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Sexual Harassment in the School The relations at schools sometimes may become rather complicated. The school itself is a reflection of society with its laws and rules which should be in accord with general rules and regulations. A school is a place where young people become the loyal citizens. A school is a place where the teenagers receive their knowledge of the society's rules. Such disgraceful phenomena as harassment, violence, abuse, and humiliation are not acceptable at schools and which unfortunately occur at American schools now and then. The role of educators is the dominant one in teaching the kids to respect the law, to transfer the ABC of democracy to them.
It is a teacher who is responsible not only for knowledge received by the children but for their health and life when they are at schools. Sometimes the educators choose the position of non-interference into the children matters preferring to hide from the problems which take place within the class instead of preventing the serious harassment which may lead to the tragedy. Such actions of the teacher could be defined as nothing but the non-professionalism and indifference which are very close to a crime in their nature. Such actions of the educators or, it is better to say, inactivity of the educators led to a tragedy at Reagan High School when Ortralla Mosley, a 15 year old girl was murdered by her boyfriend Marcus Mc Tear. The tragedy became not of a sudden.
Young people who were involved into conflict were at the school and their relations were not the secret for the administration. The girl, 15 year old victim, informed the teaching staff that her boyfriend became extremely aggressive to her 1. According to investigation the school officials were informed on the violence of Marcus Mc Tear and were "deliberately indifferent. " 2. The death of a young girl is a direct consequence of the sexual harassment on one hand and a criminal inactivity of the teachers on the other hand. Title IX is the law protecting the sexual discrimination in campus. This law prohibits sexual discrimination at public schools.
The cases under the Title IX are difficult to win at courts. According to Kris Axtman, the law protects the campus districts rather than the students 3. If it is really so and the federal law can not protect the children at schools then it is the responsibility of teachers. In case of Ortralla Mosley's death the teachers showed their ultimate indifference. As educators they should have predicted the possible tragic consequence but failed to do it. The death of a student gave the terrible lesson for the educators.
The problem of the student safety should be reconsidered. The death of a young student as well as other cases of school violence is alarming. The student protection is not sufficient at American schools. Urgent actions need to be done. According to Jocelyn Samuels, a vice president for education and employment at the National Women's Law Center, It unfortunately gives students less protection than employees get in the workplace. " 4 The words of the lawyer call for urgent actions. The situation is worsening by the fact that Marcus Mc Tear was known for his assaulting girls at the campus, punching them, choking them, and pushing them down stairs.
The officials knew that but did not take any correction measures. The case of Ortralla Mosley is not an ordinary one. Most harassment consists of students' verbal abuse or of teachers' preferential treatment. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) published a report on the subject in 2001, showing that 83 percent of girls and 79 percent of boys in 8 th through 11 th grades have experienced harassment at school. 5 Though the case is exceptional it is dramatic enough to reconsider the educational system in general and the students safety in particular. Lawyers may find the legal solution for the problem, educators are concerned with the causes of similar cases but who is able to return the child to her parents? They send the girl to get the education at school and lost their child.
What arguments may convince the mother that she lost her child because of some accident or because of the law which does not work properly? Can parents accept any explanation of the school administration which was aware on the personality and aggressiveness of the murderer? The more alarming fact which calls for the changes in the general education is that the crime was committed by a boy. The crime showed that the moral values of society have been depreciated.
If we look through the modern American culture, cinematograph we see that the romantic noble heroes of Jack London have been replaced by the teeth crashing terminators, the Shakespearian attitude towards woman has been substituted by the talks of emancipation. The problem of the sexual harassment at schools was concealed. So how many new victims should attract attention to the school violence in general and sexual harassment in particular? The tragedy at Reagan High School is no doubt a bitter lesson but it gave the chance to change the situation in American schools. The situation should be changed in various directions.
First of all it is a legislative aspect. The citizens of the United States entrust their children to the schools and they have the right to demand the safety for their children. This safety should become the real concern of the school administration. The morality of the young generation should be changed radically. Violence should not be glorified in movies and fictions. When American hero stops crushing teeth in movies and starts citing the Shakespearean sonnets for their beloved women; when a beautiful women stop acting against the Matrix agents with machine guns in their hands and start glorifying love and maternity then maybe the cases similar to that which happened at Reagan High School will be impossible in the American society.
Bibliography Axtman, Kris, Schools, liability, and sexual harassment, The Christian Science Monitor, December 08, 2003, available ar web retrieved 24. 03. 2005 Citation: Axtman, Kris Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid
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Research essay sample on Sexual Harassment In The School
