On the question of "why didn't you tell someone?"
If we had been ten years older we could have reported Brownlee to the police and had him charged with assault but as school children this simply wasn't an option. At that age you have no understanding of the criminal justice system and as corporal punishment was widely used in schools, the response you would most likely have had from a parent was that you probably deserved it. As my wife commented, you might even have had a thump from your dad for making up stories about not just any old teacher, but the deputy head.
And Brownlee knew all this. He was in a position of power so could do as he pleased.
But also at that age you didn't dwell on these things. Young children live much more in the moment. Once we were out of Brownlee's classroom we could put to the back of our minds the horrors that had just happened. We would have looked forward to breaktime or going home or at the very least, being in a classroom where the teacher didn't routinely hit you and your friends.
Perhaps the thing we can take most comfort from is that when the history of The Edinburgh Academy prep school is written, the name John Brownlee will be mud. He will now forever be associated with the crimes he has been found guilty of. His name, along with those of Wares and Dawson, will mean abuse and violence directed towards young, defenceless boys.
And we can say to the Edinburgh Academy - we know what happened, we weren't making it up and now the world knows.
No comments:
Post a Comment