For me, this is one of the most important and shocking of the presentations done during the semester. The statistics are mind boggling and it only goes to assure me that each and every one of your will be teaching children who have or are suffering from abuse.
It isn’t just about knowing your roles and responsibilities about reporting. It is about how you can build the self-esteem of your students and arm them with the skills and knowledge they need to avoid being victims of abuse or to have the courage to speak out if they are being abused.
I would love to hear your comments on this issue and what role you believe teachers have in this area.
It is so sad that some children have to deal with these issues. I think teachers are in an important position to notice these changes in a child’s behaviour because they are looking from the outside in. Often when other adults are within the circle they can’t see what is going on. And if their friends have noticed the changes they might not be sure of what to do about it. We need to try and keep the communication open for students to come for help if they need it. I also feel that if you as a teacher think something isn’t right that you should talk to the appropriate people sooner rather than later. If you had a suspicion and then didn’t do anything about it because you were worried you might be wrong… and then something happened… I know I couldn’t live with myself knowing I could have done something to help. The abuse these children may face will affect them in their adult years so if we can do something to help them now then we might just save a life.