This was sent to the headteacher of my sons primary school on the 19th of May this year.
Another similar copy was posted through the letter box of the Kingdom Hall in Bishopbriggs in Glasgow.
(Thanks to Boyzone who wrote a school letter also....some parts of which I borrowed)
Dear Mrs Reid,
This is to inform you that I recently made a placement request for Adam to attend Auchiloch Primary School at the start of next term, beginning Monday 17th August, 2009. I received a reply from North Lanarkshire Council n the 11th May informing me that this request was successful.
I wish to explain that the reason I want Adam to attend Auchinloch P.S. has nothing to do with Meadowburn itself. I cannot praise the school enough. It has a fine reputation and should be recognised for such, from the teachers right down to the pupils.
My husband and I both feel strongly that Adam and Leodhas have benefitted very much from being a part of the school and have enjoyed it immensely. Both of them have been very happy there. We are so grateful for the care and attention shown to our boys in their time there and we would like to express our thanks to you for the personal interest shown to Adam in recent times, and for the dilligence displayed by yourself and other members of staff in helping him and encouraging him in his schoolwork.
However, I am writing to you as a concerned parent with information I feel you should be aware of. As you already know, we as a family, no longer practice the Jehovah's Witness faith. My husband was disfellowshipped in February this year, while I disassociated myself in October of last year. My husband and I did nothing wrong except to question some of the teachings. I know you are aware of some of the beliefs of the JWs, mainly due to their non participation in particular celebrations and certain lessons, and from their brochure, "Jehovah's Witnesses and Education". In general, they are a pleasant and thoughtful group of people. However, most people are not aware of the more subtle teachings of the JWs.
One such teaching is concerning what happens when someone officially leaves the organization or is disfellowshipped. When this happens, any practicing or active JWs are instructed to completely shun these ones. This was explained in their 15th Sept. 1981 Watchtower :-
"A simple 'hello' to someone can be the first step that develops into a conversation and maybe even a friendship. Would we want to take that first step with a disfellowshipped person ?.......Bible principles on this subject apply equally to those who disassociate themselves from the congregation."
This has been our experience for the past eight months. It happens on a daily basis from people we have known most of our lives and even extends to family members. Our concern is not for ourselves, although it can be hard to bear at times. Adam and Leodhas are witnesses to this, day in and day out, particularly at the school where many of the 'friends', family and their children shun, ignore and avoid me and my husband, whenever he does the school run.
We have no control over this and the situation wont change!
This has been emotionally damaging to us as a family, but particularly toward Adam. He is only 7yrs old and is at times so full of frustration and anger. He cannot comprehend this treatment of his mum and dad and truly feels a sense of injustice. I really feel that it is affecting his performance in class and is causing him a great deal of worry. There is no way that we as his parents can find a way to avoid this shunning except to remove him from the school. Children should be care-free and should enjoy having friends and normal relationships with people.
In my opinion, this is a form of psycological, emotional bullying, and its devastating effects CANNOT be over emphasised !
There isn't a day goes by where either Adam or Leodhas comment on it. As far as I am aware, an official study has not been conducted on the effects off these teachings on the children of JWs, but various studies have been conducte on adults. In general, the results conclude that there were higher incidents of mental health issues among JW adults in proportion to the general population. A summary of these studies and accompanying comments can be found at - http://www.seanet.com/@raines/mental.html. Much information can also be accessed at Watchtowercomments.com. This information is well balanced and accurate.
I appreciate that this personal example may seem unusual, and not every witness child or parent will have the misfortune of our experience. However, I do know that these circumstances are far from unique and are repeated with varing degrees of severity throughout the country and the world.
The cost of leaving the JW organization is very high and I feel its important for me to inform you of the huge pressures that have come to bear on my children and the detrimental effects of the less well known policies of the Watchtower Society. I feel that if you are in a position to understand these unique pressures, then you are in a better position to support and understand a JW child, who may find themselves going through the same turmoil.
Leodhas will be going to High School at the start of next term and will for the most part be away from it, whereas, Adam would have another four years of trying to cope with this.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this letter, and it is with sadness that we are removing Adam from the school, but we know as parents that this is the right decision to be made.
Yours sincerely
Lorraine Barrie.