The Crosby Chronicles: Protecting students from abuse

By this time, everyone in the country knows about the two teachers accused of lewd acts at Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy closed the school for two days this week and is temporarily replacing the entire staff with new teachers and administrators. Such a drastic measure was evidently needed due to the apparent lack of awareness and action on the part of school officials for a number of years about these teachers.

As a parent, I’m disgusted by these allegations. I have a second grader and can’t imagine him in a situation like this.

As a teacher, I’m repulsed by these allegations. The majority of teachers are not child abusers or sex offenders. But it’s the usual story of a few bad people tainting all the good people.

How can society protect children from horrible situations? It used to be enough to teach children not to speak to strangers. Now, we have to deal with clergy and educators who abuse their trust of working with young people. How can you prevent child abuse from someone your child trusts?

I’m wondering if we’re headed towards placing video cameras in classrooms.

Brian Crosby is a teacher in the Glendale Unified School District and the author of “Smart Kids, Bad Schools and The $100,000 Teacher.” He can be reached at brian-crosby.com.