaily.com yesterday absolutely made my flesh crawl.  According to the report by Bob Unruh:

•A North Carolina judge has ordered three children to attend public schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over the last four years needs to be "challenged."

•The children, however, have tested above their grade levels – by as much as two years.

•The decision is raising eyebrows among homeschooling families, and one friend of the mother has launched a website to publicize the issue.

•The ruling was made by Judge Ned Mangum of Wake County, who was handling a divorce proceeding for Thomas and Venessa Mills.

This decision is beyond appalling.  One has to wonder if a judge would have gotten away with forcing parents of kids at Bountiful Junior High School in Utah to leave that school and educate their children at home to protect them from predatory teachers.  Unfortunately, the antagonism in our culture (even in the church) toward home education is growing.  It matters not that these children are performing above grade level.  It matters not that these children are receiving more parental attention and investment than the overwhelming majority of children in our culture.  All that matters is that they are not in a state sanctioned indoctrination center. 

Of course, one of the principal arguments the judge is offering centers around the all-too-familiar “socialization” issue (I bet you home educators never saw that one coming...).  He wrote:

"The children have thrived in homeschool for the past four years, but need the broader focus and socialization available to them in public school. The Court finds that it is in the children's best interest to continue their homeschooling through the end of the current school year, but to begin attending public school at the beginning of the 2009-2010 instructional year."

Amazing!  A well-educated man... a judge, still believes that socialization requires being in a room with 20-30 people your own age for up to 14,000 hours.  Someone needs to tell him that research indicates home educated students actually experience superior socialization in the long run!  They are more likely to marry, more likely to vote, more likely to participate in community organizations, etc. (see research at nheri.org).  This judge not helping these children’s socialization, he is hurting it.  He is putting a wedge between them and their mother (God’s primary ‘socializer’ of children).  He is condemning these children to aggressively anti-Christian/secular human curriculum, increased exposure to violence, drugs, sex (with students and/or teachers), and an inferior education to boot!  How is this in the best interest of any child?  Not to mention the fact that these children (10,11 and 12) are already going through the trauma of a divorce.  Does he think that hanging out with young men who wear their pants down below their posterior, girls who streetwalkers, and clubs like the “Gay-Straight Alliance” will help “socialize” these children properly?  Has he even been to a government school lately?

Pray for this family.  Pray that the Lord will call this couple to repentance and reconciliation.  Pray that this father will protect his children and refuse to allow them to be turned over to the government.  Pray that someone will come to the aid of this mother.  Pray that the Lord will change this Judge’s heart and drive him to his knees.  Pray that the hold government education has on our culture will be broken, or at least that the church will wake up and realize how harmful anti-Christian government education is to our children. 

VB