By Roger Wallenstein
After reading Sports Illustrated’s articles on the death of Joe Paterno – a repetitive, pedestrian description of his life, career, iconic status, and the final shame of having unspeakable acts committed against young boys occurring just steps away from his office – like most people I’m ready to read about something else. Of course, I’ll be interested to find out the result of the prosecution of the monster who apparently committed the crimes, but other than that, I’m done with it.
Well, not completely. There are numbers of us who have worked with young people as teachers, coaches, mentors, supervisors, and in other positions. For 15 years I directed a resident summer camp, a place that too often can be a magnet for child predators. I’ve also spent an additional 22 years as a teacher and coach.
My wife and I stepped out of the camping business more than seven years ago, but the Penn State situation leaves us wondering what the people in Happy Valley were thinking. There wasn’t a camping conference in the ’80s and ’90s that didn’t include workshops and panels about child predators – how to detect them, how to interview job applicants, what to do if kids are molested under one’s watch. It was grim stuff, and we all took it seriously.
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Posted on January 29, 2012
