Class was scheduled to be a work-day for our final project. We worked on these projects for the last 2/3rds of class, but first Dr. Petrosino took time to address a tragic circumstance currently affecting us as future educators.
Not even two weeks after the news of the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State scandal broke, the nation is still spinning from the shock of it all. Everyone has their own opinion, their own heartbreak concerning the issue. Dr. Petrosino took this awful situation and embraced an opportunity to discuss with us a risk that comes with being an educator – an adult who interacts with minors on a daily basis. While there are no doubt Jerry Sanduskys in the world, there are also times when educators might be falsely accused of wrongdoing. We often shy away from talking about the ways to avoid these unfortunate scenarios, just because the whole topic is detestable. But knowing how to protect ourselves from false accusations is important. Dr. Petrosino and our TAs (Sara and Tara) shared personal recommendations for avoiding and/or dealing with these situations: have documentation of your interactions with students, have other adults present, beware of informal interaction, and join a teacher’s union. Teacher Union Links: http://www.tsta.org/ http://tx.aft.org/
After this discussion, each group filled out a checklist assessing progress on our Legacy Cycles. We then received the rest of the class to collaborate with group members and request advice from the instructors.
Each day in PBI a different student takes responsibility for blogging about what goes on in class. Today’s blog is brought to you by Holly.
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