Recent media reports:
The New York Post is on to something. Teachers are increasingly raping students. Yes, raping. Just as, Winston Moseley stalked, raped and murdered Kitty Genovese over a half-century ago, a significant number of teachers are raping the innocent leaving them to live out their sentence.
What’s important to understand here is the New York Post’s apparent strategy on this- they keep putting one toe in the water every time a teacher is accused of raping a student.
They write an article about it, and wait to see what the political blowback will be. Priests are fair game, police officers are fair game, athletes are as well, but the indoctrinators of biased political thinking are seemly off limits. It’s time schools assist students in breaking their silence against those who are empowered to change their lives with a single number or letter.
According to the Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology and Related Services the most recent statistics (2017) should shake the core of any decent human being:
Of children in 8th through 11th grade, about 3.5 million students (nearly 7%) surveyed reported having had physical sexual contact with an adult (most often a teacher or coach). The type of physical contact ranged from unwanted touching of their body, all the way up to sexual intercourse.
This statistic increases to about 4.5 million children (10%) when it takes other types of sexual misconduct into consideration, such as being shown pornography or being subjected to sexually explicit language or exhibitionism.
These disturbing statistics go beyond being “red flags.” They are evidence that priests and police officers are not the only predators who commit rape, sexual misconduct and sexual assault. Society, yes the media, must move away from the “A Chorus Line” method of reporting, where one incident gets put in front of mirrors to project a scourge.
Parents must add appropriateness of student-teacher relationships to the Birds and the Bees conversation. They need to discuss what to do if a police officer stops you, or someone pressures you to consume alcohol or take drugs. Yes, this includes marijuana. Parents must remember to not only communicate with their children but also observe their behavior for changes such as excessive weight loss or gain and changes in their social media postings to include sexual content etc.
The media has a responsibility to have editorial integrity. Exposing teachers who rape their students is a good way to start. Another is to bring back the comments sections for on-line articles. The Long Island rag, Newsday, of course can give it out but can’t take it. Call it cowardice, call it what you will but the academics who spew bias opinions come from the places where society’s students are prone to its latest predators.
About the author: John Amodeo, M.A.
John Amodeo, M.A. is a former N.Y.P.D Detective Commander and the Commanding Officer of the 77th and 75th Precinct Detective Squads in Brooklyn, New York. Upon his retirement from the N.Y.P.D John brought his expertise to campus safety and corporate security. John holds a Master’s Degree in Criminology and Justice from St. John’s University. John is a Co-founder of The Partner Project.
The Partner Project, a not for profit, 501 (c) 3 charity organization, is a collaborative effort to raise awareness about relationship violence, dating violence, domestic violence and sexual assault through education, research and responsible action. The Partner Project conducts educational workshops on these issues at middle school, high schools and colleges. Additionally, we provide education on pro-active bystander interventions and “Trauma Informed Training” for first responders
