When teachers cry
Educators share painful classroom experiences with abused children
The impact of child abuse often extends far beyond the individual and family, creeping into the quiet corners of classrooms where teachers stand as unsung heroes offering solace and support to children who have endured the unimaginable.
Marcia Channer, who taught at a facility that specialises in educating abused children from grades two to six, admitted that she was broken emotionally when she got a glimpse of the long-standing impact of child abuse.
Piercing screams, random outbursts, and explosive tantrums were a regular occurrence in her classroom, as students often had flashbacks of their abusive incidents.
“The classroom was never a place of hard and fast rule. You had to be flexible because this minute you would have a lesson planned and something happens. They would just scream. They would do a lot of screaming. They would just scream out in the class, or they would throw tantrums, they would throw things, they would even throw stones in the class, all different kinds of things,” Channer told the Jamaica Observer.
Navigating the delicate balance of academics and emotional healing, Channer found herself not just teaching but also serving as a caregiver to more than 15 children, all of whom had experienced some level of abuse.
“As a human being and as a mother, sometimes you cry because when you think of what they have been through and you see them, it’s different. When you read about these stories it doesn’t impact you as much as when you are integrally involved, when you are looking at the child in front of you, and you say, ‘Oh my God, this happened to this little one?’”
According to data from the National Children’s Registry (NCR), behavioural challenges in children were noted in 590 reports of abuse made in January 2024.
Channer, reflecting on these statistics, shared the story of a young girl she taught who was sexually abused and how she witnessed the behavioural patterns of the child drastically change as she grew to become promiscuous.
“We spoke to her. We tried to talk to her about it and discouraged her from getting involved in those kinds of behaviours. She tried, but it was like a demon was inside of her…whatever happened to her was too overwhelming, and because of that, it led her to make these choices that were not wise, appropriate, or good,” she added.
Another educator, Kerry Ann Russell, who worked at a different institution, shared with the Sunday Observer that the boys she taught would often lash out because they were filled with anger, while the girls who were sexually abused would become sexually indiscriminate.
Russell said that she once encountered a little girl who was sexually assaulted by her father at four years old, an experience that drove her to become promiscuous.
“She said to me, ‘Miss, at the time when him touch me, it did feel nice’. And all in her head is that she wants to feel that feeling again. [When she told me], ‘Yuh know seh me cry’. This was just a four-year-old child. How can she remember such a feeling, and all that is in your head is she wants to feel that again?” Russell questioned, her distress obvious as she recalled the conversation.
Both Russell and Channer said that as educators witnessing the ramifications of these attacks against the nation’s children took a toll on them mentally and emotionally.
“Emotionally, it damages me as a teacher, because when I see the kids and I envision what they are going through, it’s nothing nice, it’s nothing pretty, and for a child to be bearing such a burden and then have to study, it is a lot,” said Russell.
Channer echoed those sentiments, adding that it takes a special type of person to show the love, appreciation, and level of support that the children need.
“It was very challenging. It takes patience. It takes a specific type of person to deal with an environment like that. You can’t be confrontational, you have to be very loving, very kind, and also be aware of their own issues and help them along. They need guidance, they need a lot of support and a lot of talk therapy to deal with not only the present conditions but to create hope for the future,” said Channer.
Over the last five years, the NCR has recorded 64,203 incidents of child abuse. Of that number, more than 1,200 were recorded in January 2024. More than 300 reports of sexual abuse were made in January. Additionally, there were 301 reports of physical abuse and 476 related to neglect.
Reports of child abuse can be made using the 24-hour child abuse reporting hotline 211. Reports may be made through
WhatsApp/text at (876)878-2882, e-mail report@childprotection.gov.jm, or by visiting any CPFSA parish office. The CPFSA social media pages (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) @cpfsajm are also available for citizens to make reports.