This morning I cried into my coffee cup when I read this article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: http://www.pittsburghpostgazette.com/pg/07212/805648-55.stm
The gist of the story: a 13 year old girl shot and killed her father. Apparently, the girl's mother and her neighbors knew the father had been sexually and physically abusing the girl for years. The mother was unsuccessful in wresting custody from the father, and the neighbors apparently said NOTHING to the authorities, even though one neighbor was quoted as saying, "The whole street knew about it. . .He abused them both. Some nights I would hear her screaming, 'No Daddy No'".
WHY DIDN'T THE NEIGHBORS HELP HER? WHY? According to the article, the abuse had been happening since the girl was 7 -- now she is 13 and has murdered her father. I just can't understand how people could let those terrible things happen to a child and never step in.
What's the use of being connected, of living in a neighborhood, if people ignore the horrors that they see? I feel so sick and sad. All of the lofty ideals of networks we've been studying seem dashed by this pitiful example of the selfishness of humanity.
As an educator, it is my legal responsibility to report suspected child abuse or suspected substance abuse by the student. I can be held liable in a court of law if I neglect to report abuse.
But even if I weren't an educator, if I heard a child being abused, I wouldn't just sit idly by and let it happen.
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