tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post7539425431115113472..comments2024-03-17T04:09:26.074-04:00Comments on SpeEdChange: Cultures of Complianceirasocolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01412837280249622430noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-76040733062727944872011-11-10T13:43:27.389-05:002011-11-10T13:43:27.389-05:00Interesting article and so true. I don't howe...Interesting article and so true. I don't however agree that teachers won't turn teachers in. I'm an educator and I've seen it happen on two occasions in the last 10 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-50598560329527761352011-11-10T10:49:32.896-05:002011-11-10T10:49:32.896-05:00Taking this out of the context of Penn State...
I...Taking this out of the context of Penn State...<br /><br />I have wondered similarly about school nurses who bully parents. I have wondered similarly about school psychologists who place a label on a child with no one contradicting that assessment. These people are particularly dangerous if left unchecked.<br /><br />I have had many aggressive school nurses attempt to bully me into doing things I didn't want to do. When Kid O was three, a nurse was insisting I take her in for a swallow test. When it came time for Kid O's IEP, I insisted this woman leave the room and Kid O assigned to a different school nurse before I would continue. I was not going to subject my child to a medical test that could harm more so than help.<br /><br />I had another school nurse deliberately misreport the time of a seizure so that she could have reason to call and ambulance and say to me menacingly over the phone, "are you scared?" And the principal of that school defended her behavior to me. And this was one of several times that this nurse overreached her authority, creating great havoc for me.<br /><br />Recently I had a nurse call me up about some routine hygiene issues. I asked my husband, who was working from his home office that afternoon, to pick up. When he was being protective of me, she asked if there were any DCFS actions against us. He said, "none of your business," and she said she had ways of finding out. She said, "Do you want to play hardball?"<br /><br />A few weeks later the principal told me that this nurse is "old school" and he would have a talk with her. So while he wasn't defending her behavior, he wasn't giving me any recourse, either. It was only on Twitter that I found out how to formally complain about school nurses. <br /><br />And similarly for school psychologists... if one makes a mistake, the mistake gets repeated. No one dares to question the findings of their colleague, who, in the first instance, was the principal's mentor. We attempted to provide evidence contrary to his finding only to have it dismissed out of hand by all in the room. <br /><br />What I find especially infuriating about what went on at Penn State is that I, as a mother to a special needs child, am assumed guilty of even crimes of sexual abuse while men of power and position remain covered up for. I read this and think, yes, same old double standards as always. Move along. Nothing new to see here. I will always be assumed guilty and needing prove my innocence, and men of rank and privilege will always have that for their shield.Miss Shuganahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13200157646397610173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19457872.post-43284745372327672712011-11-08T21:40:49.091-05:002011-11-08T21:40:49.091-05:00Hey Ira-
Thanks for inviting me to read this post...Hey Ira-<br /><br />Thanks for inviting me to read this post. I always enjoy reading your take on things and am not disappointed here.<br /><br />As a Penn State alum and one who openly idolizes Joe Paterno, I've been reading everything there is to read about this. It is of course devastating and humiliating to read about. I've had the cherished opportunity to work closely with abused children and I wish I could say I've never read, seen, or heard things as monstrous as what has been contained in these reports. It's just terrible, and every time I'm exposed to information like this it shakes my faith in humanity.<br /><br />I'm finding that I have too many emotions on all of this to fully express. Anger, pride, sadness, idolatry, embarrassment. I think I'm going to give all of this some time and space. I want to hear the whole story. I want to hear from Joe about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did or did not do. There are a lot of assumptions floating around about Joe that I think are potentially very unfair. People assume Joe knew about the 1998 incident, they assume he had full details of the 2002 incident, they assume he didn't follow up with the AD and head of UP Police. None of these assumptions are based in fact. So I want to hear Joe's side of this before I call for any kind of resignation. Certainly this tarnishes his legacy, but I'm not sure yet how fair or unfair that is.<br /><br />As for McQueary, I can't pretend to understand why he sat by at the time or for all these years after. I'm not a psychologist by any means and I don't know how typical or atypical it is for witnesses of horrific crimes to act in this manner. You make a lot of good points about this and I mostly agree. I think loyalty and trust played a large part in it- loyalty to the program and his coaches, trust that the administration would do the right thing... It is very twisted and frankly, angers the hell out of me. I don't believe he told Joe the full story in 2002 and when I play the scene out in my head I get a feel for why he might not have- I can't imagine sitting down with Joe Paterno, 75 years old, a grandfather figure, and going into graphic detail about the incident. But that doesn't for one second excuse sitting back and watching as what he witnessed get swept right under the rug and this psycho is still coming around, using the facilities...how could he face this man and live with himself???<br /><br />Anyway, I'm going to stop there because really it's too much to think about, I have too many emotions wrapped up in this right now, and I think all involved should step back and let some more information come to light. It's a horrible situation and I'm positive it will leave many folks who were in close contact with Sandusky asking the same questions for the rest of their lives- Could I have known? Should I have known? What could I have done? What should I have done?Steve Johnson @edtechstevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07072809949861882048noreply@blogger.com