With the investigation conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh being released today and offering a scathing indictment of the leadership of Penn State University for letting this happen. The media has been all over what the university did and did not do in regards to this incident but I have not seen a conversation revolving around this very important topic and I believe that if it is not addressed, we will have more Penn States in the future and it is why I came up with the title to this diary, where were the people who knew and loved Jerry Sandusky.
About 9-10 years ago I worked in another school system and I had a principal who always showed respect to me and told me that I was highly valued at the school. All of a sudden I went from the teacher who could do no wrong, to the one who could do no right. My principal was on me from the moment I walked into the school to the time I walked out. I would be observed on starting the second week of school and even on the day before and after a long break. For those that don't know teaching, the before and after a break can be some of the most challenging times to teach and with the second week, you have just started with getting to know your kids and what they can and can't do.
I also had to submit lesson plans daily to this person and she would always scribble out anything she did not like and was not afraid to tell me I was not doing it right. Of course on the ones that were okay, what did she say or write, nothing. Oh by the way what happened to those lesson plans that were supposedly good, well most of the time I never got them back.
Needless to say, I found myself going into a bad place. I had trouble sleeping, eating, you name it. When I could eat I found myself eating way to much and gained a lot of weight. I also found myself drinking and being just mean and nasty. I started taking it out on friends and even my students. It go so bad with me that I even found myself one night looking at my steak knife set and my wrists. Luckily I told someone about this and they had been seeing how bad I had been doing and feeling so they intervened and got me help. I was able to get myself out of this depressed state and get out of this school and into a place where I am appreciated and happy.
So how does this deal with Jerry Sandusky, where were his friends and family? It has been said that no one is born evil and that over time we are a reflection of our environment and up bringing. So why didn't the people who knew and loved Jerry get him the help he needed? We have seen too many tragic events from Columbine, Virginia Tech, and now this where the warning signs were there right in front of us and no one DID A THING TO HELP OUT. We all know what happened later.
I couldn't help but notice that NJ Governor Chris Christie made a speech at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC where he made the call for drug treatment for first time offenders. His rationale was spot on saying that if we put them in jail and then let them go, they just go back to the habit because they are addicts and they have a disease, a disease which must be treated. Conditions like drug and alcohol addiction along with mental issues need to be addressed as diseases just like heart disease, AIDS, and cancer. I was lucky to have friends who saw what I was going through and intervened and got me the treatment I needed. I am scared to think about what might have been if they did not. Until we get to that point where we acknowledge mental health concerns are just as valid as heart disease and others we are going to have more Columbines and Penn States.
So as the media places the blame on the leadership of Penn State and it is all justified, I hope that the friends and family of Jerry Sandusky feel a sense of shame as well. Didn't they see the signs and why didn't they act? Were they in denial and just thought it would go away? Why can't we talk about the fact that Jerry Sandusky was a sick man and did not get the help he needed until it was too late? Can we acknowledge that he might be a victim to? I apologize if anyone thinks that I am trying to codone what he did, all I am saying is that he needed help, did not get the help, and many people had to suffer because of it. This is a situation where nobody wins.
I hope that this incident can start conversations on this topic and I look forward to seeing the comments below