Ineffectual Bureaucracy

[pronoun] wasn’t even in my elementary school class that year. [pronoun]’s teacher came up to me during one of our fairly frequent passing meetings in the hall. My colleague asked: “Would you take a look at [pronoun]’s arms? I want you to tell me what you think.” I wondered if the powers that be would be able (or even inclined) to do anything.

The Player(s)

[pronoun] came into school that day in a mood. [pronoun] wasn’t belligerent, wasn’t overly talkative, wasn’t rude or disruptive. But those of us who knew [pronoun] knew that something wasn’t right over and above the things that normally weren’t right in [pronoun]’s world.

The Setup

I’d had conversations like this before with other people in the school. They’re not uncommon in a public school setting. Sometimes they really and truly are accidents; other times they honestly are misunderstandings. Then sometimes they’re deliberate and abusive. And often, the bureaucracy that exists fails them.

The sequence

So I called [pronoun] over to me when we were at recess. “[pronoun], will you help me go get the big red ball from the classroom? I’d like to get a kickball game started.” I got the expected response: a smile, and an affirmative. We left the playground together, with me giving my colleague a meaningful look as we exited toward my classroom.

Our chatting was light on the way. As we walked, I made surreptitious glances at [pronoun]’s arms. I thought I saw what my colleague saw but couldn’t be sure.

When we got to my classroom I went to the cupboard and pulled out the big red ball for our kickball game. As I handed it to [pronoun], I was able to see [pronoun]’s arms clearly: some fresh wounds that didn’t look accidental.

The Denouement

I asked [pronoun] to take the ball outside and I went to the nurse. I asked the nurse to call [pronoun] into the office to look. My colleague was right: burns.

Turns out, from talking to [pronoun], one of [pronoun]’s siblings was the perpetrator while the parent wasn’t around. I still don’t know what, if anything, the parent did to try to rectify the situation.

As per the law, the agency of our state’s bureaucracy in charge of child welfare was contacted. Nothing ever came of that report, nor of any of the other reports made over the years on behalf of [pronoun]. After every situation like this, one always asks, “What else could I have done?”

The Moral

Not a lot of learning can occur when a student is being harmed at home.