I’m shocked that the media got the reporting on this wrong. That they could have gotten the plaintiff confused with the defendant is particularly galling.

That said, divorce cases are particularly depressing for all concerned, particularly the children. They’re at the heart of this tug of war between the parents. Divorcing parents sometimes treat the kids as pawns in a power play. They’ll do it with the china (the one that both hate because some relative gave ‘em the most disgustingly out of date floral pattern), so they will do so with the kids.

Here, the judge faced a tough decision since the kids appeared to be well adjusted and thriving in a homeschooling situation, but there were serious concerns from the mother’s family and friends over her involvment in the Sound Doctrine Church and the affect it may be having on the mom and the kids. That became the key for the judge to find that the kids were to attend public school.

I think that those proponents of homeschooling may have overreached on castigating the judge on this. If the mother chooses to contest this and it goes up on appeal, the press will focus on the most salacious details - the church and the homeschooling, all while ignoring what is in the best interests of the children. That remains and should be the key here.