Trust, but Verify!

I had just opened my school three weeks before I got the phone call that made my blood run cold.  At the time, I had about 6 students and was operating on fumes.  While I was pumped at the possibilities, I knew I needed students soon if I was going to make it.  So nothing could have scared me more than that phone call.  It was a reporter from the Columbus Dispatch.  He wanted to interview me regarding a martial arts school where the instructor had just been indicted for having inappropriate relations with his underage female students.  I knew when I moved here I knew there were many unprofessional schools still open in central Ohio.  However, I never dreamed I would face something like this. I thought for sure people would assume all martial arts schools were this way. I agreed to speak off the record with the reporter to explain what standards were enforced in professional schools but I didn’t want my name associated with the case in any way. To make matters worse within 6 months allegations began to circle around a second instructor in the area.  

I do believe what helped me more than anything to get through these incidents was that my wife was teaching in the school most of the time.  This was before the kids were born and it was just Mrs. Perdue, Mr. Dominach and I teaching every day.  People would ask about our policies and procedures and I would go over them in detail.  The clincher was always what I said last. “Plus my wife over there would kick me in the face if I even LOOKED at a female student!”  While they would laugh, they also understood we had procedures in place to protect their kids and that there were checks and balances in place to make sure those procedures were followed. 

While the Penn State, Syracuse and AAU scandals are the most recent revelations, we have to remember there have been similar scandals in volunteer groups, churches and schools all over the world for decades.  Predators, by their very nature, operate in places where the institution is looked at as a positive place for kids and the trust of the parents is easily granted. Predators are master manipulators and will slowly worm their way into those organizations posing as a benefactor and an all around great person.  This gives them the time to pick their victims. When the predator thinks the time is right, he will get what it desires.  I know the greatest fear parents have is a stranger abduction.  In reality, the odds of that happening are less than them being struck by a bolt of lightning.  The reality is, most children are made victims by someone they KNOW.  

Parents have to keep a wary eye at any institution or person they entrust their kids.  If something doesn’t feel right about it, your instincts are probably correct and further investigation on your part is needed.  Examine the procedures that institution uses to prevent predator’s from getting access.  I don’t care what kind of institution it is, if the procedures are not in place sooner or later a predator will find its way into that organization. Any good institution will understand this concern and be prepared to answer your questions.  Then watch and see if they actually follow their policies.  If they take short cuts, it doesn’t matter what is on paper.    

At our school, have you ever seen an instructor teaching by themselves?  Do we allow students in the school earlier than 15 minutes before the first class?  Do we have observation areas?  Are parents welcomed to watch at any time?  Do we have overnight events in the school?  Do instructors transport students?  Do you ever see instructors in enclosed areas with students?  Do you see inappropriate contact with students?  Of course not!  Why?  We not only have the procedures in place, we enforce them. Every instructor is trained, retrained and trained again to prevent even the possibility of something like that happening. 

Reagan said it best.  Trust, but verify!