Dear book character:

[conuly]

You apparently are flabbergasted that two of your students have asked you not to call CPS on one of them. "I would never do that! Why is that your first thought!"

Well, maybe it's their first thought because you have a moral and legal responsibility to inform the authorities if you know that children are being as badly neglected as your nephew and his sisters are? I mean, if you wanted to solve this without getting a social worker involved, you had four years in which to do that.

I'm just saying, that might be why both of them thought you'd do that. Because that was what you were supposed to do, and shame on you for instead choosing to do nothing for so long. You are not the hero of this story, no matter what the author seems to think.

****************

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Comments

[adrian_turtle]

re the story you mention in your first paragraph, are you talking about a teacher of children? A situation where "calling CPS on me" implies that CPS would investigate if I were BEING neglected or if my guardian were taking adequate care of me? Or are you talking about a college instructor, whose student would think "calling CPS on me" implied CPS investigating if I were the one being neglectful.

[conuly]

Protagonist is a high schooler. His aunt is an English teacher at his school, she's married to another teacher at his school. He has classes with both of them.

He's been effectively raising his sisters since his mother - his aunt's sister - died four years ago, because their alcoholic dad can barely even manage to cover the rent and his booze.

When his aunt finally gets around to asking him point-blank if they need help, his response (and later his boyfriend's response) is "please don't call child services" but ffs. Again, the correct time for her to try for a non-official solution such as inviting the children to stay with her, as they ultimately do by the end of the book, was when things first started getting bad.

[malinaldarose]

To be fair to the character, mandated reporter status does not apply to family situations -- or so I was told when I, as a mandated reporter, attempted to report my brother for neglect.

[conuly]

Except he's also a student in her class. And he's a student in her husband's class, and has been since before they were married.

[malinaldarose]

Ah, well, now. That's a different kettle of fish.

[conuly]

Also, even if you're not mandated to report your brother for neglect, surely you're allowed to?

[malinaldarose]

Maybe if I hadn't said he was my brother? But they refused to take it.

[conuly]

That is some bullshit right there.