Was Zahra Really Homeschooled? If so, WHY?!

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NoeticSoul

NoeticSoul

When nothing is certain, anything is possible.
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I started a thread about this topic, because well, the claims of her being home-schooled just don't add up!

As a homeschooling mom, IMO there's NO WAY she was home-schooled. And I don't see how AB couldn't have known that Zahra wasn't receiving an education AT ALL.
 
I do not for one minute believe that Zahra was actually being educated at home. I think the pulling her from school along with the recent move to Hickory was a conscious effort on EB's part to remove Zahra from prying official eyes and aviod this most recent contact with DSS. I believe it was an effort to further isolate Zahra from people and resources who might gain her trust enough to get her to stop denying the abuse at home and divulge.

As to whether AB is the only one who could do this thanks to him being legal guardian, I would have to know whether he or EB had handled previous school registrations. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that EB has handled that task since Zahra's arrival stateside. Legal guardian or no, I do not see him as being involved in school registration, home or public. That being woman work and all.

So whether he should have been required as legal guardian to make school arrangedments either at home or in public school by the letter of the law, is a moot point to me, because in practice I do not think it went that way.

I am betting all or almost all school contact with Zahra's parents was with EB. Also, because of AB's (perceived by me) general lack of involvement in Zahra's care from day one since arriving in US, I would be surprised if he knew what was required of him as her legal guardian.

He was her legal guardian in Australia as well, but it is generally believed by many of us that his mother took responsiblity for the lion's share of Zahra's care and wellbeing, scheduling appointments, school, etc. I doubt AB knows exactly what is expected of a legal guardian as it would appear to me, he has never shouldered that job.

Thank you to Noetic, for starting this thread. I missed the discussion earlier about it being off lollygaggin on another thread ;)
 
Here are the DNPE Homeschool Requirements for the state of North Carolina:

Parents/guardians residing in North Carolina and desiring, in lieu of conventional school attendance, to home school their children who are at least age 7 but not yet age 16 must:

- Hold at least a high school diploma or its equivalent;
- Send to DNPE a Notice of Intent to Operate a Home School. The notice must include the name and address of the school along with the name of the school's owner and chief administrator;
- Elect to operate under either Part 1 or Part 2 of Article 39 of the North Carolina General Statutes as a religious or as a non-religious school;
- Operate the school "on a regular schedule, excluding reasonable holidays and vacations, during at least nine calendar months of the year'';
- Maintain at the school disease immunization and annual attendance records for each student;
- Have a nationally standardized achievement test administered annually to each student. The test must involve the subject areas of English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. Records of the test results must be retained at the home school for at least one year and made available to DNPE when requested. Also, see testing FAQS;
- Notify DNPE when the school is no longer in operation.

More at this link:
http://www.ncdnpe.org/hhh103.aspx

Looking at this news article, it's obvious to me that these requirements were never met:

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/oct/15/no-record-zahra-was-home-schooled-ar-458423/

It is interesting to note that, according to this article, BOTH parents claimed that Zahra was being homeschooled. So, regardless of who made the actual decision, AB was well aware of it. According to his statements, it is impossible that Zahra could have died of natural causes, so I can only assume there was no long term illness that would fascilitate this choice. By all accounts, Zahra got along well with other children and did well in school. If that's the case, I want to know what lead HIM to agree to this supposed homeschooling arrangement. I also want to know, from HIM, if he ever saw any of Zahra's school work during this homeschooling period, or inquired of either EB or Zahra how the education process was going.
 
Just wondering if any of you feel AB is the sort to seek out what the requirements where for homeschooling? I do not see him as a very proactive sort of fellow about such things and I am darn sure (100% sure you could say) that EB was unconcerned with the requirements of homeschooling as she never intended any schooling occur. So for the purposes of the adults in charge of Zahra's care, I doubt the requirements for homeschooling were of interest. I doubt many legal requirements of any sort (writing bad checks, high speed chases involving menacing folks they were angry with, etc.)concerned EB and AB seems to have followed her lead in such things.
 
Mountain_Kat said:
Here are the DNPE Homeschool Requirements for the state of North Carolina:

Parents/guardians residing in North Carolina and desiring, in lieu of conventional school attendance, to home school their children who are at least age 7 but not yet age 16 must:

- Hold at least a high school diploma or its equivalent;
- Send to DNPE a Notice of Intent to Operate a Home School. The notice must include the name and address of the school along with the name of the school's owner and chief administrator;
- Elect to operate under either Part 1 or Part 2 of Article 39 of the North Carolina General Statutes as a religious or as a non-religious school;
- Operate the school "on a regular schedule, excluding reasonable holidays and vacations, during at least nine calendar months of the year'';
- Maintain at the school disease immunization and annual attendance records for each student;
- Have a nationally standardized achievement test administered annually to each student. The test must involve the subject areas of English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. Records of the test results must be retained at the home school for at least one year and made available to DNPE when requested. Also, see testing FAQS;
- Notify DNPE when the school is no longer in operation.

More at this link:
http://www.ncdnpe.org/hhh103.aspx

Looking at this news article, it's obvious to me that these requirements were never met:

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/oct/15/no-record-zahra-was-home-schooled-ar-458423/

It is interesting to note that, according to this article, BOTH parents claimed that Zahra was being homeschooled. So, regardless of who made the actual decision, AB was well aware of it. According to his statements, it is impossible that Zahra could have died of natural causes, so I can only assume there was no long term illness that would fascilitate this choice. By all accounts, Zahra got along well with other children and did well in school. If that's the case, I want to know what lead HIM to agree to this supposed homeschooling arrangement. I also want to know, from HIM, if he ever saw any of Zahra's school work during this homeschooling period, or inquired of either EB or Zahra how the education process was going.
Click to expand...

Where I live we are assigned a homeschooling registration number as well as must keep an attendance sheet w/hours and days attended including field trips and athletic activities.

I cannot IMAGINE that LE found any homeschooling records of any sort at that house, never mind Zahra's laptop.
 
tlcox said:
Just wondering if any of you feel AB is the sort to seek out what the requirements where for homeschooling? I do not see him as a very proactive sort of fellow about such things and I am darn sure (100% sure you could say) that EB was unconcerned with the requirements of homeschooling as she never intended any schooling occur. So for the purposes of the adults in charge of Zahra's care, I doubt the requirements for homeschooling were of interest. I doubt many legal requirements of any sort (writing bad checks, high speed chases involving menacing folks they were angry with, etc.)concerned EB and AB seems to have followed her lead in such things.
Click to expand...

BBM

Oh, I absolutely don't think he bothered himself with such things. In fact, it seems painfully obvious to me that he didn't bother himself with Zahra's care and well being at all.

But, as her legal, custodial parent, he did have a LEGAL obligation to do so. And that's really the point I'm trying to make.
 
tlcox said:
Just wondering if any of you feel AB is the sort to seek out what the requirements where for homeschooling? I do not see him as a very proactive sort of fellow about such things and I am darn sure (100% sure you could say) that EB was unconcerned with the requirements of homeschooling as she never intended any schooling occur. So for the purposes of the adults in charge of Zahra's care, I doubt the requirements for homeschooling were of interest. I doubt many legal requirements of any sort (writing bad checks, high speed chases involving menacing folks they were angry with, etc.)concerned EB and AB seems to have followed her lead in such things.
Click to expand...

I don't see AB or EB as that sort. No. Too consumed with themselves and their own extra curricular activities imho
I'm wondering why the public school never followed up with Zahra's 'homeschooling', though. Here the State will come to your door if they think that a child is NOT being home-schooled. AgaIn I think that the State failed Zahara too.
 
Poor little Zahra, sigh. She probably missed school so badly. I am betting school was a place where adults treated her kindly, praised her, other kids played with her, talked to her. Home strikes me as not that place for Zahra. When she lost school, how very sad and lonesome she must have felt.

:shakehead:
 
tlcox said:
Poor little Zahra, sigh. She probably missed school so badly. I am betting school was a place where adults treated her kindly, praised her, other kids played with her, talked to her. Home strikes me as not that place for Zahra. When she lost school, how very sad and lonesome she must have felt.

:shakehead:
Click to expand...

Stop it.
 
Sorry MK, but I am having a tough time being clinical today. The emotional aspects are killing me here. I need to log off and get some work done. Maybe later when I pop in to check the threads I will have a bit more distance but my heart just hurts for her today.

The isolation of this homeschooling is just getting me right now.

My apologies. I try not to be an emotional poster, but we all have our days.
 
tlcox said:
Sorry MK, but I am having a tough time being clinical today. The emotional aspects are killing me here. I need to log off and get some work done. Maybe later when I pop in to check the threads I will have a bit more distance but my heart just hurts for her today.

The isolation of this homeschooling is just getting me right now.

My apologies. I try not to be an emotional poster, but we all have our days.
Click to expand...

:hug: Having one of those days too and knew it would be a difficult subject to think about.

I BELIEVE that Zara was SO divinely gifted that she always had the company of Angels, tlcox. That STRONG belief gets me through, most of the time.

And I REALLY do believe that.
 
tlcox said:
Sorry MK, but I am having a tough time being clinical today. The emotional aspects are killing me here. I need to log off and get some work done. Maybe later when I pop in to check the threads I will have a bit more distance but my heart just hurts for her today.

The isolation of this homeschooling is just getting me right now.

My apologies. I try not to be an emotional poster, but we all have our days.
Click to expand...

No no...I just meant "stop it" because I'M overly emotional today. I guess many of us are.

We all care desperately about this little girl, and our pain over what she had to endure is nothing any of us should ever feel we have to apologize for.

(((TL)))
 
I dont think if she was homeschooled it was done out of care that she had an education. I personally think it was more a way of hiding her out. In one of the SW there was mention of a grade notebook. I assume it was done in case anyone wanted to check on her schooling. It may have also been done to convince AB she was actually shooling her. I just dont see EB going to the trouble of having regular school hours taken out of her time JMO
 
westsidefox64 said:
I dont think if she was homeschooled it was done out of care that she had an education. I personally think it was more a way of hiding her out. In one of the SW there was mention of a grade notebook. I assume it was done in case anyone wanted to check on her schooling. It may have also been done to convince AB she was actually shooling her. I just dont see EB going to the trouble of having regular school hours taken out of her time JMO
Click to expand...

I am also of the same belief that Zahra wasn't actually being home-schooled, and was taken out of the regular school system to try to prevent any more "interference" from DSS, mainly to hide the abuse she endured. If she had stayed in a regular school, sooner, rather than later, she would also need a new prosthesis, yet it would seem no one wanted to get her one, even though there are charitable organizations which likely would have covered the cost. Therefore it seems no one really cared about Zahra's welfare, including her education, and imo, EB is in no way qualified to be an educator. MOO
 
As you all know, a classic strategy for abuse is the isolation of the victim. Poor little Zahra was held captive in her 'home,' (if one could call it that), without the opportunity of outside thoughtful and caring eyes. In my opinion, Zahra never received even an iota of home schooling, and if papers were found in the house to prove otherwise, I will eat my dogs' doo-doo. (And I have four of them.)
 
IMO parents who homeschool in the normal manner, trying to make sure that their child receives an education, would notice that she's missing the day she disappears because they would have the habit of talking to their children.
 
Pugnolia said:
As you all know, a classic strategy for abuse is the isolation of the victim. Poor little Zahra was held captive in her 'home,' (if one could call it that), without the opportunity of outside thoughtful and caring eyes. In my opinion, Zahra never received even an iota of home schooling, and if papers were found in the house to prove otherwise, I will eat my dogs' doo-doo. (And I have four of them.)
Click to expand...

I don't think dog doo eating will be neccesary, Pugnolia.

:floorlaugh:
 
Donjeta said:
IMO parents who homeschool in the normal manner, trying to make sure that their child receives an education, would notice that she's missing the day she disappears because they would have the habit of talking to their children.
Click to expand...

Excellent point, Donjeta. Of course someone could say that EB was the one who was in charge.......:banghead:
 
While AB has not been charged with any crime against Zahra legally, I think we can all agree that morally, we are disturbed by his sins of ommission. This homeschooling business only serves to point out to many of us yet another glaring failure to be present in his daughter's day in any way.
 
panthera said:
Excellent point, Donjeta. Of course someone could say that EB was the one who was in charge.......:banghead:
Click to expand...

True, but regardless of who was to be in charge of this homeschooling, Adam Baker, as Zahra's custodial parent, had both a moral and a LEGAL obligation to ensure that his child was being properly educated. We know, per msm reports and school officials that both parents said Zahra was being homeschooled, so this doesn't appear to be (yet another) case of EB pulling the wool over poor clueless AB's eyes.

So again, I have to ask: what was the reason HE agreed to this homeschooling arrangement? And if school officials made EB aware of the laws regarding homeschooling certification, are we to believe that they didn't bother to make her legal guardian aware of this as well? I find that difficult to swallow.
 
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