Don't Be Afraid to Warn, Say "No" or Tell The Unpleasant Truth

Decades ago, when I was the local girls gym teacher in our then small Shiloh elementary school, I'd go to the teachers professional conferences run by the Israeli Ministry of Education. My hope was that they'd offer me the chance for professional training for certification, but that never happened. Ten plus years later, after I began teaching EFL Remedial English, still sans certification, I happily certified for that when I  was given the opportunity.

There's a lecture I remember well. It involved more than safety, which is extremely important not only for phys-ed teachers but concerns everyone and not just in school. The simple message is:

Legally, you can be held liable for injuries/death/damage if it's proven that you saw or were aware of a dangerous situation and said nothing.

This is something I've never forgotten. Even while I was working in Yafiz, which is a clothing store, I would try to tell parents that they should stop their kids from running into the racks of clothing to make it "swing." For some reason, only I could see the potential dangers of metal skirt/slacks poking the eyes of the children. The kids just love to make the clothes swing. I didn't care if they knocked over the racks and made a mess. But what if they were blinded and then sued the store and workers for our negligence? You'd be amazed at how many times I was chastised by management for trying to prevent injuries. My "personnel file" was full of such "crimes."

Why am I writing about it now?

Various employees of the pre-army academy in which ten potential students, those who had applied and were supposed to begin this coming school year, were killed in a flash flood last week, have been interrogated by the police. It has been revealed that one instructor has been released, because she could prove that she had warned that it was too dangerous to hike in that area considering the flood forecasts. Apparently, she was over-ruled.

Instructor: I opposed the hike, pushed to cancel it

Also, and even more upsetting, is that some of the students had whatsapped that they considered it dangerous, but apparently they didn't dare risk their acceptance in the academy by refusing to participate in the hike.

It doesn't help to "if only," imagine scenarios in which things had been done differently. Nothing will bring back those teenagers from the dead or cancel/reverse the injuries, physical and emotional of the survivors, their family and friends. Life isn't a computer game with a handy and simple "undo" button.

What must be done is to give people the confidence to say "no" and mean it. We need to raise children and educate students to say:

"Safety is most important. I'm not going/participating."

Shiloh Cemetery for illustrative purposes only