Page 10 - Professional Advisory: Professional Boundaries – An Advisory for Ontario Certified Teachers
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Avoid unnecessary touching such as hugging, uninvited touching, or touching that may be interpreted as sexual in nature. Do not tell sexually suggestive jokes or make comments about a student’s body, appearance or clothing. Don’t ask about intimate aspects of students’ lives or disclose intimate aspects of yours. If a student discloses personal information, it is not an opportunity to share your personal history.
Do:
• Make notes in your daybook whenever you meet with students outside of regular classroom time such as at lunch, recess or after class.
• Use an approved employer (work) account, not a personal account, when communicating electronically with students and parents/guardians. As an additional caution, consider including a supervisor, colleague or a parent/ guardian on the conversation.
• Speak with your principal or immediate supervisor if you are unsure what to do.
• Follow your employer’s policies and protocols with respect to distance learning.
• Treat students fairly. Act professionally. Ensure your actions can withstand scrutiny.
When working with students individually, ask yourself:
• Am I doing the right thing?
• How would colleagues/others judge my
actions?
• Is it essential to meet one-on-one?
• Can we work together where others can
see us, preferably in a public place?
• Can I provide this help during normal
school hours?
• Am I using the school’s authorized technology to communicate and not a personal email or social media account or platform?
• Are my actions known and sanctioned by the principal/supervisor and/or the student’s parents/guardians?
• If a colleague, family member or friend was watching, could they misinterpret my behaviour?
Grooming
Grooming has been defined as a conscious, deliberate and carefully orchestrated approach by the offender. It entails gaining access to a victim, initiating and maintaining abuse, and concealing the abuse. According to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCCP), it involves “manipulating the percep- tions of children and adults around children to gain their trust and cooperation. It is also used to normalize inappropriate behavior through desensitization, to reduce the likelihood that a child will disclose, and to reduce the likelihood that a child will be believed if they do tell.”9
Some educators, acting out of care for
their students, intervene personally yet inappropriately. Others — rare though they may be — don‘t care about student well- being and are, in fact, “grooming” them for a future sexual relationship. The difference is intent, which is often determined by police, employers, the College and the victims them- selves in hindsight.
In its study Child Sexual Abuse by K–12 School Personnel in Canada, CCCP reports that, between 1997 and 2017:
• 750 cases involved a minimum of 1,272 students and 714 offenders
• 87 per cent of the offenders were male
9 tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10538712.2018.1477218?scroll=top&needAccess=true& 8 PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY: PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES