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Failed marriages hurt education
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The West Australian
15 December 2000, p38
Failed marriages hurt education: researcher
By Melissa Stevens
Children's school performance is suffering because non-custodial fathers are being shut out of the education system, according to a university researcher.
Curtin University PhD student Ron Baker said children were missing out on the input of non-custodial fathers who were often excluded from their education. Research had shown that children in families where the parents were separated or divorced did not perform as well as other children at school.
Mr Baker is researching the impact of separation and divorce on non-custodial fathers.
He said being excluded from the day-to-day involvement with their children in areas such as schooling has as significant impact on the emotional well-being of fathers.
"The stereotype says these dead-beat dads walk away from their kids and don't care," he said. "But they want to be involved."
Mr Baker conceded schools were in a difficult situation but he said Education Department policy needed to be more inclusive of non-custodial parents.
Department schools assistant executive director Rose Moroz said school went to great effort to ensure both parents were told of children's progress - including providing copes of reports and portfolios and making phonecalls to both parents.
Mr Baker wants to get in touch with non-custodial parents for his research. He can be contacted on 08 9279 1702.
-----Original Message #1-----
In response feminist/misandrist Kathleen Swinbourne President, Sole Parents' Union wrote:
From: Kathleen Swinbourne
Subject: Re: I just wanted to vomit at this one
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 21:30:50
A couple of points on this one.
- If he is researching the effect on fathers of being excluded, how does he know what the effect on children is? They are two different areas of research, and other research does not back up this finding.
- Don't blame Melissa for this one. It might have been a trade off for getting the other story up. It looks like a small, fairly insignificant article. What page of the paper was it on?
- Yes, the article is badly written. It makes it sound as if it is custodial mothers who are excluding the fathers, rather than fathers not wanting to get involved, or them being excluded for other reasons. One of the possible reasons for this is that the media gets much more co-operation from dads and dads groups, so it is their story that is heard all the time. If we want to counter these stories we have to have good relationships with the media - not just a few sympathetic journalists, but even, or particularly, the outlets and journalists who are hostile. They are the ones that need educating.
- I don't know if the Department of Education is different in WA, but in NSW I cannot get a school to send out two copies of a report. They will only send one and then it is up to me to keep the kids' father informed.
Has anybody written a letter to the editor on this one? As the article appeared on Friday and I've only just downloaded my email it's probably too late for us to write one. It would be interesting to know if any letters appeared countering the viewpoint.
Kathleen Swinbourne
President
Sole Parents' Union
http://www.go.to/soleparentsunion/
-----Original Message #2-----
[This message is a 'good' example of the misandry that deserted fathers face from misandrists and feminists. LJ]
From: Philip & Sue Magee
Date: Monday, December 18, 2000 3:04 PM
Subject: Re: I just wanted to vomit at this one
I'm vomiting right along with you. I can't understand Melissa Stevens even writing it after doing her dead beat dad story. She sounded so nice over the phone, but I guess you don't get to pick your stories. I guess the alternative is not to shut them out, invite them right in to the ears ago," he said.
A spokesman for Federal Family and Community Services Minister Larry Anthony said the Government was satisfied the Child Support Scheme was successful.
The Government introduced its Child Support Amendment Bill into Parliament last month but the Senate blocked it. Proposed reforms included reducing the amount of child support paid by high income earners and people who had custody of their children for 10 per cent to 30 per cent of the year.
---
Mother lucky to make ends meet
By Melissa Stevens
Mosman Park mother Kathy Smith is one of the lucky ones.
The father of her two-year-old daughter, Shontae, meets his child support payment commitment of $300 a month.
But even with the payment, Ms Smith, who lives on a single parent's payment and a family support allowance, said she had to budget carefully.
And the Solo Mothers Group president said many sole mothers struggled to make ends meet, with former partners failing to make child support payments or minimising their income.
Child Support Agency figures show $59 million in outstanding child support payments has been accrued in WA since the child support scheme was implemented in 1988.
Ms Smith, a part-time Murdoch University student, said she relied heavily on her child support payment.
She believed some fathers did not make their payments because they saw it as a payment to their former partner.
"Often people don't see the payments are going to the welfare of the child," she said. Non-custodial parents shirking financial responsibilities put pressure on the welfare system.
Eric Fuller, of Hillarys, said not all fathers attempted to shirk their financial responsibilities.
He had been paying 27 per cent of his income in child support payments to his former partner for their two children since his separation six months ago.
Mr Fuller said he was a chef who did not make a high wage but he wanted to make payments to provide for his daughters, aged six and seven.
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