Abstract
This paper discusses the role that teachers should play in the reporting of suspected child abuse. It describes the law regarding the reporting of child abuse in the United States and provides a case example from David Pelzer's life, as described in his book, "A Child Called "It"." The writer suggests that David only lived because a teacher reported his abuse and concludes that if she is ever am in a situation where I am faced with the question to report or not to report-my answer is very clear.

From the Paper
"In contemplating those examples one can see that it is not as easy as it sounds to "do the right thing." Sometimes we cannot be sure what is ultimately best for the child and that is what everyone is trying to accomplish. For 3 elementary school teachers in Atlanta the choice was not theirs to make. The 3 instructors were arrested in connection with failure to report suspicions of child abuse. The worst part of this story is that none of the teachers had even suspected abuse and further investigations by the Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services have failed to substantiate the allegations of child abuse and no charges have been filed (Carmody, 1989). Ultimately, there are 3 school teachers that did not suspect abuse, were arrested for not reporting it and then find out that the child was probably not abused in the first place. To revert back to my earlier statement, there could have been a history of abuse there and it was overlooked, now that they have investigated and found nothing, that child could be in for even more abuse and no one to turn to for help."

Tags:violence, Child Protective Services, CAPTA