Medford, OR — The Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County included an article in the April edition of their Advocacy Quarterly newsletter entitled, “Why are We Still Out There Teaching Darkness to Light?” To answer this question, they included feedback from Southern Oregon students – teachers in training who recently took the Stewards of Children™ prevention course. Here are a few excerpts from their remarks:
“When I signed up for this seminar I really had no idea what to expect. I figured that it would be a challenging day for me emotionally just because the subject matter was one that is usually difficult to talk about. Instead of just being saddened by the experience I was actually enlightened and inspired.”
“As a teacher it is my responsibility to be aware of each child’s family situation. It is my responsibility to be aware of significant changes in the child’s behavior and to find out why they may be occurring. It is also my responsibility to report to authorities any reasonable suspicions I may have concerning a child I come into contact with. It is my responsibility to make sure as much as I can that the child is safe.”
“Hearing the stories told and ways to prevent children being hurt will have an impact on me the rest of my life.”
“…I learned a great deal from the Stewards of Children training and I plan on using my new knowledge, awareness, and voice, as a future teacher, a future parent, an older sister, and an adult of the community…”
“I believe that I have a duty, a purpose, and a right to take action against child sexual abuse…I’m choosing from this day on to be an advocate for children.”
According to the CAC of Jackson County, “Prevention is the answer to the problem of child abuse. We who work in secondary prevention, that is, working with children who have already abused, do great, necessary and life changing work. But wouldn’t it be preferable not to have these wounded kids in the first place?” We agree, and are encouraged to see future teachers express their commitment to protecting the children they will be educating.
Read the full article from the CAC of Jackson County here.
