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November 30, 2011
Page 7
For the Sake of Our Children
Start a conversation on child abuse
A nn H anson
As I w atched
and listened to the
unfolding story of
the Penn S tate
sc a n d a l
th is
month, my feel­
ings of intense anger were fo­
cused on the accused pedophile
and a system of power and privi­
lege that apparently was engaged
in protecting its honor and status
at the expense of vulnerable boys
who were cleverly groomed and
seduced by one of their coaches.
One of the brief interviews I
watched involved a young adult
who said that he, too, had been
involved with the Second Mile
Foundation and had been with
the accused pedophile Jerry
Sandusky.
by
The young man went on to
say that on a couple occasions,
Mr. Sandusky had placed his
hand on his thigh and caressed
it. He knew then, as a child, that
deep down this was not right,
and it gave him the “creeps,” so
he stayed away from the perpe­
trator and did not become another
victim of even more horrible abuse.
Did he tell anyone in authority
about the creepiness of his expe­
rience? No.
This story prompted me to
reflect on my own experience.
When I was 16, my driver’s
training instructor (a young,
charming, handsome and char­
ismatic man) put his hand on my
thigh during one of our classes.
By some miracle, I knew on
many levels this was very wrong.
I shot him a look that made him
know that this was not right. He
never bothered me again.
Did I tell anyone in authority
about the creepiness of my ex­
perience? No. Were others hurt
because of my silence? Yes. I
wonder what might have been
different if my parents, my
school, my church had taught a
5-year old me that my body was
sacred , and that if anyone
touched me inappropriately, I
was to tell.
Hopefully, this Penn State
scandal will start a conversation
all over the world - a conversa­
tion that involves the court sys­
tem, institutions that care for
children, our churches, schools,
and yes, our own homes.
Every child, starting at a young
age, needs to know that their
body is precious, and that no one
has the right to touch any part of
their bodies without permission.
Parents and guardians are
often uncomfortable with con­
versations that might involve
sexuality. Our silence,however,
allows our children, nieces, neph­
ews and grandchildren to be vul­
nerable to a predator’s groom­
ing process and abuse.
We also need to tell children
they must trust their instincts,
and if someone makes them feel
“yucky” or “creepy,” or if they
are touched inappropriately, they
have a safe place to come and
talk about it.
The term ‘good touch/bad
touch’ is often times not helpful
- a predator’s grooming process
may consist of touch that feels
good, especially if a child is in
need of loving touch. ‘Stranger
danger’ is another term that is
misleading - most predators are
known to the child. If your child
attends a program (whether it be
in church or the com munity)
make sure a ‘safe child’ policy is
in place: no child is ever left
alone with an adult.
Mandatory reporting of sus­
pected child abuse varies from
state to state. Teachers, social
workers, clergy, physicians, etc.,
are not mandatory reporters in
all 50 states.
If you ever see or suspect
child abuse of any kind, contact
your local child protective ser­
vices office or law enforcepient
agency so professionals can as­
sess the situation. Do this for the
sake of our children.
Ann Hanson is minister fo r
sexuality education and ju s ­
tice fo r the United Church o f
Christ.
Cuts in Education a Failing Choice
Few dollars
saved today
will cost us in
the future
of color, upward mobility.
As if children and families
were not suffering enough dur­
ing this economic downturn,
many states are choosing to bal­
ance budgets on the backs of
children and to shift more costs
away from governm ent onto
children and families who have
few er m eans to bear
them. That is a shameful
trend in public education
today.
Even when students
are in school, they’re get­
ting less than they used
to. O f the 46 states that
publish data in a manner allow­
ing historical comparisons, 37
are providing less funding per
student to local school districts
this school year than they pro­
vided last year, and 30 are pro­
viding less funding than they did
four years ago. Seventeen states
have cut per-student funding
more than 10 percent from pre­
M arian W right E delman
Aristotle got it right
when he said, “All
who have meditated
on the art of govern­
ing m ankind have
been convinced that
the fate of empires
depends on the edu­
cation of youth.”
Once upon a time America,
professed to believe in a strong
public education system — at
least for some children. We still
talk about public education as
the great equalizer and pathway
out of poverty, but continue to
fall far short in assuring millions
of poor children, especially those
by
' X iu rt UtttÓ
r
fU r r Established 1970
USPS 959-680
47 47 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
recession levels, and four—
South Carolina, Arizona, Cali­
fornia, and Hawaii— have re­
duced per student funding for K-
12 schools more than 20 per­
cent.
T hese cuts have m ajor e f ­
fects on critic a l le arn in g o p ­
p o rtu n ities. T hey com e at a
tim e w hen A m erican e d u c a ­
tion is in dire straits.
The United States ranks 24th
among 30 developed countries
in overall educational achieve­
ment for 15-year-olds. A study
of education systems in 60 coun­
tries ranks the United States 31 st
in math achievement and 23rd in
science achievem ent for 15-
year-olds. More than 60 percent
of all fourth, eighth, and 12th
grade public school students in
every racial and income group
are reading or doing math below
grade level. Nearly 80 percent
or more of black and Hispanic
students in these grades are read­
ing or doing math below grade
level.
A recent report by the Educa­
tion Trust notes more than one in
five high school graduates don’t
meet the minimum standard re­
quired for Army enlistment as
measured by the Armed Forces
Qualification Test. Among ap­
plicants of color, the ineligibility
rates are even higher: 29 per­
cent of Hispanics and 39 per­
cent of African Americans are
ineligible based on their scores.
Children should be getting
more quality instructional time,
not less, to prepare to compete in
the rapidly globalizing economy.
Instead they’re being held back
and provided less school days
and hours by stopgap solutions
to budget problems they didn’t
cause.
Too many adults seem to lack
a moral, common, and fiscal
sense context for making deci­
sions about what to cut and what
to invest in. At the C hildren’s
Defense Fund we believe edu­
cation is a basic human right and
an essential tool for evening the
odds for al 1 chiIdren and promot­
ing upward mobility forchildren
left behind.
Education gives you the tools
to improve not only your own
life, but the lives of others and to
leave the world better than you
found it. How can we expect our
ch ild re n to cre a te a b e tte r
America if we don’t give them a
good education?
Cuts being proposed in Con­
gress, the states and localities
around the country may be sav­
ing a few dollars on a balance
sheet today— but they will cost
us dearly tomorrow as a nation.
How shortsighted we are. Where
are our priorities? What are our
values?
Marian Wright Edelman is
president o f the C hildren’s
Defense Fund.
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