<p>Unfortunately adults abusing children is nothing new. It can happen any place where there are children, from MacDonalds, movie theatres to schools and in their own homes. </p>
<p>@ Cogent, are you a current or prospective BS parent or student?</p>
<p>I think kids are much better apprised these days by adults to be vigilant for this kind of activity, that it’s NOT okay, and to report it. (I’d like to think that makes them better empowered?) I encountered a predator like this at a summer camp as a youth. It really seems like it was everywhere 30 years ago, but adults then didn’t want to see or weren’t sensitized to the damage this abuse can inflict.</p>
<p>If you look at the comments to this article you will see mentioned by several posters reference to abuse that occurred at a bs school decades ago, however, according to the posters the teacher is still working at the school. I found that alarming.</p>
<p>I think powerful institutions historically responded to this kind of issue in the same way: first, believe the teacher, coach, priest, or whatever - he’s been a dedicated team member for years, and allegations of abuse seem absurd. But, if there is any chance that the witnesses are credible, then make the problem go away quietly. That’s what got the Catholic church in trouble in so many places. That’s what seems to have happened at Penn State, and, years ago, at Horace Mann. For organizations that depend on donations (and, in this case, tuition-paying families), avoiding scandals is always a huge priority. So, in the old days, the perps would be allowed to depart quietly, or get transferred. </p>
<p>Today, I think this is much less likely to happen. We now see big lawsuits and even criminal charges associated with failing to report abuse. A prep school headmaster or other official would be taking a massive personal risk by ignoring abuse complaints or covering them up.</p>
<p>The whole issue is despicable. I’ve asked a few boarding schools in the past about their hiring practices and all were very adamant in expressing their thoroughness in vetting. NYT has no problem drudging up old scandals of private institutions to sell papers. Today the boarding schools are quick, some may say too quick to respond to a student’s accusation. However you may feel about a particular case, there is no doubt that today there is immediate and swift action taken by the Boarding Schools. On the other hand, one can find similar horror stories almost weekly around the nation with respect to the PS and what is involved in firing much less prosecuting those teachers</p>
<p>There have been lots of stories in the news in regard to predators and public schools in our local area as well. Don’t think private schools/BS’s have the monopoly on sexual predators. Everytime a story appears in the newspaper or on the local or national news (Penn State), it’s an opportunity to bring it up with our kids for discussion. Also, discussion about date rape, and pressure to “hook up” necessary to have with kids whether attending local public schools, private day schools or boarding schools.</p>
<p>The problem is growing for Horace Mann. The NYT reported alumni have created two private Facebook groups. One group has more than 1,000 members, as of last night. </p>
<p>I don’t think a stiff letter will suffice. I don’t know what the current administration can do, but social media has the ability to connect people.</p>
<p>@emdee, I noticed that too. I hope someone at that school took notice as well.</p>
<p>There had been stories similar to this at my high school and, just this year, they started to snowball. Most, if not all, dated back to students who overlapped with my enrollment, so the direct actions are not current. But the environment persists and I would suggest that there may very well be a long gestation period for people to come forward – meaning that the cases that are happening today won’t come out for years, when abused people realize that the abuse isn’t something that they could shake off and leave behind them once they’ve graduated.</p>
<p>At my high school, the same people are in charge. They’ve changed titles, but the same people who ran the show in my day are still key people – perhaps with even more power now. One person, known to students as being “creepy” and, as it turns out, the object of internal complaints by faculty members for being overly “touchy” with younger students, was made headmaster despite the dark cloud and suspicions.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most troubling thing is that people who do come forward – especially after a statute of limitations has expired – are looked upon with suspicion and derision. “What are they after?” “They’re just trying to shake down the school for some easy money.” “They’re malcontents who hate the school and they’re carrying out a grudge by airing this without having to prove it.” I’ve seen it happen time and again – particularly these past six months – where the people who have come forward have been marginalized and shunned by the well-established community of alumni and other power brokers who set the tone for the school and position themselves as the face of the school.</p>
<p>In that kind of environment you can expect the predators to feel safe to keep up their foul enterprise because they can expect their victims to pay a heavy price if they ever entertain the idea of coming forward. The reaction at Penn State was much healthier and it helped create an environment where victims can feel that they can come forward and receive compassion, not a rebuke. I assume the Horace Mann groups on Facebook are – like the Penn State reaction – designed to take a stand with the alleged victims and insist that the leadership demonstrate some sort of accountability, regardless of the statute of limitations. My high school has promoted a different culture, I think, and that’s something that parents today should take note of. Circling the wagons around the school administration and challenging those individuals who challenge the administration is a sign of a sickness that permeates the present-day culture, even if the only direct complaints of abuse are decades-old. It elevates image and public relations over safety – which, ironically, is about the worst possible image one can present to the public.</p>
<p>There’s something to be said for continuity in leadership – particularly leadership that has been demonstrably successful along many key metrics – but with longevity comes disease. Some degree of turnover in the personnel prevents complacency and as more and more new faces come into leadership, there’s less and less of a vested interest on the part of both the administration and the alumni and other benefactors to circle their wagons in defense of people from a by-gone era. It helps to be able to point to the current leadership and say how things have changed. The Horace Mann press statement made that precise point in that the current administration said that things have changed and that there’s a new sheriff in town. Understandably, people want more – but that sure beats having the old sheriff still flashing his badge and telling the loyal followers he has acquired over decades that the problem isn’t him as much as it’s these troublemakers who try to impugn him with ancient allegations. That’s how lynch mobs get started…and, in this case, they’re going after the victims.</p>
<p>Shooting the messenger is a common theme at the college level as well. Recently at Dartmouth, a student came forward to expose illegal hazing practices and Dartmouth filed rule violations against the student based on his expose rather than using it as an opportunity to address a festering problem.</p>
<p>I have heard allegations of sexual abuse off and on, associated with private day schools. I have never heard of one of them NOT covering them up. I too, hople this is changing. </p>
<p>I will say, it goes on in public schools as well. Unfortunately, the abusers are not infrequently allowed to take retirement, rather than face charges.</p>