March 2, 1984
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
As a widow of a college professor disillusioned with the educational system and as a mother of eight children, who in 1975 removed my four youngest from the public schools in Washington, D.C. to teach them at home, I am happy to see the rising popularity and acceptance of home teaching. (School Alternative: Teaching at Home—Feb. 9)
Ten years ago it was a different matter. I was arrested and accused of child neglect. My twin daughters, 14, were taken by the police, hand-cuffed, placed in something called a receiving home and locked in a cell. My sons, 9 and 11, were put into a hospital, treated as patients and given shots. All four escaped and returned home, but were recaptured by the police and taken to court.
The children were eventually placed in foster homes, the boys in Maryland, the girls in Virginia. At one point I was jailed for seeing my daughters without a social worker being present.
After six months the girls again escaped and returned to my care. The boys remained away a full year before I was able to kidnap them from the courtroom and flee to New York.
Three of these students, while working full time, successfully completed their high school equivalencies. A son and daughter (one of whom made honors) are now attending Vassar College and another daughter, an honor graduate of Katherine Gibbs, is now working as a secretary at a prominent brokerage firm on Wall Street. The youngest, an artist and adventurer, is presently driving a carriage in Central Park.
Annie Laurie Mansour
(Mrs. Farris Mansour)
March 2, 1984
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
As a widow of a college professor disillusioned with the educational system and as a mother of eight children, who in 1975 removed my four youngest from the public schools in Washington, D.C. to teach them at home, I am happy to see the rising popularity and acceptance of home teaching. (School Alternative: Teaching at Home—Feb. 9)
Ten years ago it was a different matter. I was arrested and accused of child neglect. My twin daughters, 14, were taken by the police, hand-cuffed, placed in something called a receiving home and locked in a cell. My sons, 9 and 11, were put into a hospital, treated as patients and given shots. All four escaped and returned home, but were recaptured by the police and taken to court.
The children were eventually placed in foster homes, the boys in Maryland, the girls in Virginia. At one point I was jailed for seeing my daughters without a social worker being present.
After six months the girls again escaped and returned to my care. The boys remained away a full year before I was able to kidnap them from the courtroom and flee to New York.
Three of these students, while working full time, successfully completed their high school equivalencies. A son and daughter (one of whom made honors) are now attending Vassar College and another daughter, an honor graduate of Katherine Gibbs, is now working as a secretary at a prominent brokerage firm on Wall Street. The youngest, an artist and adventurer, is presently driving a carriage in Central Park.
Annie Laurie Mansour
(Mrs. Farris Mansour)