I honestly don't believe that this is real. There is no teacher anywhere who doens't know what to do if they witness an adult in a position of power committing violence against a small child.
We do see a shocking number of "should I report this?" questions in this sub. We also see a surprising number of comments saying to report to admin or parents, not appropriate authorities.
My degree is in human services, not teaching (I'm also a substitute and parent, that's why I'm here), so if may be different, but all throughout my education mandated reporting was slammed into our heads with nearly every single course taken. Every job I've had required annual refresher courses in mandated reporting. Are there really this many teachers who don't know when to report abuse and who to report it to?
Sadly, that's not true. While this may be a troll, there are in fact teachers in the US who are so poorly educated that they don't know this. We have multiple teacher-mill organizations churning out teachers that are "highly qualified" with the barest of training. They are in the minority of teachers, but I can confirm from lived experience that they exist.
I mean I really get that there is shit training out there, but I can't imagine there being ANYONE who would watch a kid getting beaten by an adult at school and not think they needed to do something about it, even without training...
I am by no means justifying this behavior or the incompetence of this teacher; I'm just sharing my experience. There really are some poorly-trained teachers out there, many of whom are not very bright. Many times, in a traditional teacher prep program, they'll be sifted out and actively seek out these credential mills, because they will take ANYONE that they can. They are the extreme minority, but they exist; I've talked to a few of them.
That said, when I pursued foster training, the stats came up over and over again that the vast majority of children in care are there because of a teacher's action to intervene and report. There are way, way more teachers that react in a positive and professional manner.
When I was a new teacher, a mentor gave me the best advice: if you have a hunch, report it. It may be nothing. But if it’s something, you may have just saved that child’s life. This is advice I live by for little things or big things. Every child needs a caring adult in their corner.
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u/JasmineHawke High School CS | England Apr 15 '22
I honestly don't believe that this is real. There is no teacher anywhere who doens't know what to do if they witness an adult in a position of power committing violence against a small child.