Beauvoir Scandal?

[Anonymous]

do you really think the school would have him escorted from the property and miss graduation and send that letter if nothing at all happened??! Please. this is a terrible situation for everyone. it happenned. exactly what happened they are still figuring out, but there are hurting children and families right now. children have had to deal with losing a favorite teacher and learning what kind of person he really was, even if they were lucky enough not to be one of his favorites or not have had him in their home, etc.

[Anonymous]

The lack of reporting in the media about this situation is feeling more and more disturbing to me.

A teacher at a top school who was escorted off the premises and barred from graduation and whose behavior is otherwise under investigation? Who had worked at the school for almost three years up until that point and been promoted from Teacher to Directing Teacher in that time period? And who had garnered a position at another top school, to have that position withdrawn after the current allegations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lack of reporting in the media about this situation is feeling more and more disturbing to me.

A teacher at a top school who was escorted off the premises and barred from graduation and whose behavior is otherwise under investigation? Who had worked at the school for almost three years up until that point and been promoted from Teacher to Directing Teacher in that time period? And who had garnered a position at another top school, to have that position withdrawn after the current allegations?

Were this a public school, it would have been reported in the Post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lack of reporting in the media about this situation is feeling more and more disturbing to me.

A teacher at a top school who was escorted off the premises and barred from graduation and whose behavior is otherwise under investigation? Who had worked at the school for almost three years up until that point and been promoted from Teacher to Directing Teacher in that time period? And who had garnered a position at another top school, to have that position withdrawn after the current allegations?

Were this a public school, it would have been reported in the Post.

Exactly my thinking. Which is why the fact that it hasn't been is so disturbing.

[Anonymous]

I think its unbelievable that this isnt on NBC4 or in the Post. I guess the fact that the publisher of the Washington Post and chief executive officer of Washington Post Media, is a Beauvoir parent and on the Beauvoir board, makes it not surprising that its not in the Post. Why isn't it on the local news? There have been so many stories in the past year about public school teachers being arrested/accused/tried for similar incidents, why is this not getting any press in Washington at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think its unbelievable that this isnt on NBC4 or in the Post. I guess the fact that the publisher of the Washington Post and chief executive officer of Washington Post Media, is a Beauvoir parent and on the Beauvoir board, makes it not surprising that its not in the Post. Why isn't it on the local news? There have been so many stories in the past year about public school teachers being arrested/accused/tried for similar incidents, why is this not getting any press in Washington at all?

Do you mean Don Graham? Wow. That's interesting.

[Anonymous]

Um, no, Katharine Weymouth. This is publically available information. The Beauvoir Board is listed on the Beauvoir website and she is a public fugure. She was appointed this year. "Weymouth was named the publisher of the Washington Post and chief executive officer of Washington Post Media on 7 February 2008, succeeding Boisfeuillet Jones, Jr."

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Weymouth"

[Anonymous]

If there are any intreprid young reporters out there, Post or otherwise, print/tv or blogosphere, reporting about the absence of reporting is an intriguing story.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure I've ever read a story about a private figure who has not been arrested for or charged with a crime simply being under suspicion. I have no doubt that if charges are ever filed against the person in question it will be covered in the press. But it would be irresponsible to report suspicions in the Post or any other media outlet before charges are filed. Period.

The fact is, charges might never be filed. For starters, it's hard to prove who took a photo. In addition, while the camera was found in the teacher's classroom, it was not in his physical possession, and it would be hard to prove conclusively that he knew the pictures were on the camera. The burden of proof in a courtoom is much higher than it is on an internet BB. That being said, I have little doubt that he is guilty. For better or worse, we live in a country where my certainty is not enough to land someone in jail.

As to the questions about whether background checks are done on teachers, of course they are. But as someone pointed out, if an individual hasn't been arrested previously, as is the case here, there is nothing for the background check to pick up. The lesson for parents considering independent schools is that your $30,000 doesn't buy you entry to a parallel universe where the ills of larger society are not present. Some parents at independent schools drink too much. Some of them beat their spouses or kids. Some of them have personality disorders. There is a vanishingly small chance that one of them is a pedophile. This true of the teachers, too. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourselves.

For parents who are considering whether this incident should affect their choice of independent schools, the fact is that this could have happened anywhere. The fact that it happened at Beauvoir in no way suggests that it was ex ante more likely to happen there than anywhere else. And it does not suggest that it is more likely to happen at Beauvoir in the future than anywhere else. The schools all hire out of the same pool, and do the same background checks.

Finally, there were some questions about why the school provided opportunities for teachers be alone with students in settings where abuse could occur. The overwhelming body of evidence in these types of cases suggests that teacher sex abuse almost never occurs on campus. Instead, it virtually always occurs away from campus. Teachers use the school relationship--with both students and their parents--as a tool to gain unsupervised access to the children away from campus, where the abuse can occur. In a school setting, with assistant teachers and others coming in and out of the room constantly, it's too dangerous, if nothing else, to attempt to abuse a child. A little reseach on the 'net will back this up.

Finally, a disclaimer: I do not work for the school. I am a Beauvoir parent. I am as worried about the welfare of my child, and of my child's classmates, as anyone. But I have very little patience for people who will post anonymously on the web regarding situations about which they clearly have no knowledge. Inevitably, some people will doubt my motives in posting this. The fact that I have doubts about the motives of some of the authors of outrageous posts prior to this one will, I suspect, give them little pause.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure I've ever read a story about a private figure who has not been arrested for or charged with a crime simply being under suspicion. I have no doubt that if charges are ever filed against the person in question it will be covered in the press. But it would be irresponsible to report suspicions in the Post or any other media outlet before charges are filed. Period.

The fact is, charges might never be filed. For starters, it's hard to prove who took a photo. In addition, while the camera was found in the teacher's classroom, it was not in his physical possession, and it would be hard to prove conclusively that he knew the pictures were on the camera. The burden of proof in a courtoom is much higher than it is on an internet BB. That being said, I have little doubt that he is guilty. For better or worse, we live in a country where my certainty is not enough to land someone in jail.

As to the questions about whether background checks are done on teachers, of course they are. But as someone pointed out, if an individual hasn't been arrested previously, as is the case here, there is nothing for the background check to pick up. The lesson for parents considering independent schools is that your $30,000 doesn't buy you entry to a parallel universe where the ills of larger society are not present. Some parents at independent schools drink too much. Some of them beat their spouses or kids. Some of them have personality disorders. There is a vanishingly small chance that one of them is a pedophile. This true of the teachers, too. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourselves.

For parents who are considering whether this incident should affect their choice of independent schools, the fact is that this could have happened anywhere. The fact that it happened at Beauvoir in no way suggests that it was ex ante more likely to happen there than anywhere else. And it does not suggest that it is more likely to happen at Beauvoir in the future than anywhere else. The schools all hire out of the same pool, and do the same background checks.

Finally, there were some questions about why the school provided opportunities for teachers be alone with students in settings where abuse could occur. The overwhelming body of evidence in these types of cases suggests that teacher sex abuse almost never occurs on campus. Instead, it virtually always occurs away from campus. Teachers use the school relationship--with both students and their parents--as a tool to gain unsupervised access to the children away from campus, where the abuse can occur. In a school setting, with assistant teachers and others coming in and out of the room constantly, it's too dangerous, if nothing else, to attempt to abuse a child. A little reseach on the 'net will back this up.

Finally, a disclaimer: I do not work for the school. I am a Beauvoir parent. I am as worried about the welfare of my child, and of my child's classmates, as anyone. But I have very little patience for people who will post anonymously on the web regarding situations about which they clearly have no knowledge. Inevitably, some people will doubt my motives in posting this. The fact that I have doubts about the motives of some of the authors of outrageous posts prior to this one will, I suspect, give them little pause.

I'm pretty sure that with children this age, sexual abuse by teachers does not overwhelmingly occur away from campus - it happens after school, during extracurricular activities or extended school hours - any time that the teacher can get a child alone and vulnerable and dependent on him. At this age, most children are too young to "visit" teachers or spend time with them away from the school.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure I've ever read a story about a private figure who has not been arrested for or charged with a crime simply being under suspicion. I have no doubt that if charges are ever filed against the person in question it will be covered in the press. But it would be irresponsible to report suspicions in the Post or any other media outlet before charges are filed. Period.

I disagree. I think that it is a newsworthy story that a teacher was sacked and escorted from ANY school (private or public) under suspicion of inappropriate behavior with students.

By the way, there are news stories all the time about non-public figures under investigation (including several in today's Washington Post alone), in many cases for offenses much less serious than this.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure that with children this age, sexual abuse by teachers does not overwhelmingly occur away from campus - it happens after school, during extracurricular activities or extended school hours - any time that the teacher can get a child alone and vulnerable and dependent on him. At this age, most children are too young to "visit" teachers or spend time with them away from the school.

It's actually quite common, even at this age, for teachers to tutor or babysit children away from campus. That's why pedophiles depend on building relationships with the parents of children they target for abuse. Also, there seems to be an assumption in your post that the child or children in the photos were of the same age as the children in this teacher's class. Do you know that for a fact?

[Anonymous]

There's never been a national study on abusive teachers, believe it or not. Here's an interesting article, though, about how they get away with it:

http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/19991031newabuse1.asp

[Anonymous]

I am the parent of an incoming pre-k student at Beauvoir. The situation as we know it is quite concerning and well worth further investigation by the police, the school and the Beauvoir community. We were made aware of the situation in a timely and appropriate fashion. While the school may have consulted a PR firm and/or lawyer, I believe those actions, if true, are completely appropriate. The fine people at Beauvoir are educators, not lawyers or experts at dealing with public inquiries and media scrutiny. The issues this situation presents are sensitive, complicated and difficult to manage. As such, it is appropriate, if not necessary, for the administration to seek the advice and counsel of professionals. I caution all of you - whether connected with Beauvoir or not - to remember that this any situation like this needs to be handled in an fair, reasonable and appropriate manner for all the parties concerned. We certainly need to do everything in our power to protect our child, we cannot be reckless. We certainly need to protect our children from predators and pedophiles but we also need to have the authorities investigate the situation to determine the facts. Due process and overall fairness dictates that rumors and gossip cannot prevail. Over the course of reviewing this group discussion, I've seen a lot of uninformed and reckless chatter thrown around which is unfortunate.

My recommendation, as we have decided to proceed, is for those of you who are part of the Beauvoir family to call Paula and ask tough and pointed questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the parent of an incoming pre-k student at Beauvoir. The situation as we know it is quite concerning and well worth further investigation by the police, the school and the Beauvoir community. We were made aware of the situation in a timely and appropriate fashion. While the school may have consulted a PR firm and/or lawyer, I believe those actions, if true, are completely appropriate. The fine people at Beauvoir are educators, not lawyers or experts at dealing with public inquiries and media scrutiny. The issues this situation presents are sensitive, complicated and difficult to manage. As such, it is appropriate, if not necessary, for the administration to seek the advice and counsel of professionals. I caution all of you - whether connected with Beauvoir or not - to remember that this any situation like this needs to be handled in an fair, reasonable and appropriate manner for all the parties concerned. We certainly need to do everything in our power to protect our child, we cannot be reckless. We certainly need to protect our children from predators and pedophiles but we also need to have the authorities investigate the situation to determine the facts. Due process and overall fairness dictates that rumors and gossip cannot prevail. Over the course of reviewing this group discussion, I've seen a lot of uninformed and reckless chatter thrown around which is unfortunate.

My recommendation, as we have decided to proceed, is for those of you who are part of the Beauvoir family to call Paula and ask tough and pointed questions.

Hysterical.