What Goes On Outside Of The Classroom

Let me tell you about the student who lives across the hall from me.

There have been at least two or three times that I have heard an alarming amount of verbal and physical abuse coming from my pupil's apartment.  The first time it came to my attention, my roommates and I all stood in the hall spying on the family trying to figure out what was going on, but the shouting was all in  Hebrew, so it was rather useless.  I called the head teacher and told her about what was going on.  She called the principle to report it.  She said the principal knows about the abuse in the family and that the school is not allowed to get involved with it; and that if it got worst to call the police. Although, she adamantly advised me not to get involved.  That night when I was in the hall, the other neighbor on my floor came home and walked into his house completely ignoring what was going on.  I was stunned.  I knocked on his door.  He opened it and his two toddlers were standing in the doorway with him.  "Don't you hear what's going on? Does this always happen??  Shouldn't we say something," I asked.  He told me that this is old news and shrugged it off.  I urged him to come into the hallway with me and he obliged, standing there with a nervous smile on his face as we absorbed the ruckus.  In a social psychology course I took in college, we learned about a phenomena known as the bystander effect.  The bystander effect occurs when there are a bunch of people present at the scene of an emergency and no one steps in because they all assume someone else will intervene.  The current situation felt much like this phenomena-- the domestic abuse was something everyone in the community knew about, but didn't talk about.  

Do you know how awful of a feeling it is to sit back and let this assault occur to one of my students that I care about?  How could I let this happen?  After all, I am not helpless.  I am the kind of girl who stands up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

Tonight I heard the abuse occurring again.  I opened the door and nudged my friend who was over to come with me into the hallway.  We heard crying and shouting and banging.  We stood there in disbelief and went back into my house to finish our meal.  A few minutes later I get a knock on my door.  Two police officers were standing before me.  Someone had finally reported my student's family.  I told the police they were at the wrong location and pointed to the direction of the drama.  I watched the officers as they walked into the family's apartment, shutting the door behind them.  

 Sometimes you don't realize the things that hit home with you the most until you experience it first hand.  This situation got me thinking about what I want to do with my life and the compassion I have for victims of such circumstances.  Being on this program has not only shined light for my knack and love for children, but also points me in the direction of pursuing social work for childhood welfare.