Beauvoir Scandal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole thing (combined with St. Columba's, which is even more horrifying to me) just makes me wonder about the competence of schools in terms of background checks and also in terms of watching teachers very closely. Maybe there should always be an aide in the room when teachers are alone with individual students.

Now I'm also a little wary of all male teachers. I don't care if I get flamed for this; all these local cases involve men.

I am with you on the male teachers point!! If my child ends up in a class with a male teacher I will do my own background check.

UGH. Boo for gender stereotypes and ignorance on both of your parts in terms of male teachers. Perhaps male teachers should do a background check on psycho-stereotyping parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole thing (combined with St. Columba's, which is even more horrifying to me) just makes me wonder about the competence of schools in terms of background checks and also in terms of watching teachers very closely. Maybe there should always be an aide in the room when teachers are alone with individual students.

Now I'm also a little wary of all male teachers. I don't care if I get flamed for this; all these local cases involve men.

I am with you on the male teachers point!! If my child ends up in a class with a male teacher I will do my own background check.

UGH. Boo for gender stereotypes and ignorance on both of your parts in terms of male teachers. Perhaps male teachers should do a background check on psycho-stereotyping parents?

My husband was molested by a male teacher who got away with this for years. Apparently he molested close to 100 children. He was one of the only male teachers in the school, and parents LOVED him for that. Everyone in the town talked about him as a role model for boys. So sad. So while there are lots of wonderful male teachers, you do have to be vigilant as a parent, since schools don't have a very good track record in terms of weeding out pedophile teachers (and coaches).

What I learned from DH's sad experience is: these men seek out positions of authority and lots of proximity to children. They prey on children who are "alone" - DH was a latchkey kid who walked to and from school by himself. His parents weren't as visible as many other parents in their community. And they are very good at threatening and manipulating children to do what they want and to NOT tell anyone about it. Oh, and sadly they are often very charismatic people - very devious and hard to pick out of a crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just how would a "background check" have served to flush out the teacher at the center of the Beauvoir investigation?!

Most "background checks" consist of reference checks and, increasingly, criminal history checks. The teacher in question had (has?) impeccable credentials and heretofore impeccable references. He was (is?) adored by students and families. Whether he did what everyone says he did is a separate issue, and I hope dealt with aggressively and to the full extent of the law. But all this talk about background checks (for one of these fancy schools or otherwise) is, in my view, misguided.

PP here. Yes, sadly, these guys get away with this stuff for years before they get caught. So background checks don't catch most of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all of you who have concerns about this because you will be applying to Beauvoir this fall, or in coming years: keep in mind that your odds of getting accepted are low, unless you have an "in." (For a refresher on this, go back and read the threads from early March and see how many of us were waitlisted!)

So isn't all this angst a bit premature, since you aren't really involved now at all and very likely won't be?

Great post I think this sums up what a few posters have been saying. The school does not have to put out a public statement. The stakeholders they are accountable too have been notified(Current and Newly Accepted Parents). The rest of us will remain wondering until Open House and Tour season begins in September; when school administrators will be forced to answer our questions.

Not all stakeholders have been notified. Granted, summer campers are merely a revenue stream but it would have been nice to know what's going on.....no, not the sordid details of the situation...but some reassurance that steps were being taken to ensure that kids (all kids, current, newly admitted, summer campers, whatever) are safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all of you who have concerns about this because you will be applying to Beauvoir this fall, or in coming years: keep in mind that your odds of getting accepted are low, unless you have an "in." (For a refresher on this, go back and read the threads from early March and see how many of us were waitlisted!)

So isn't all this angst a bit premature, since you aren't really involved now at all and very likely won't be?

Great post I think this sums up what a few posters have been saying. The school does not have to put out a public statement. The stakeholders they are accountable too have been notified(Current and Newly Accepted Parents). The rest of us will remain wondering until Open House and Tour season begins in September; when school administrators will be forced to answer our questions.

Not all stakeholders have been notified. Granted, summer campers are merely a revenue stream but it would have been nice to know what's going on.....no, not the sordid details of the situation...but some reassurance that steps were being taken to ensure that kids (all kids, current, newly admitted, summer campers, whatever) are safe.

Have you attempted to contact the Summer Camp Director? or Have you called the school and asked what precautions are being taken for summer camp. If you do it please post our DC will also be attending camp.

[Anonymous]

It's not difficult to figure out, by process of elimination, which teacher this was. He does read this forum, as I recall seeing posts from him.

[Anonymous]

He did review this website. So does half of the Beauvoir staff as far as I can tell. They (as do we) likely learn more about the goings on at the school here than anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not difficult to figure out, by process of elimination, which teacher this was. He does read this forum, as I recall seeing posts from him.

How's that since this is an anonymous board?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not difficult to figure out, by process of elimination, which teacher this was. He does read this forum, as I recall seeing posts from him.

To what end?

Those directly affected, namely those in his class, have been informed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not difficult to figure out, by process of elimination, which teacher this was. He does read this forum, as I recall seeing posts from him.

How's that since this is an anonymous board?

Review all the Beauvoir threads. There is a ton out there, since this forum serves as a catharsis for those who hate the place. But if you're patient, you'll see what this poster is referring to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not difficult to figure out, by process of elimination, which teacher this was. He does read this forum, as I recall seeing posts from him.

How's that since this is an anonymous board?

Is this true? The anonymity? I seem to think a computer geek/expert could figure out where these so called anonymous posts are originating.

[Anonymous]

I find all you guys incredible. Haven't you ever heard of "innocent until proven guilty"? I kept reading all the entries assuming someone would say something sensible. You are like a lynch mob -- what is wrong with you? Where is your sense of sanity and fairness? Didn't all the education your acquired teach you something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The letter was drafted by lawyers, they have the Washington Post sitting on their Board and they have a powerful PR firm calling the shots. Now you know why this has not been picked up by the press yet.

It is a sick situation and the information is being held too tightly.

The connection of Beauvoir to the press, particularly the Washington Post, can be found at the highest levels. But is this truly something that should be covered by the Washington Post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The letter was drafted by lawyers, they have the Washington Post sitting on their Board and they have a powerful PR firm calling the shots. Now you know why this has not been picked up by the press yet.

It is a sick situation and the information is being held too tightly.

The connection of Beauvoir to the press, particularly the Washington Post, can be found at the highest levels. But is this truly something that should be covered by the Washington Post?

Possibly.

But the suppression of the story, if that's what is going on here, is a better story.

And the role of this forum in providing information, disinformation, fueling hysteria, and gathering a virtual lynch mob is probably the best story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The letter was drafted by lawyers, they have the Washington Post sitting on their Board and they have a powerful PR firm calling the shots. Now you know why this has not been picked up by the press yet.

It is a sick situation and the information is being held too tightly.

The connection of Beauvoir to the press, particularly the Washington Post, can be found at the highest levels. But is this truly something that should be covered by the Washington Post?

Well, to state the obvious, it is news. If this had happened in a public school setting, it certainly would be covered.