A kindergarten class in Alert Bay, British Columbia, was asked to go home and masturbate and to report back on where in their home they did it.
In the school’s meager defense, the teacher seems to have acted on their own, and not in accordance with whatever school sex ed policy existed (hint: the policy should be, “Parents, Teach Your Own Children About It”).
The worksheet sent home with children from T’lisalagi’lakw School (part of Namgis First Nation), is adapted from a sex ed book geared toward preschoolers called Body Smart: Right From the Start (and I refuse to link it because no book should promote masturbation among young children). Somehow teaching children to touch themselves is meant, according to the book’s author, to prevent sexual abuse. OK. Sure.
We need to stop believing that every teacher that comes in contact with our children has pure intentions. Even if there is transparency in the curriculum, even if they belong to your church, even if the principal “runs a tight ship,” teachers’ views and opinions trickle down into their work, the same way they would for anyone in any profession. There are plenty of teachers in America and elsewhere that think worksheets like these are perfectly acceptable. Are you absolutely sure they aren’t planning to unleash one in your child’s kindergarten class? Or that they haven’t, already?
image courtesy Terrebonne Parish Police Department
Most every student or former student can look back and remember fondly their time in the lunch room, where (usually – silent lunch periods do exist, after all) they can talk with friends, eat borderline-inedible reheated food on styrofoam trays, and con the sweet lunch lady for an extra cookie or chocolate milk carton. “We love our lunch ladies!” school PTA organizations often gush. Well, this lunch lady loved her students, too – a little too much, in fact.
Dawn Marie Baye, 38, a cafeteria worker at Lacache Middle School in Chauvin, LA, is accused of grooming and “behaving inappropriately” around a group of boys ages 13 to 16. Ms. Baye plied the boys with alcohol and pornography at her home before engaging in some sort of sexual encounter with at least one of them. She is charged with eight counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and 10 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, stemming from an April 21 complaint first filed by a parent of one of the boys. Information found on social media (because, gosh darn it, boys love to brag, don’t they?) corroborated the story and led police to take Baye into custody on April 30, and for her to lose her job (because unlike teachers, lunch ladies don’t have tenure).
Prior to her arrest it is alleged that Baye also worked at other schools in the area, possibly having contact with children as young as 8 years old.
Lacache Middle School in Chauvin, Louisiana serves approximately 365 students in grades 5 through 8 and boasts decent tests scores. Whites make up about 75% of the student body, and 40% of the students qualify as low income. Students and parents don’t have much to report as far as positive comments, instead insisting that the school cares more about test scores than anything else, and also citing poor communication on the part of school officials.
The school has been suspiciously quiet about the whole incident, preferring that parents and students learn about it through news outlets rather than their school webpages. Their Facebook page describes itself as “a family-oriented school with a staff who loves to work with, learn with, and teach children.” There are certainly a few boys at the school who received an education they’re likely to never forget.
We’re told that teachers undergo rigorous training and extensive background checks before being admitted to their sacred profession, and that those that somehow slip through the cracks are just talented actors and scam artists who managed to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes and convince them they are normal and decent and actually committed to educating and helping your children.
We don’t know much about John Austin Hopkins’s background; only that he was hired by Springboro Community City Schools, not for his glowing credentials, but because he was friends with teachers and administrators at Clearcreek Elementary School in Springboro, Ohio. This was what is alleged by a class action federal lawsuit filed by the attorney representing twelve first grade girls at the school. The suit claims that during the 2018-2019 school year Hopkins, 26, a physical education teacher at the school, actually installed a doorbell on the door to the school gymnasium, which he locked, in order to sexually assault the girls in the class. The doorbell was to let him know if school personnel were attempting to enter, so he could quickly cover it all up, so to speak.
The above-named federal suit is still pending, but another case against Hopkins was recently heard, naming at least 27 victims (some parents allege there are as many as 88). After deliberating 11 hours, the jury delivered a conviction on 34 of 36 counts of gross sexual imposition. Hopkins was given just 8 years in prison, but it’s doubtful he’ll see even half of them before being released. For what it’s worth (all of nothing) he apologized to the victims’ families for his actions. “Clearly I have things to work on,” Hopkins said. “I will make the best out of any situation.” Very contrite. And he certainly made the best out of some situations, now didn’t he?
After prison, Hopkins will be required to report as a sex offender for 25 years.
Hopkins’s mother insists they’ll appeal his meager sentence, because heaven forbid her son have to pay for his actions.
Clearcreek Elementary School in Springboro, Ohio, serves approximately 900 students in grades PreK through 1. Ninety-three percent of students are white.
“Sure,” proponents of public school will argue, “we have the occasional pedophile in our midst. But they offend once, we catch them, and then they’re never around children ever again! It happens!”
Enter Tyler John Bosiljevac, a former teacher at Emporia High School, in Emporia, Kansas. He was charged last week with illegal sexual activity with several minors spanning many years. Seeing as prior to his termination of employment at the school in February, he had worked within the school district for fourteen years, one wonders how high his victim count actually was.
One student complained to school administrators in February and, lo’ and behold, someone actually took the allegations seriously and dismissed Bosiljevac, who until that point taught social studies. Some of the reasons for termination include “failing to demonstrate sound professional judgement” and “violating board policy” when it comes to student safety and sexual harassment. Luckily, it didn’t end with this man’s firing, as it has at many schools before; someone managed to alert the police.
After “dozens of interviews,” with many other students over the next few months, police had more than enough to arrest the man, leveling eight charges of offenses against a whopping six minors from 2016 to 2020. Charges include such gems as “indecent liberties against a then-14-year-old” and “attempted sexual exploitation against a then-17-year-old.”
In addition to finding his victims at Emporia High School, Bosiljevac also helped direct the 2018 Kansas Future Teacher Academy through Emporia State University. The academy was held during the summer, while school was out and his standard pool of victims was cut off, because a guy has needs, dammit.
Quite possibly the worst part (and there are lots of “worst parts”) of this is that Bosiljevac has a wife and children – the youngest being only 6 years old. In the interests of their privacy (and hopefully their attempts to distance themselves as much as possible from this scumbag), we will not disclose names.
Emporia High School in Emporia, Kansas, serves approximately 1500 students in grades 9-12. While boasting a decent graduation rate and mediocre ACT scores, other standardized test scores are significantly lower than state averages. The student body is primarily white and Hispanic (Bosiljevac himself is white). About half the students qualify as low-income.
Where Your Children Are 