This topic really gets to me. Being raised by missionary "wanna be's" I can attest to being abused emotionally, verbally, mentally and occasionaly physically. Dad, a narcissistic elder interested in his own image, Mom, an obsesive compulsive pioneer. I, the only child, born late into the marrige. I will not bore you with the details but I can assure you that the scars I bear are not visible but they are very real and run deep.
I'd like to add that I firmly believe that home schooling by JW parents is a form of child abuse as well. I feel it falls under the category of neglect. In my many years as a witness and having lived in many different areas I have only met one home schooled witness the seems to have gotten a sound education. All the rest have been given books and told to educate themselves. They have been dragged out in service when they should have been doing schoolwork. They have either not finished their courses or gotten a GED (which everyone knows does not hold the weight of a diploma). Many are poor readers, most are terrible in math. Just about all of them have little knowledge of history, literature and the sciences. Most countires guarantee their citizens an education. Witness parents who don't properly educate their children are therefore brakeing they law and are guilty of neglecting the educational needs of their children. And then there is the emotional and social impact that the isolation of home schooling fosters. All in all, I wish home schooling, with very few exceptions would be illegal where a public education is easily available. In the very least, parents who home school should be required to have college degree and have to pass a battery of tests to prove their proficiency in all areas of instruction. I also think there should be more carefull monitoring of the home school environment by the board of education. Anyway, let me get off of my "soap box". I'm sorry if I've diverted this thread from it's original intent.
