Retired Horace Mann math teacher and administrator Joan Bowen, who was much loved by many students, wrote the following email to Joseph Cumming of the Survivors’ Group. She gave us permission to post her email both here and in the HM-related Facebook groups.
Dear Joseph,
As I have mentioned before, I do not know how to use Facebook. When I try to post a comment it does not show up and when I think I am sending an individual e mail it appears on the whole site. I am concerned that some alums are disquieted by the silence of teachers.
My feelings are strong on the abuse subject The few retired faculty with whom I am in contact share my views. The others may dislike Facebook as I do. Alums should not assume a lack of support for the victims or support for the School’s silence on the matter from their silence on Facebook. How could anyone not be outraged by the deeds of evil teachers and the ensuing cover-ups?
I am ashamed that the institution at which I taught for some 34 years has maintained silence on the subject and not led the way in investigating what happened, apologizing not only to the abused but also to the rest of the school community, and providing help to those who have suffered. One of my great concerns is that the current sex abuse education given to students does not stress the fact that pedophiles make their prey feel “special” and that it all has to be kept “secret”. Teenagers generally do not like to confide in their parents; this is part of growing up. I cherish my memories of Horace Mann. The students who were so bright and eager to learn, and the faculty who inspired them made the place a really great school. No student ever came to me to report abuse and I never heard of cover-ups in all those years. Every day I expect an announcement of investigation, acknowledgment, apology, and assistance to those abused by employees of Horace Mann. But none has been forthcoming. I hope the Board will soon take action.
You may post any, all, or none of the above as you see fit. Bless you for all your good work.
Joan
The situation with Horace Mann is, if anything, far worse than the situation at Penn State U. You have , it seems, at least six teachers and a Dean cooperating with one another to sexually enslave students. Their power is stretched out over decades and inextricably bound up with the pwer and authority of Horace Mann itself. It really is the worst scandal in the history of American education–the ugliest, the most violent, the most sadistic and the most outrageous. It lead to suicides, ruined lives–and worst of all, decades of diabolical obfuscfation of truth. Horace Mann represents the worst betrayal of civilized educational values in US history.
The only way to get what you want is to scare the living hell out of then in the civil courtroom. They will never cooperate.
I find the naivete of the remarks on this site to be alarming. Organizations do not voluntary confess to wrongdoing. The Freeh report was commissioned by the Board of Trustees at Penn State because they had no alternative. The CEO’s of US Steel and Nike and the Gov. of the state of PA did not want to be dragged down into a swamp of local corruption. They needed to pin the blame on someone, and they certainly succeeded.
The situation with Horace Mann is, if anything, far worse than the situation at Penn State U. You have , it seems, at least six teachers and a Dean cooperating with one another to sexually enslave students. Their power is stretched out over decades and inextricably bound up with the pwer and authority of Horace Mann itself. It really is the worst scandal in the history of American education–the ugliest, the most violent, the most sadistic and the most outrageous. It lead to suicides, ruined lives–and worst of all, decades of diabolical obfuscfation of truth. Horace Mann represents the worst betrayal of civilized educational values in US history.
The only way to get what you want is to scare the living hell out of then in the civil courtroom. They will never cooperate.
Joan Bowen was one of my favorite teachers at Horace Mann.
Her frank, compelling comments cause me to like and respect her even more.