From one teacher trying to fondle a fifth-grader’s breast to another filming his molestation of a boy, children are increasingly becoming victims of sexual abuse in schools. While one in 10 victimized children report some kind of abuse to someone who can do something about it, often teachers, administrators and some parents frequently don’t do anything to acknowledge the crime.
In more than 2,500 cases during five years, educators were punished for actions of sexual misconduct — ranging from bizarre to sadistic, an Associated Press investigation found. What’s worse, most cases of abuse never even get reported, and no one, including schools, courts and government bodies, knows a foolproof way to keep these teachers out of a classroom.
In many cases, teachers found guilty of sexual misconduct in one state would move to a different state and continue to teach there, and those are just the ones who get caught.
And nine out of 10 who were found to be sexually abusing students were males.
During the AP’s seven-month investigation, many people who try to track the problem emphasized the fact that very few people get caught, and there’s a deeply entrenched resistance toward recognizing and fighting abuse.
The investigation found 2,570 educators whose teaching credentials were revoked, denied, voluntarily surrendered or limited from 2001-05 following allegations of sexual misconduct, according to the Associated Press.
In at least 1,801 cases young people were the victims, and more than 80 percent of those were students.
More than half the educators who were punished by their states were convicted of crimes related to the misconduct.
There are 3 million public school teachers nationwide, and most would never dream of such atrocious behavior.
There also are cases where teachers have been falsely charged by someone looking for attention or a quick buck.
Still, these events do happen, and can ruin a child’s life. It has been far too easy for teachers to get away with abuse at every level — schools don’t want to tarnish their district’s reputation, there isn’t proper coordination between states and districts to check for abuse charges and many times teachers can simply resign in the face of charges without losing their teaching credentials.
Child abuse shouldn’t be a quiet, buried issue within a school district. Schools must develop a way to effectively background check potential hires, and someone found guilty of any type of abuse or misconduct should never be allowed to teach in a classroom again, in any state.
As for education majors at MSU and anyone interested in teaching in the future, know that, while rare, such events do happen.
Regardless of your place or position at a school, if you see the signs of abuse or are suspicious, make sure you report that suspicion.
The AP investigation found a general lack of outrage at such events and a corresponding lack of vigilance, which is completely unacceptable.
Parents should trust the people they entrust their children to, and kids should never face the physical and emotional damage from sexual abuse.
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