The workshop we had today, surrounding mandatory reporting and issues of abuse had a lot of tough topics. I thought it was eye-opening to go through different scenarios, especially in terms of the disagreements that arose within the cohort. It is so hard to make a judgment call when you don’t know all the whole story. But, then again, I guess as teacher we are unlikely to have the whole story. We will need to make judgement calls based on what we see and what we know. I think it is especially important to remember that we don’t work alone, we have other teachers and administrators there to support us. I also think its a good idea to be aware of community resources available to help families in need, or at least be able to point families in the direction of someone who can help them.
CPS seems to have a less than flattering reputation with many members of society. I understand why parents would automatically feel upset, offended, embarrassed or angry when they become aware of a CPS referral. But, I believe CPS serves an important role in society by safeguarding children, and also aims to keep families together and connect families to important resources and necessary support systems. I think CPS needs a campaign to help educate people about the support they provide to families and the positive work they perform in our communities.