Intensity

Yesterday was a very intense day. I am a Professional Teacher, an OCT, which means I am certified to teach in publicly funded Ontario schools. In 2022 all professionally certified teachers in Ontario will be required to successfully complete a Sexual Abuse Prevention Program. Yesterday was the day I chose to do the training, and complete the testing. As I first stated, it was a very intense day.

This was not an emotionally easy program to complete. It is thorough. It put forward the information needed for teacher’s to understand, and recognize in the real world, the signs and signals of grooming and sexual abuse. I was impressed by the guidelines provided to educational administrators, in how to implement effective structures that will assist teachers in keeping children safe from predators.

I wanted to cry that this program is necessary. It is necessary. Better late than never.

I am always a bit disturbed by self-described “teachers” who put out videos and information on the Internet. One of the foundations of professional teaching is accountability. Other than recognized professional bodies that create videos that sometimes appear on social media, there is a complete absence of accountability, there are no professional standards. Social media is the biggest soap box in human history. There is value in sharing experiences online, but it is not the same as accountable instruction. Entertainers are not teachers just because they choose to identify themselves as such. I am grateful that the surgeons who have operated on me, studied with qualified teachers, and met measured professional standards to qualify for their professional designation.

Anyway, having successfully completed the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, I say well done Ontario College of Teachers, for requiring this training to qualify as an Ontario Teacher.

Worldly

Weather

Updated on Thu, Mar 3, 11:45 AM
-8 °C
FEELS LIKE -16
Overcast
Wind 19 NW km/h
Humidity 55 %
Visibility 33 km
Sunrise 6:42 AM
Wind gust 28 km/h
Pressure 102.4 kPa
Ceiling 10000 m
Sunset 5:58 PM

Quote

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
George Bernard Shaw
1856 – 1950

… as does all social disintegration. It is a double edged sword.