WEBVTT - Educator Sexual Misconduct — Bonus | Jenifer's Story

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal Bonus Episode two,

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<v Speaker 1>Educator sexual Misconduct. We've addressed betrayal in various ways during

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<v Speaker 1>the series, and we've heard from many of you that

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<v Speaker 1>personally identified with Rachel, the victim that Spencer Heron was

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<v Speaker 1>convicted of sexually assaulting at Kel High School. During our production,

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<v Speaker 1>we've learned more about how pervasive educator sexual misconduct is.

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<v Speaker 2>Sexual misconduct is a range of verbal, visual, and natory

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<v Speaker 2>and physical behaviors that are sexualized. Interactions with students in schools,

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<v Speaker 2>anything from language to students that is sexualized, asking them

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<v Speaker 2>what they like to do for sex, what kind of

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<v Speaker 2>sex do they like, to things that are visual, for instance,

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<v Speaker 2>masturbating in front of students, never touching them, but masturbating

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<v Speaker 2>in front of them, or disrobing in front of them,

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<v Speaker 2>or sending them pictures of penises or breasts or vaginas,

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<v Speaker 2>and then physical assault issues like forced sex, or in

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<v Speaker 2>terms of miners, it may not be for sex. They're miners.

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<v Speaker 2>They may be confused. They're often told the person loves

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<v Speaker 2>them and cares for them, and they're going to get

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<v Speaker 2>married and things are going to be okay.

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<v Speaker 1>That's doctor Cheryl Shakeshaft. She's a professor of educational leadership

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<v Speaker 1>at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of a congressionally

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<v Speaker 1>mandated report an educators have misconduct. She's been studying school

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<v Speaker 1>employees sexual misconduct for more than twenty five years. Our

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<v Speaker 1>team reached out to her to learn more about the problem.

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<v Speaker 1>Doctor Sheakeschaff believes schools have not done nearly enough to

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<v Speaker 1>prevent educator sexual misconduct and that the onus is often

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<v Speaker 1>on the children to report. We have received so many

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<v Speaker 1>emails with similar stories to Rachel's, we thought it was

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<v Speaker 1>important to raise awareness to help students, parents and schools

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<v Speaker 1>be aware to avoid predators like Spencer.

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<v Speaker 2>We have expected the children to be the people who

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<v Speaker 2>police the school and prevent things from happening, so we

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<v Speaker 2>give them training about good touch, bad touch. Nothing wrong

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<v Speaker 2>with that. They should know those things absolutely, but adults

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<v Speaker 2>also need to know exactly what they should do when

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<v Speaker 2>they see things, when things are going on, when their

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<v Speaker 2>bystanders and stuff happens in front of them. They need

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<v Speaker 2>training to be able to understand what that means, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>not just say, oh, he's just a friendly teacher. He

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<v Speaker 2>hugs all the kids, or she just really likes her students,

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<v Speaker 2>and yes, she goes out of her way for them.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, they need to understand what the boundaries are,

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<v Speaker 2>that nobody gets to cross those boundaries, and that if

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<v Speaker 2>you see boundary crossing, you report it. And then the

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<v Speaker 2>people who gets reported to need to understand that if

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<v Speaker 2>there's a report, you need to actually do something. You

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<v Speaker 2>need to in most cases call the police and have

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<v Speaker 2>an investigation.

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<v Speaker 1>And sometimes even well meaning teachers don't understand the dynamics

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<v Speaker 1>of teachers who engage in sexual misconduct. We heard from

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<v Speaker 1>a teacher who joined the staff at Kel High School

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<v Speaker 1>after Spencer Hearn was arrested, and one of his comments

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<v Speaker 1>really stood out.

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<v Speaker 3>He wrote, many.

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<v Speaker 1>Teachers at Kel would tell me it didn't really believe

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<v Speaker 1>the charges, or that every story has two sides, and

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<v Speaker 1>it really made me feel uncomfortable because of deplorable charges.

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<v Speaker 1>I found it odd that so many employees were complacent

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<v Speaker 1>are passive about the story.

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<v Speaker 2>In schools, they often allowed teachers to break rules, taking

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<v Speaker 2>students in their cars, being alone with students behind closed

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<v Speaker 2>and locked doors in their rooms. Teachers see things of

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<v Speaker 2>their colleagues and they don't respond. I asked teachers did

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<v Speaker 2>you see anything, and they say, yes, I did. It

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<v Speaker 2>was you know, really irregular and not allowed behavior. And

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<v Speaker 2>then I say to the teacher, will did you report it?

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<v Speaker 2>And the teacher will say, well no, And then I

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<v Speaker 2>ask why and the teacher says, well, you know, if

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<v Speaker 2>I was wrong, I might get a colleague in trouble

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<v Speaker 2>and I didn't want to do that, and it's kind

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<v Speaker 2>of awkward, you know, we're friendly, and I just it

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<v Speaker 2>just I just didn't report. I've never heard a teacher

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<v Speaker 2>say yes, I reported, and I reported because even if

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<v Speaker 2>I'm wrong, I wanted to make sure that if something

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<v Speaker 2>was happening, somebody was looking into us. So the issue

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<v Speaker 2>is that in schools we don't do anything, and by

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<v Speaker 2>not doing anything, by not using prevention methods, we enable

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<v Speaker 2>those people who either intend to abuse or come around

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<v Speaker 2>to abusing, because they start crossing boundary after boundary after boundary,

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<v Speaker 2>and pretty soon there they are. We enable them. It's

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<v Speaker 2>like having roads with no stop signs.

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<v Speaker 3>Perhaps teachers don't know what they should say.

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<v Speaker 2>We need to practice the language of reporting, just get

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<v Speaker 2>people familiar with it. Instead of saying I don't think

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<v Speaker 2>this is really real. I mean I'm probably making something

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<v Speaker 2>out of nothing. I mean, it's just well, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I really hate to bring this up, saying Harold has

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<v Speaker 2>his classroom across the hall from me, and I see

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<v Speaker 2>him there regularly alone with individual students. It concerns me.

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<v Speaker 2>Or I saw Janine having dinner with one of her

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<v Speaker 2>students and they were sitting really close together. I'm concerned.

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<v Speaker 2>We need to teach people to just give information and

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<v Speaker 2>then it's somebody to take the next step and investigate.

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<v Speaker 1>We asked doctor Shee Schaft, how can we change that

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<v Speaker 1>thinking and culture in schools.

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<v Speaker 2>Every school should have training, training about patterns and what

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<v Speaker 2>happens and what you're supposed to do as an adult.

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<v Speaker 2>Every school should have a set of behaviors so that

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<v Speaker 2>people understand what's acceptable and what's not acceptable between adults

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<v Speaker 2>and students. Many kids just think that it's okay. They say,

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<v Speaker 2>if this weren't okay, somebody would have stopped it. Everybody

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<v Speaker 2>sees how he acts or how she acts, so kids

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<v Speaker 2>don't really understand, and they think of it as dating.

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<v Speaker 2>They don't understand the issues. So the kids see it,

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<v Speaker 2>kids talk about it, they see it. They know stuff's

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<v Speaker 2>going on, but they don't report it because they don't

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<v Speaker 2>code it as something that is supposed to be reported

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<v Speaker 2>because no one's ever taught them.

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<v Speaker 1>Doctor Shakeshaft explains that there is training for sexual harassment,

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<v Speaker 1>but schools could do more.

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<v Speaker 2>When you ask most schools if they have training, they say, yes,

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<v Speaker 2>we have training. And then when you ask to see

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<v Speaker 2>the training, what you see is either training about sexual

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<v Speaker 2>harassment peer to peers, so the adults get training about

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<v Speaker 2>not harassing one of their colleagues, kids get training about

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<v Speaker 2>not harassing one of their peers, but neither get training

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<v Speaker 2>about the adult sexually harassing the student. Or they get

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<v Speaker 2>trained on mandated reporting. But mandated reporting training is about

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<v Speaker 2>reporting things that happen outside the school, not inside the school.

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<v Speaker 3>What else could schools do.

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<v Speaker 2>We need people who walk through the cafeteria at lunchtime

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<v Speaker 2>and look at what adults and students are doing. People

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<v Speaker 2>who when they walk down the halls are looking at

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<v Speaker 2>adult and student interaction. When they go by a classroom door,

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<v Speaker 2>looking in and seeing what's going on when it's before

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<v Speaker 2>school and after school and the classroom's empty, checking the classroom,

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<v Speaker 2>seeing what's happened. We need people who are on the

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<v Speaker 2>move and looking for the right things. It isn't that

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<v Speaker 2>people don't walk down the halls, but they aren't looking

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<v Speaker 2>at adult as student interactions. They're looking for some student

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<v Speaker 2>who's misbehavior. They're not looking for these things. So we

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<v Speaker 2>need supervisory behavior. When you hear a rumor, even if

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<v Speaker 2>it's abstract, we need people who will investigate.

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<v Speaker 1>And on the occasions someone does report it, the investigation

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<v Speaker 1>often doesn't go far enough.

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<v Speaker 2>They tend to call the teacher in and say are

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<v Speaker 2>you having sex with Anne Marie? And the teacher says no,

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<v Speaker 2>and the person says, okay, thank you, I didn't think so.

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<v Speaker 2>And then the teacher steps out and texts Anne Marie

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<v Speaker 2>and says, erase everything off your phone, and if you

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<v Speaker 2>get called in, tell them nothing's going on, and that's

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<v Speaker 2>the end of it. They don't follow up in super vision.

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<v Speaker 2>They don't follow up and try to see what's happening.

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<v Speaker 2>They don't do an investigation, they don't ask the friends,

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<v Speaker 2>they don't do anything.

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<v Speaker 1>One of our listeners shared a story that still upsets

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<v Speaker 1>her years later.

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<v Speaker 3>She tried to do the right thing.

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<v Speaker 1>She wrote, I was a sophomore in high school and

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<v Speaker 1>one of my teachers used to hit on me and

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<v Speaker 1>tell me very inappropriate things, for instance, how he would

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<v Speaker 1>rather have me beside him in his bed instead of

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<v Speaker 1>his wife. Nothing physical ever happened. It was all verbal

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<v Speaker 1>and the mental toll it had on me. It was

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<v Speaker 1>so much more than my teenage mind could take. He

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<v Speaker 1>would follow me in the hallways. I couldn't take it

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<v Speaker 1>anymore and broke down in tears to my mother and

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<v Speaker 1>told her everything. We went to the school and told

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<v Speaker 1>the principal everything. He seemed skeptical. I was brought in

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<v Speaker 1>the next day for questioning. Needless to say, nothing.

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<v Speaker 3>Happened and he was slapped with a week off.

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<v Speaker 1>When he came back, it was worse because now he

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<v Speaker 1>demanded to know why are I said anything?

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<v Speaker 3>So what should happen?

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<v Speaker 2>Call the police and have an investigation. That's what you

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<v Speaker 2>need to do.

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<v Speaker 1>And what else does doctor sheikschaff feel is non negotiable.

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<v Speaker 2>No sharing phone numbers, no sharing social media, no having

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<v Speaker 2>friends on Facebook, no TikTok, no Instagram, no nothing. School

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<v Speaker 2>districts are supposed to have email that are monitored. They

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<v Speaker 2>can have texting systems that are monitored, so that you're

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<v Speaker 2>using the monitored texting systems for the school. There are

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<v Speaker 2>lots of ways to do electronic communication with students when

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<v Speaker 2>you need to, that are monitored by schools and are

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<v Speaker 2>therefore safe. Now that doesn't mean somebody might not also

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<v Speaker 2>use their telephone, but we should at least start with

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<v Speaker 2>the rule that no, you can't use your personal telephone number.

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<v Speaker 2>You can't use your personal telephone number for texting, or

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<v Speaker 2>your personal email or your personal social media. School districts

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<v Speaker 2>have Facebook social media pages, they have other things where

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<v Speaker 2>if you want to make an announcement to your students,

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<v Speaker 2>you want to do whatever, you can do it there.

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<v Speaker 1>And we can't just say this one time at the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning of the school year.

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<v Speaker 3>It needs to be messaged over and over again.

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<v Speaker 2>It is a simple rule and it should be followed,

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<v Speaker 2>and it should be followed with big signs up all

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<v Speaker 2>over the place and little pop ups that come up

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<v Speaker 2>and other things to remind people. Don't give out your

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<v Speaker 2>telephone number to an adult in the school, don't give

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<v Speaker 2>out your telephone number to a student in school. Don't text.

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<v Speaker 2>We need to change the patterns.

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<v Speaker 1>Doctor Shakeschaff understands how much we put on our teachers.

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<v Speaker 2>I was a teacher and I thought This job's the

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<v Speaker 2>hardest job I've ever had. It was wonderful, but it's

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<v Speaker 2>hard work. And so I don't want to slam the

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<v Speaker 2>teachers for that. Yeah, they're busy, but it is a

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<v Speaker 2>school culture problem. If you have a school culture that's

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<v Speaker 2>the culture of students safe use first, and these are

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<v Speaker 2>the things we do, and we talk about it, and

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<v Speaker 2>we share our strategies and we bring it up and

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<v Speaker 2>we don't bury it, and we don't just say, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>we've got a handbook and policies, read them and then

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<v Speaker 2>tell people that's training, which it's not. You know, we

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<v Speaker 2>can change a culture where we say we don't cross

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<v Speaker 2>kids boundaries. That's behavior that's not acceptable. Here.

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<v Speaker 1>The Betrayal Team thanks doctor Shakeshaft for insight into educator

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<v Speaker 1>sexual misconduct. There are new developments in Jennifer's story and

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<v Speaker 1>we'll share them with you in an additional bonus episode

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<v Speaker 1>soon