We most likely experienced that one teacher we had a connection with and looked out for us as a child. Teachers play an important role in children's lives. We look to them for guidance and protection. If a child is being abused or neglected, what is the teacher’s role in this case? Training is vital for these types of cases. Knowing what child abuse entails and what are the preventative measures to insure a child’s safety. The lack of knowledge can prevent a teacher from taking action. Child abuse can lead to many physical and mental trauma leading up to adulthood. Unfortunately, there have been many cases of child maltreatment over the years. I am going to dive into the factors of child abuse, the teacher’s role to take action and the reapportions.
If a teacher is seeing any marks or bruises that are not associated with the child being playful and accidentally hurting themselves. If it's a repetitive situation, a child comes in with these markings or approaches the teacher saying that they are getting mistreated at home. The teacher's duty is to bring it to the authorities, fill out a report, and go through protocol. It should be a no-brainer, but not many teachers take action. Why? The primary cause for failure to report is the fear of making a false report. It reported a large sum of elementary and middle school personnel stated they feared legal repercussions that might take place in a case of a false allegation. Some school principals have a preference to resolve child abuse cases within the school, others investigate cases of suspected child abuse brought to them by staff members before making a report. Almost half of the educators have not reported child maltreatment at some point in their time working in the educational field, few don’t report it at all. This shouldn’t be happening, teachers have a legal obligation to report child abuse cases and protect the child from any further harm.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
Child maltreatment has a long history in our country. For example, in 1874 there was a popular case where an eight-year-old by the name of Mary Ellen Wilson was brutally abused by her guardians. With this people were outraged by the realization that there were no laws in existence to protect children like Marry Ellen Wilson from this kind of abuse. Lawmakers realize that animals had more law protection than children and decided that had to change. This case brought national attention to the issue of child maltreatment and the lack of attention given to this problem. These lawmakers passed “The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Public Law 93-247.” In 1974, states made reporting child maltreatment and abuse mandatory. As of 2001 Child Protective Services reported that they received millions of allegations of child maltreatment. Educators made up a large portion of these reports in the U.S.
Teachers’ preparation to recognize and deal with child abuse cases is important. Child abuse and neglect can be incorporated into training, including pre-service and training programs that need to be developed. The undergraduate-level curriculum for social foundation or classes that are designed for teachers should include signs of child maltreatment and indicators for different types of abuse. Aspiring teachers should also be educated under Social Service Law, knowing failure to report child abuse may result in the criminal action, civil liability, and professional board disciplinary action against the employee. Teachers are not pleased with the quality and amount of child abuse education they get. Training provided to future teachers in their undergraduate level coursework by social workers, or more specifically by child protection workers, can enforce confidence in CPS. More training can be done at many levels, like in college curriculums and continuing education requirements.
The more we educate our teachers the better the outcome. It can prevent many children from being overlooked by the people they trust. This can be done by having more knowledge about child abuse and neglect. Also, education requirements on the matter by providing training and even lectures by social workers. Child abuse can have major side effects as the child becomes an adult. It can affect their mental health and social skills. I am hoping that future educators have the confidence to speak up on the matter and make a difference.
Stuck on your essay?
