Joe Paterno/Jerry Sandusky Scandal
The passing of Joe Paterno has brought the Penn State sex abuse scandal back into the media spotlight. As a coach and physical education teacher it makes me wonder what we as educators/coaches can do to protect ourselves from false accusations. I am not saying by any means that the accusations against Sandusky are false, rather I am saying all it takes is one student with hard feelings to ruin the career of a professional. I can recall discussing a local case in one of my Undergraduate classes where the teacher lost his job simply due to allegations. There was no evidence or proof but the school didn't need that to force him to retire. Most schools don't want to be associated with any teacher who has any allegations against him/her. So.... How do we protect ourselves? I was always taught keep office doors open when meeting with students, use appropriate language, if you absolutely need to touch a student you ask them first if it is ok. All of these are great ways to ward off accusations but I think its safe to say that we are never really safe from possibility of being accused....
Good points Kelly - unfortunately, we can never be too cautious I suppose. thanks for the invite.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see your point of view on this situation, Kelly. As a Penn State Alumnus as well as a resident of State College, it's been a bizarre situation, but also an eye-opening one. As physical education teachers, we are probably at the most risk for these false accusations. We have to be very careful. I would also agree with you that we are never really safe fro the possibility of being accused. I guess we just have to do our best and act in good faith. If you think about it, a student can accuse a teacher of anything (not even sexual in nature) and potentially threaten their career. It's a scary world we live in.
ReplyDeleteIt is a scary world we live in and we cant do anything about it. We can only hope that we are positive influences in our students lives and carry ourselves in a professional way that protects us from those accusations.
DeleteAs an Ohio State fan, I have some interest in this situation. I was sad (as a college football fan) of his passing. I also got teary eyed in the memorial service that was broadcast on tv today. I think coaches have so many stresses in their life in putting a winning team on the field each game. On top of this, they are under the spotlight 24 hours a day. I wish that Joe Pa could have went out in a better way. Unfortunally, he will be remembered for the past few months rather than the 45+ years of "winning" ways he had. RIP Joe Pa
ReplyDeleteI completely agree his name will be linked to this scandal rather than the successful career he had as a coach! To me there is no doubt that the stress of this accelerated his declining health and that is a terrible thing. Lets hope that we dont have to worry about more iconic coaches facing this fate!
DeleteThose are great ways to protect yourself. You have to try and develop a trusting relationship with you co-workers as well. If an incident ever came up, you will want your co-workers to trust your side of the issue. Students can be cruel, and uncaring about teachers and their careers. You have to build a trust with your administration and co-workers so that if an incident were to come up, they will back you 100%.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my name is Chris Westfahl. I guess I didn't have my name on my profile when I first replied to your blog. LOL!
DeleteIn this day in age it is horrible how people have to protect themselves from lawsuits. Every corner you turn people are getting sued for the worse reasons. I am not saying that every person who has accused someone of doing something is lying, but some people do. I do believe that Jerry Sandusky is guilty and he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and some more. It is a shame that Paterno had to go down the way he did though.
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