Brown Starfish

Brown Starfish
Originally uploaded by simonyfrontsjones.

Child abuse and neglect is sadly something we as educators must one day witness in the lives of our students. However, debate exists about whose responsibility is it to help these children...is it the educators, social services, principals? I can only speak for myself when I say that I think that teachers should be the first to help a child. Afterall, teachers do spend more time with a child than almost anyone else. You have the opportunity to make a difference or an impact. Maybe you won't reach everyone; maybe you will only make a difference to one child, but to one child, this difference could mean the world. I always refer to this starfish story when I talk about reaching children. It reminds you that you need to take an individual approach when assessing the needs of other students. Maybe we can't change the world, but we can start one child at a time.