Tia posted about this earlier - but I had a few thoughts of my own I wanted to share.
From time to time on "Home Where They Belong" we get accused of fear mongering - finding the most outlandish stories possible from some obscure sources - and posting them here to scare the dickens out of everyone.
Of course, we beg to differ -- the greater majority of us homeschoolers have been taught in government schools ourselves, and we know firsthand what's out there. Furthermore, I had two daughters spend some time in government schools, and am certainly not thrilled with what they received either.
But are the kids in real, physical danger -- or are we exaggerating it a bit? I don't think we're exaggerating at all. Sexual abuse in public school? Read this article: AP: Sexual misconduct plagues US schools
Here are a few excerpts:
An Associated Press investigation found more than 2,500 cases over five years in which educators were punished for actions from bizarre to sadistic.
There are 3 million public school teachers nationwide, most devoted to their work. Yet the number of abusive educators — nearly three for every school day — speaks to a much larger problem in a system that is stacked against victims.
Most of the abuse never gets reported. Those cases reported often end with no action. Cases investigated sometimes can't be proven, and many abusers have several victims.
And no one — not the schools, not the courts, not the state or federal governments — has found a surefire way to keep molesting teachers out of classrooms.
Those are the findings of an AP investigation in which reporters sought disciplinary records in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The result is an unprecedented national look at the scope of sex offenses by educators — the very definition of breach of trust.
And:
"From my own experience — this could get me in trouble — I think every single school district in the nation has at least one perpetrator. At least one," says Mary Jo McGrath, a California lawyer who has spent 30 years investigating abuse and misconduct in schools. "It doesn't matter if it's urban or rural or suburban."
Wow. Well I don't want to "excerpt" the whole article. The most difficult part to read is how these teachers manage to keep their licenses and find their way into other school districts, to abuse again. It's real, it's happening, it's a big part of our government school system.
Did I ever encounter a perpetrator in school? You bet I did. Commercial art. Sexual innuendos all the time. He insisted that each of us spend time with him alone in the darkroom before we'd graduate his class. I refused. I quit the class -- for other reasons as well -- but there was no way on earth I was going to go into that darkroom alone with him. So nothing ever happened with me, but I know there was a perpetrator in my school. I found out years later when a school administrator confided in me, that he had a large file of complaints against him. Yet he retired ... my tax dollars hard at work.
Why don't teens report this kind of thing - I have no idea. I'd be on that so fast today, his head would have been spinning. I think that back then it just freaked me out. Was I imagining something? What was he all about anyhow. He was kind of cool in a lot of ways, and super nice. But the innuendos - I didn't quite know what to think. I didn't want to be the one to say "this is weird" and end up being the weird one. I think that is half of it with kids and teens. Above all else, blend in and maybe nobody will notice me and make me look foolish.
So how safe are our children in school? I won't be taking that chance. Mine are going to be home with me, where they belong.
Deb Turner - Homeschooling from the Heart
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Oct. 22, 2007
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