Man guilty of not schooling daughters

A father of six who was the first parent in WA charged for not sending his children to school has been found guilty of breaching the Education Act.

Hans Ulrich Meier, who prefers to be known as One, has said previously that children should be able to spend time outside having fun instead of being locked away in classrooms.

He was today given a conditional release order when he appeared in Midland Magistrate's Court.

Dressed in white and walking barefoot, Meier told the court that he had never refused to send his children to school, it had been their choice.

"Teaching has become something of a sit down, shut up and listen," he said.

Jemirah and Alisha, now aged 15 and 14, have hardly set foot in a classroom in the past few years.

They tried home schooling but that was abandoned when Meier had a disagreement with an Education Department moderator.

Meier’s two oldest sons, aged 17 and 19, also chose not to attend high school.

The court heard that his two daughters, Jemirah and Alisha, had only attended one day of school between June 2008 and April 2009.

By law children between six and 15 years of age must attend school.

If Meier breaks the conditional release order with a similar offence he will be fined $300 for each of his daughters.

He was also ordered to pay costs of $2271.

Meier, of Ellenbrook, faced a maximum fine of $2000 over the two charges laid by the Department of Education and Training.

In July last year, Meier told The West Australian that children should be able to spend time outside having fun instead of being locked away in classrooms.

"(At school) they have to wear a hat and put poisons on their skin before being allowed in the sun," he told the paper. "Children are being denied their freedom by keeping them in schools as batch numbers for society."

Asked what his children did with their extra time, Meier said they had fun by watching videos, listening to music or drawing and did their own learning.

"There are books galore in my house to do with what they want to do," he said. "They are not hanging around the streets. They don't drink, don't smoke, they stay indoors."

Meier said he was "blessed" to have been able to spend so much time with his children and was prepared to speak on behalf of other parents who wanted to teach their own beliefs at home.

Letting his children stay home had saved taxpayers an immense amount of money, he said.