Child Abuse

Child abuse is a topic that deeply saddens me. I had a friend who was abused as a child (sexually, emotionally, physically, and neglected). She made it through her abuse and found a safe place to live away from harm. But the pain and suffering that she endured stays with her to this day. Sometimes it is difficult for her to get up in the morning. A memory is triggered by something and the anxiety from the abuse hits her just as hard as it did years ago. She has been seeing a therapist, has a good job and just bought a house but the pain lingers deep in her heart. She told me that she will always have those memories and the pain that goes with them.
Seeing the struggles that my friend goes through after being abused as a child, I want to do everything in my power to protect my students. I know this will be a difficult task but I will try my best. I will get to know them as individuals and build relationships. I want to educate them about how people should be treated and that it is okay to ask for help. I want to reassure them that they do not need to be ashamed. Shame was one of the reasons that my friend did not seek help. I know that believing these desires will make a difference can be unrealistic but I will do everything in my power to protect students, even if it is unrealistic. You never know when something you do or say will impact a student and create change.
There is a part of me that fears that I may be overprotective and report something that is not abuse. But I'd rather make sure that my students are safe by reporting something I suspect (even if it ends up not being true) than not reporting anything and it turns out to be true. I do not want to be the teacher who let my friend walk out of the school every day into a home that was unstable and unsafe. So, like we have said a million times, we HAVE to get to know our students as well as possible. Being a teacher is very difficult and there is a lot of pressure. We have to educate the future of our country while meeting standards and other criteria, build relationships with students every year (some of us with more than one class), protect students from each other and from other sources, keep them motivated, etc... It is a difficult path we have chosen to take but we have chosen it for a reason. I have no doubt that all of us will be making a positive difference in the lives of many.