RunningHead:PHYSICALABUSE:WHATTEACHERSNEEDTOKNOW

PhysicalAbuse:WhatTeachersNeedToKnow
NickPeninger
MattawanHighSchool

PhysicalAbuse:WhatTeachersNeedToKnow
Homeismeanttobewheretheheartisat.Homeiswherewearebroughtupfrom
diapersintoourveryfirstcars.Homeisthelocationofourfamilies,thepeoplewhoaremeantto
cherishandsupportusuntiltheendofourexistence.Home,however,doesnotholdthesame
effectforoverthreemillionchildrenintheUnitedStateseveryyear.Forthesechildren,homeis
aplaceofpain,fear,andsuffering.Manymayfeelasthoughtheyaretrappedinacage,often
onlyreleasedforthesevenhoursadaythattheyattendschool.Itisduringthesesevenhoursthat
theyarebroughtunderthesupervisionofanadultthathastheabilitytochangetheirlivesforthe
better,andevensavethemfromtheirpersonalhellathome.Ateachercanbeoneofthemost
influentialindividualsinastudentslife,anditistheirresponsibilitytoprovidehelpforvictims
ofphysicalabuse.Notonlyaretheremanysignsandtraitsofphysicalabusethatcanbeeasily
recognizedwithinastudentsappearanceandbehavior,buttheeffectsofphysicalabuseare
tremendousonastudentssuccessintheclassroomenvironment,andtherearewaysthatevery
teachercanhelpthevictimsofabuse.
Unlikemostotherformsofchildabuse,evidenceofphysicalabusecanbeveryeasyfor
teacherstopointoutwithintheirclass,basedonfactorsofthestudentsappearanceand
behavior.Acommonlyknowntraitisthemarksleftontheirbody,includingbruises,burns,and
cuts.Thefrequentappearanceofthesephysicaltraitsareabigindicationofphysicalabuseat
home.However,itisimportanttorememberthatmanychildrencanreceivebruisesduringtheir
timeontheplayground,orwhileplayingsports.Thisiswhyitsvitaltopayattentiontothe
reasoninggivenbychildrenforthemarksfoundontheirbodies.Unexplainedorinadequately
explainedinjuriesshouldraiseredflagsforteachers.Bilateralinjuries,orbruisinginthesame

placesonbothsidesofthebody,couldindicatethatforcewasappliedtotheseareaswhilethe
childwasbeingforcefullyshaken.Itisveryunlikelythatbilateralbruisingcanbearesultofan
accident.Anothercommonphysicaltraitofchildrensufferingfromphysicalabuseistheclothing
theywear.Oftentimesabusers,oreventhestudentthemselves,maytakemeasurestocoverany
physicalevidenceofabusebywearingheavyclothingtomasktheirarms,legs,etc.Behavioris
anextremelyimportantindicatorofabuse,especiallyamongstudentsatschool.Beingthe
primarysocialopportunityformostchildren,especiallythoseattheelementaryschoolage,the
typesofinteractionchildrensharewithoneanothercanbedirectresultsofphysicalabuse.For
example,itiscommonforvictimstowithdrawfromothersandspendmostoftheirtimealone.
Thiscanalsoalternatebetweenisolation,andaggression.Inall,therearemanytelltalesignsof
physicalabusewithintheclassroom.Itsimportantthatteacherstakespecialnoticetothese
signs,andmonitorallsituations,eventhosethatmayseemharmlessatfirst,becausemostof
thesevictimsareaffectedbythetraumaoftheirabuseinanintellectualway.
Thelastingeffectsofphysicalabuseonchildrenintheclassroomareseemingly
neverending.Theexperiencesofabusegreatlyinfluencethedevelopmentandfunctioningof
thehumanbrain.Muchofthedevelopmentofthebrainisguidedbyapersonsexperiences
especiallyduringchildhoodwhenthebrainisthemostreceptive.AccordingtoDr.BruceD.
Perry,leaderoftheChildTraumaAcademy,thebrainsofchildrenwhoregularlysufferthrough
physicalabuseareconstantlyinastateoffearrelatedactivation.Thosewhoareraisedin
positiveenvironmentsreceiveahealthybalanceofdifferentemotionsforthebraintofeedand
growfrom.However,whenthebrainisconstantlyrespondingtofear,itdevelopsaconstantstate
offear,whichoftenresultsinhypervigilance,anxiety,andincreasedimpulsiveness.Daily

occurrencesoftheseemotionsunderstandablybringunhealthyamountsofdistressandpaininto
achildslife,andthereforehaveadamagingeffectonastudentslearningexperience.
Subsequently,thetraumaticexperiencesofabuseresultinunhealthyclassroombehavior.Many
mentalhealthprofessionalsagreethatchildrenwhoconstantlyopposedirectionsfromthe
teacher,orrefusetoparticipateinassignmentsoractivities,areoftenvictimsofabuse.These
sameexpertsbelievethatthisisawayforvictimstocopewiththeirchallengingfeelings.
Antagonizingotherstudents,andeventheteacherareunfortunatelycommonwaysforchildren
toindirectlyrespondtotheabusetheyreceiveathome.Ontheotherhand,victimscompletely
withdrawfromsocialsituations,whichofteninterfereswithnormaldaytodayfunctioning.The
tremendousdifficultythatthesechildrenexperiencewhiletryingtobelongtoasocialsetting,isa
directresponsetotheirlackofsafeandsecureconnectionswithadultfiguresintheirlives.In
summary,physicalabusecanseriouslyhinderthedevelopmentofachildsbrain,andifavictim
doesntreceivetheproperhelpandcarethattheydeserve,theycanbeaffectedwellinto
adulthood(Perry).
Finally,thereisanabundantamountofwaysthatteacherscanhelpvictimsofphysical
abuseaftertheyhavebeenidentified.Teachershaveaspecialopportunitytohelptheirstudents
inneed,andwiththecorrectprocedure,havetherareabilitytosavelives.Accordingtothree
representativesfromtheAssociationforSupervisionandCurriculumDevelopment,thefirst
factorintrulyallowingvictimstocopewiththeirpainiscreatinganurturingculturewithintheir
classroom.Makingthestudentfeelcomfortableistheonlywaytheycanspeakoutabouttheir
pain.Teachersshouldalwaysbesuretocreateahealthyclassroomenvironmentforalloftheir
students,beginningwiththeirattitude.Specificallyregardingsvictimofabuse,teachersshould

besurenottoindicatethatthestudentisinanywaytoblameforwhathashappenedtothem.A
caringadultmayormaynotbeaforeignfactorinavictimslife,andcouldverywellbethefirst
steptorecovery.Itsvitalthatteachershelpingtheirstudentscopewithabusecreatestrong
boundariesinwhichthevictimspersonalspacewillberespectedaboveallelse.Afterall,many
ofthesechildrenhaventbeentaughtthatsayingnoisacceptable,andarealltoofamiliarwith
theirphysicalspacebeingdeeplyviolated.Finally,confidentialitybetweentheschoolandthe
victimisabsolutelynecessary.Teachersandadministratorsmustalwaysbediscretewhile
observingorsearchingforsignsofabuse,andconferencingwithsaidstudentabouttheirhome
life.Furthermore,themoredirectwayateacherinteractswiththechildduringtheirtimeofneed
isprobablythetopicofmuchcuriosityformanyteachers.Howexactlycantheyhelptheir
studentcope?Firstly,theycanholdhighacademicstandardsforsaidchild.Aspreviouslystated,
schoolisthelocationofmanyvictimssafehavenawayfromhomeeveryday.Makingthisa
placewherethestudentcanthrivenotonlypersonallybutintellectuallyisagreatpathof
recovery.Thismeansallowingthemtoexpressthemselvesandtheiropinionsinasafeway.Its
alsohelpfulthateducatorsgivetheirstudentasenseofpersonalbelongingandselfworth.
Lettingthestudentknowtheirstrengthswithintheclassroomandasapersonisatremendous
wayofhelpingthestudentbegintorealizetheirworththatissooftennotnoticedintheirabusive
home.Therefore,itsintheirbestinterestfortheteachertoboosttheirselfesteemandgivethem
asenseofbelongingatschool.Thewaysandpathsateachercantakeinordertohelptheir
studentiscountless,anddoingsocanchangetheirlivesfortheverypermanentbetter(Bear,
Schenk,Buckner19921993).

Teachersandadministratorshaveamoreimportantroleinthelivesoftheirstudentsthan
theymaythink.Thesevenhoursadayspentawayfromhomecanbeavictimsopportunityto
soar,anditstheteachersmoralresponsibilitytomeetthatfreedomwithcaringand
empowerment.Itsimportantthatteacherseducatethemselvesonhowtospotthesignsof
physicalabuse,theeffectofabuseonachildseducation,andwhattheycandotohelp.The
subjectofphysicalabuseisoftentreatedasbrokenglassthatadultsandteacherstreadlightlyon,
takingtheirbesteffortnottogettooinvolvedinthepersonallivesoftheirstudent.Whileitis
importanttotakethisissuewithcautionandboundaries,itsthebraveryandwillofateacherto
stepinandhelpthatwilltrulyimpactachildslife.

References
ScholasticTeachers,Perry,2009
(
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/abuse_neglect.htm
ChildHelp.Org(
https://www.childhelp.org/childabusestatistics/
)
http://apd.myflorida.com/zerotolerance/commonsigns/
signsofabuse
http://www.livestrong.com/article/1000890effectsparentalneglectchildsclassroombehavior/
affectsofabuseonclassroombehavior
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/dec92/vol50/num04/SupportingVictim
sofChildAbuse.aspx
howcanteachershelp?