“Professional” Words Harming Students

Gossip and real-life experiences are constantly spreading around TCS. Often, some of these “stories” become extremely relevant to directives as they seem crucial for the school’s positive environment and reputation. When these scenarios occur, specific regulations, that create harm for students’ personal lives, take place. The Columbus School has a specific process that must be met each time any information that is considered threatening for a student’s well-being approaches to the campus. The school’s process has lost its intention and duty. These regulations should be abolished from the school’s regiment, as they are not creating any good for the community but instead creating harm and affecting life profiles.

“Our main goal as educators, is to contribute to the positive formation of students, with transparency, honesty, and clarity,” explained Maria Victoria Jaramillo, TCS’ High School’s Vice Principal. “When a student makes a mistake, which is completely human, the important thing is that he accepts it so he can improve and move on.” Schools are always seeking for the welfare of students and their guidance through the correct path. As educators, directives should be aware of everything that happens inside or outside the school. In some situations, this criteria has gotten out of hands for TCS’ guardians, thus actions have shifted with regards to the effects on the student’s life after the process has occurred.

“When information related to prevention about something that has occurred externally or internally arrives to the school, we take it seriously. The school usually refers to counseling because it is not a subject of discipline. The student accused is contacted and he/she is informed about the information that has arrived, clearly emphasizing that the school can’t establish if it is true information or it isn’t. It is granted by communicating to their family the same thing, that there is information that hasn’t been evidenced at all, but that it must be treated,” explained Ana Garcia, TCS counselor. The process mentioned above consists of informing parents about the information obtained, whether it’s gossip or not, which in many cases threatens the victim’s reputation, relations, and self-esteem. This has become a problem for both the victim and his/her family members because, as explained by TCS’ counselors, the evidence is not required in these cases which causes uncertainties and rough communication within families.

“On November of last year, I was summoned to the counselor’s office where I was accused of ‘doing drugs’. The school had no evidence of the facts, and they refused to trust me when I said ‘This is a false accusation.’ I tried to explain myself but the only response I was given was,  ‘We will call your parents and inform them, this is very serious and might become a problem in your future. We must take action,’” shared an anonymous junior year student from TCS. But what if the source had some personal issue with the victim? Why should the victim’s reputation and relationships with friends and family be affected in such a negative way just because of a false accusation?

Although Equal Columbus has the best intentions to protect students, they have lost sight of students’ personal lives including personal conflicts, family relations, and education received at home. As stated by TCS’ Manual de Convivencia which contains the bases and rules every member of the community should follow, one of the school’s duties is to “respect the confidential nature of information related with students.”

Words can be the greatest threat to someone’s well being, thus, adolescents, students and especially school directives should be careful with what they say; being a professional educator doesn’t mean that words and assumptions won’t deeply hurt someone else.