Sexual Abuse, and the LAUSD's overreaction

As soon as you read the title of this article, you can notice something a little bit different about it. Saying that there's an overreaction to sexual abuse? Is that possible? Well according to this article about a recent sex abuse scandal at a public elementary school, it is. After one of the teachers was accused of multiple accounts of sexual abuse of his students, the school took obviously needed and sought after regulations to help the community feel protected. Some of these regulations did seem reasonable and justified, such as pulling all the normal teachers from the school and replacing them with substitutes while the investigation was going on. Now however, the USD has continued placing restrictions on teaching methods that resemble anything to do with the abuse. Blindfolding is no longer allowed in the school, despite the curriculum using blindfolds to teach children about the senses. Now kids can't experience the fun and educating lesson of making butter. Teachers have also been told to avoid comforting grieving children with a hug.

When I first saw this article, I wondered what the author could be thinking for obvious reasons. Overreaction isn't usually a word you hear when you talk about child abuse. But as I read the article, I realized that the author was right in his claim, banning blindfolding and butter-making isn't going to stop or prevent sexual abuse. All the USD actually did with these bans is made it impossible to abuse children in these specific ways. These new regulations will just make abusers more careful and witty with the methods they use. Ultimately all that's suffering here is the children's education, and that's something that's unacceptable.




http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-blindfold-20120306,0,6703148.story