New
Book Examines Teachers and Accusations of Abuse"Crimes
against children are unspeakable," notes Colorado Education Association Attorney Greg
Lawler, who has been fighting for teachers' rights for 15 years. He adds, "the
natural instinct of our society is to protect our children at all cost. In the process,
collateral damage has been done to teachers wrongly accused of abuse."
"It will never happen to me," say most teachers, but the ugly phenomenon of
educators being falsely accused of abuse against students is growing each year. To help
teachers, Lawler and mass media researcher and author Matthew Olson have teamed up
to write Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Teachers and Accusations of Abuse, soon to
be released by New Forums Press.
Using real cases that Lawler has litigated, the authors explain the role of
legislators, the media and the public in such emotional crises. Being careful to apply the
lessons uncovered in their research to general guidelines for educators, such as the
nature of how the mass media tends to report abuse accusation cases, the authors come to
grips with the difficulties teachers face in clearing their names of false charges.
"We wrote the book because teachers are increasingly under fire from students,
parents and administrators," explains Olson. "The book outlines cases in
Colorado which have application across the nation, pending legislation is examined and
suggestions are made for teachers to protect themselves from wrongful accusations."
The new book, which retails for $16.95, is available from this New Forums web site,
Amazon.com, or may be requested at local bookstores.
Read a sample from this new title,
Chapter
3.
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