Siblings Rescued!

The image above depicts a happy nuclear family on a typical yearly vacation. They are posing for a picture with whom it may appear to be Princess Jasmine from the famous animated movie “Aladdin”. So, let’s take a wild guess to say that the Turpin family are at Disney Land. At a glance, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. The only imaginable thought would be is, “Wow, are all those kids theirs”?  But there’s more than meets the eye. The Turpin family was hiding a secret behind the facade of false memories. This family secret of severe abuse and neglect was hidden for many years by way of homeschooling.

Just a brief recap

It started out as a beautiful Texas day in January 2018, when a young 17-year-old girl managed to bravely escape out the side window of her home. One can only imagine how hard her heart must have been pounding, as her mind was praying that she wouldn’t get caught. When the young girl made it to someone who can help her, she told the tales of years of entrapment, abuse, and starvation. She did a good thing that day. She helped free her other 12 brothers and sisters. As of February 2019, the parents of the 13 Turpin children are on trial and facing possible life in prison. The siblings, ages ranging from toddler to 29 are in protective custody, assisted living, and a few are attending college.

The key factor (homeschooled)

Even though this terrible event has happened to these beautiful children, I’m glad that their lives, after some counseling and proper guidance, will hopefully turn out for the best. The focus is why did this happen in the first place for so long and could it have been prevented. The key factor in how this event took place is that the Turpin children were home-schooled. Homeschooling the children made it possible for the alleged abuse to continue. It was what the psychologist would study as “Controlled environment”.  By homeschooling the children, the Turpin parents were able to control every aspect of the kids lives, including how and who the children interacted with.

What are the laws that govern homeschooling your children?

This is a great thought-provoking question. What qualifications does one need to participate in the homeschooling process? What type of expertise do you need to possess in order for your child to be ready for the real world; just as the children in regular school? Well according to home school-curriculum.org, guidelines differ through states and territory; depending upon where you live. For the state of Texas where the Turpin family resides, the law stipulates as follows: https://thsc.org (Texas Home School Coalition)

1. The program must be a real homeschool program and not a sham.
2. The curriculum must be in visual form with guided books, work books, and video aids.
3. The curriculum should include the five basic subjects such as reading/spelling/grammar, Math, and good citizenship.
4. Parents must Keep good records of child(ren) progress.

In Addition, high school-age students are required to successfully complete the recommended or advanced high school program to be eligible for college or university acceptance.

As mentioned above, guidelines for homeschooling your child(ren) differ in state and territory. In the state of New Jersey (Board of Education), according to Law (N.J. S.A. 18A:38-25) it is perfectly legal to home-school your children but, some districts make it extremely difficult. The parent must register as a home school teacher and provide a set curriculum plus progress reports equivalent to public schools, for each grade level.

The school system in New Jersey will make it difficult; almost discouraging it. Examples are using prolonged paperwork tactics and threats of truancy against the child. Some districts would even suggest that the child attend classes until said paperwork is completed.

Here’s a list of possible additional guidelines for parents deciding to home-school. Interestingly enough, I did not find any rules that require parents/caretakers to possess an education or college degree.

1. A written curriculum as proof of intent to homeschool.
2. Home visitation
3. Parents must register as a homeschool teacher with the local district or school board.

Here are some Countries that make it illegal to home-school your children.

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, El Salvador, Georgia, Greenland, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Korea, Republic of Macedonia, Romania (allowed under extreme situations), San Marino, Serbia, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey

The benefit of Homeschooling

Although there are clear benefits to homeschooling some children. For instance, the Genius Bush family (not the president) known for their hard work and commitment to education; are headed to college at a very young age. And yes, they were home-schooled by their educated parents.  So, in no way is this article meant to deter prospective parents from doing what’s best for their family. I always said, if I had enough money that I didn’t need to venture out for employment, I would home-school my own children.

Homeschooling is the equivalent of the low student-to-teacher ratio; with the exception of households with larger families (i.e. Kate plus 8, and 19 Kids and counting). For the most part, students who are homeschooled have their own private tutor and they can implement their own routine. Much different from the standard school time where the bell rings at 8 a.m., then continues every 40 minutes until 3 p.m. On top of that; having to participate in the same daunting routine, in the same manner, every day. Remember the English, Math, Social Studies, Art, Science, Gym, and lunch/recess in the same order EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!!

With homeschooling, the daily routine can be interchangeable to fit the family’s needs. For example, some families would only use half a day (morning Time) for academics and the afternoons for leisure and exploring. Some families will alternate days for Math and English. In fact, some families log onto the academic course for K-12https://www.k12.com/.com.  So, with all the opportunities that homeschooling provides, it’s no wonder how some students achieve higher scores on their standardized tests.

Did the system fail the Turpin Children?

I always believed that to cope with the world, you have to be involved in real-world experiences. Children should learn how to interact with one another starting at a young age. That way they can have the opportunity to learn about other traditions and; in turn learn to understand and respect different cultures. I think that for children who are home-schooled, the parents are shielding them from real-life experiences and coping skills. The Turpin children were held captive for so long with no real interaction; besides being accompanied by their parents. Perhaps if they were in public schools, the teacher, nurse, or school counselor could have intervened in their behave. As mentioned before, the Turpin children were living in a controlled environment. There was no one to help them escape their prolonged and extreme abuse for at least 29 years. That means no teachers, counselors, outside friends, or regular doctor visits; just absolutely no community involvement. The 13 Turpin children fell through the cracks because they were home-schooled by abusive and controlling parents. The most disappointing part of this story is no one noticed or bothered to check; not even the surrounding neighbors or the local church. The question we should be asking is how busy is our society. What laws can we put in place to protect and prevent this from happening again to other home-schooled children?

How can we change the homeschooling laws to protect the parent’s rights and the well-being of children?

By no means is this article meant to take away the parent’s rights to raise their children how they see fit. Nor am I trying to downgrade the positive advantages of homeschooling. Just as I mentioned before, if the opportunity had presented itself, I would have chosen to home-school my own children. The Bush children (not the president) and many other families have had a successful run and are now raising productive citizens through means of home school. And because there are bad apples that can ruin a great opportunity, this article was meant to bring awareness of the ugly truth behind why some parents homeschool and hopefully change the guidelines nationwide to protect the well-being and safety of our children. Below is a list of guidelines we could use to assure that homeschooling opportunities protect the well-being of all children.

1. All children by age 5 must be registered with their local school district. The process will put the district on notice of how many children they are serving in the area.
2. If a parent chooses to home-school their children, they must officially re-sign them out of the local school.
3. Parents must keep a ledger of all up-to-date doctor appointments and have a doctor sign-off for the local school district to review. The doctor appointments would include vaccine records, eye doctor, and dentist. If the child is disabled, then the doctor can sign off on what type of additional services would be beneficial to the child.
4. Parents must comply with home visits from local school counselors/social workers to confirm the child’s progress is at district compliance. At this point, the counselor can provide additional resources to parents and children as needed.

The bottom line, is to move forward with respecting the rights of parents to raise their children how they see fit, there must be guidelines to protect all involved; mainly the children. The Turpin children went under the radar because no one bothered to check. No one asked the Turpin parents “How are the children”? and because we are living in the ‘mind your business’ society, no one would have ever suspected trouble, if the young lady did not escape her home in search of help.

For additional information on homeschooling your child in each state visit:

-Homeschool laws- https://hslda.org/content/laws

-Texas Homeschool Coalition Association- https://thsc.org

-NJ Law (N.J. S.A. 18A:38-25) – https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/new-jersey/nj-laws/new_jersey_laws_18a_38-25

-New Jersey Department of Education: Homeschooling Questions

-Homeschool site- https://www.k12.com

-A Day in the Life VLOG 24 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh5mt1GdOoQ

-The Genius Bush family- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zckzA8f6ekk