Reflections on Jesse Miller’s Presentation

During Jesse’s presentation, I thought a lot about the different cases I have personally seen during my years of schooling. In high school, there was a male PE teacher who had 120+ reported cases against him, but they had to go to the police to file those reports. I feel like those students were failed by the school because he was not fired, and might even continue to work there despite the harm done. Furthermore, there was another male teacher who showed pornography to a Grade nine English class for “educational purposes,” and he was only suspended, as he returned to teach later in the year. It was interesting to me that more cases of online consequences have been reported since then, and I wonder if it has to do with things being more “concrete” in the online sphere. It is hard to wrap my brain around that, but maybe that is a good thing in the sense that perpetrators, especially educators who commit these acts, are caught since one’s digital footprint tells you a lot more about the consistency of their character.

In our Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Canadian Education course taken this semester, we recently did a reading about sexual allegations in the 19th Century. It was interesting to me that most cases were resolved at the local level, and that was mostly due to parental pushback and boycotting schools. I do not think boycotting occurs often nowadays; rather, people spread information online in order to push back. It is interesting where that comes into play when you are being interviewed for a job, but I suppose that if you are being respectful as you boycott, it should not be an issue.

Now I wonder how people often take their cases to higher authority. Recently, in our Education seminar classes, we learned that there are many options for victims and perpetrators at UVic. For example, you can file a report, or you can file a civil suit — there are numerous options, and when you talk to someone at the higher level, their priority is you. It was reassuring to know that you also have the option to create an agreement where you would not have to cross paths with the perpetrator if you both agree to it.