Stay-at-home dad doesn't believe in school (Ellenbrook, Australia)

Stay-at-home nutcase dad HANS MEIER--he goes by the name of "One"--doesn't believe in sending his kids to school. So they stay at home. So does he homeschool them? Not really--Dad had a disagreement with the education moderator, so that was that. So what do the kids do? Oh, play videos, stuff like that. No wonder the oldest boys are unemployed.

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=152967

Father to face court for letting kids miss school
5th July 2009, 6:00 WST

A father of six who believes youngsters should be set free from schooling has become the first parent in WA to go to court and face a fine for not sending his children to school.

The Department of Education and Training is prosecuting Hans Meier for breaching the School Education Act by failing to ensure that his two high schoolaged daughters attend the school at which they are enrolled.

He faces a maximum penalty of $2000 — $1000 for each child — when he appears in court next week.

Mr Meier, a disability pensioner from Ellenbrook, said he refused to force his children to go to school.

“The reason my children don’t go to school is because they don’t want to,” he said.

Daughters Jemirah, 14, and Alisha, 13, have hardly set foot in a classroom in the past few years. They tried home schooling but that was abandoned when Mr Meier had a disagreement with an Education Department moderator, their mother said.

Mr Meier’s two oldest sons, aged 17 and 19, also chose not to attend high school. Both still live at home and do not have regular employment.

His third daughter attends primary school because she enjoys it. His youngest son is home schooled.

Mr Meier, who prefers to be known as “One”, said children should be able to spend time outside having fun instead of being locked away in classrooms.

“(At school) they have to wear a hat and put poisons on their skin before being allowed in the sun,” he said. “Children are being denied their freedom by keeping them in schools as batch numbers for society.”

Asked what his children did with their extra time, Mr Meier said they had fun by watching videos, listening to music or drawing and did their own learning. “There are books galore in my house to do with what they want to do,” he said. “They are not hanging around the streets. They don’t drink, don’t smoke, they stay indoors.”

Mr Meier said he was “blessed” to have been able to spend so much time with his children and was prepared to speak on behalf of other parents who wanted to teach their own beliefs at home.

Letting his children stay home had saved taxpayers an immense amount of money, he said. Jemirah said she did not enjoy school and hoped to get a job when she turned 15 later this year. Alisha said she had liked primary school but would rather be with her family than go to high school. She did maths and spelling at home with her sister’s help.

Under the School Education Act, children of compulsory school age have to attend school or training or take part in a home school program run by a registered home educator. Home schooling imposes rigorous expectations on parents and includes regular audits by a moderator to make sure students are making appropriate progress.

Frequent truants are referred to a school attendance panel to develop a plan to improve attendance. If the children still do not attend, the panel may recommend prosecution. Education Department school support programs executive director David Axworthy said it was the first case to proceed to prosecution and others could follow.

“Parents have a legal obligation to send their children to school and while the department gives them every support, failure to do so may result in prosecution as has happened in this case and may occur in several others,” he said. “We prefer that parents can see the advantages of their children attending school regularly without the need to resort to such measures.”

BETHANY HIATT