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Peterellis.org Irene Cooper of the NZEI has
released new codes of practice for school teachers, allowing some physical
contact between teachers and students. Margaret Mooney of the PTA hopes the
revised rules will encourage more men to enter the profession. The new policies are a welcome
return toward common sense, spokesperson Brian Robinson says, but there is
little cause for celebration. Shovelling out elephant dung will
do little to remove the smell in the room if the elephant itself is ignored.
Similarly tinkering with policy will do little for male confidence in the
teaching profession if the root cause for the lack of confidence is ignored. Sue Thorne of the Early Childhood
Council has articulated the reasons better than others, in identifying the
paedophile hysteria of the 1990s as having caused good men to vacate child
care roles over the past decade. Potential teachers will not be
lulled by soothing words. They know that Peter Ellis was convicted of
imaginary crimes at the Christchurch Civic creche. And those same potential
teachers can see that the "problem of Peter" has been swept under
the carpet by educational groups. What confidence can potential teachers have
that they will be supported if they were to suffer the same fate as Ellis? Hysteria cannot be simply wished
away. Irene Cooper provides evidence that sex abuse hysteria is still with us
when she says that teachers need to be aware that physical contact with
children can be misconstrued, and that teachers may become the victims of
false allegations because they have somehow "put themselves at
risk". In such a climate of suspicion,
male teachers would be wise (for their own welfare, but sadly to the
children's detriment) to avoid all touching of children. To encourage men
into teaching, educational organisations need to ·
affirm the necessity of touching children and ·
provide teachers with a strong right to do so and ·
provide robust non-judgmental support for any teacher subject to an
ambiguous or disputed sexual abuse allegation. The best way that educational
groups can make real change in encouraging meaningful numbers of men to join
the preschool and teaching professions is to ·
study and understand how and why Peter Ellis was convicted, and ·
then make a commitment to advocate for a thorough, independent inquiry
into the Christchurch Civic Creche case. Until the government faces up to the
need for an inquiry into the creche case, the problem of sex abuse hysteria
and false allegations won't go away. Such action will provide aspiring
teachers with real assurance that the "paedophile hysteria of the
1990s" is not still with us, and that teaching is indeed a safe
profession. |
