A reader writes:
I sent my son to a 'Christian' school because it was the only school in our area specifically for children with severe learning disabilities. They had classes of 9 children each and a lot of 'one on one' as well as a high level of supervision. There were definitely a lot of "shalt nots" and not much nurturing. Not wanting to risk his placement, we walked a careful line, only stepping in when certain boundaries were crossed.
Like when they told him he couldn't draw any more because his pictures contained the devil with horns. (Our son was severely abused and adopted by us when he was 3. These drawings were used for therapeutic purposes. He was non-verbal and the drawings provided us and our family psychiatrist some limited insight into how he was doing.) Anyway.
Despite never saying anything negative about the school in front of him, when he was 8 he insisted on going to the public school. Shortly afterwards he said: "Christians don't like kids, do they mom. They don't seem to care about us and they are always telling us we're doing the wrong thing." He is now 29, on a disability pension, rarely employed and still believes "Christians don't like children". Attempting to talk to him about it is futile. He is thoroughly convinced.
Heart-breaking.