BishopAccountability.org
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Let Us Prey; Teacher Sex Scandals to Top Priests' The Arizona Republic [Arizona] March 29, 2003 Hardly a day goes by that we don't read about another reported incident of sexual misconduct or sexual abuse by teachers, coaches and others in our school systems. Equally disturbing are the alleged accounts of superintendents, principals and school boards attempting to cover up such incidents, preferring to deal with them as "internal matters." My dire prediction is that sexual abuse scandals in our public schools will soon replace the Catholic Church as front page news. As a management consultant, I have been studying organizational behavior for over 30 years. I can tell you that there are strong parallels between the institutional characteristics of education and organized religion, all of which suggest that we had better become extremely vigilant about monitoring student-teacher relationships and what school administrators are doing to protect the well-being of our children. Among the institutional characteristics that education and organized religion have in common are the following:
We must insist that the educational bureaucracy obeys state laws that are designed to protect our children and to prosecute offenders to the letter of the law. Sexual misconduct and sexual abuse are not internal matters. - William E. Reef Tempe |
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