In Friday's International Adoption Blog we celebrated the the arrest of a hunted sexual predator and mentioned what could be a prevalence of perverts among those who take teaching jobs in other countries.

With many of our kids coming from places where sex with children hits the headlines often, adoptive parents can't help but feel that "there but for the grace" thing, and if our children come to us at older ages we have to wonder ...

Directly on the heels of the report of the Canadian pedophile arrest, and through an adoptive parent blog I visit often, I was directed to this disturbing article titled, "Sexual misconduct plagues US schools", and saw a circle close.

The blogger suggested this could be "yet another reason to homeschool", and I can certainly understand that response. It's hard enough to send our children out into the cold, cruel world ... or even the warm, cruel world, as is the case for those in tropical surroundings like mine ... without having to feel the need to closely scrutinize the people we're entrusting to protect our little ones 'out there'.

Students in America’s schools are groped. They’re raped. They’re pursued, seduced and think they’re in love.

An Associated Press investigation found more than 2,500 cases over five years in which educators were punished for actions from bizarre to sadistic.

There are 3 million public school teachers nationwide, most devoted to their work. Yet the number of abusive educators — nearly three for every school day — speaks to a much larger problem in a system that is stacked against victims.

Most of the abuse never gets reported. Those cases reported often end with no action. Cases investigated sometimes can’t be proven, and many abusers have several victims.

And no one — not the schools, not the courts, not the state or federal governments — has found a surefire way to keep molesting teachers out of classrooms.

The fact is that we cannot and should not trust anyone on the basis of position or authority. Teachers, preachers, scout leaders, coaches, uncles, friends and others who may have charge of our children are people, and like it or not some people are vile.

One Congressional report estimated as many as 4.5 million students are subject to "sexual misconduct" by school employees between K-12.

I was one of those.

It's not something I dwell upon, and in fact hadn't thought about the incident in a very long time although the experience most certainly has colored my relationships with authority figures ever since. This is, however, the first time I've publicly named names and places, and I'm happy to do it.

It was 1963 and I was 12-years-old and in the 6th grade at Gregory Gardens Elementary School in Pleasant Hill, California. My teacher's name was Mr. Reikins ... although I'm not sure about the spelling now, and I don't recall his first name.

My parents had divorced a couple of years previous, my father had remarried, and I lived with my dad, his wife, my two brothers and five of eight relatively new step-siblings.

Gregory Gardens was the fourth school I had attended. We moved into the district just before the beginning of the school year, but I made friends quickly and felt comfortable. Mr. Reikins seemed a good enough teacher and I have no sense of being on guard or anxious around him. My grades were good, as usual, and I was active in school activities.

One day, Mr. Reikins asked me to stay after school. I know I wondered why, but I wasn't nervous. I'd done nothing wrong, so assumed he had a project for me, or wanted help cleaning the boards or some other chore that could be considered a teacher treat to make a kid feel special.

Boy, was I wrong.

In those days girls had to wear skirts or dresses to school. No pants or jeans or shorts were allowed, and even in cold weather we just had to put up with strong breezes and drafts and goose-bumpy legs. I was wearing something blue that day ... I remember it clearly, at least the skirt part.

Mr. Reikins asked me to stand up by my desk, and when I did he came around behind me. I thought maybe he was going to cover my eyes in preparation for presenting me with a surprise.

No. He reached around me, lifted my skirt and put in hand inside my panties. He then began to fondle me and tried to insert a finger into me.

My first reaction was to freeze.

My second was to stomp on his foot as hard as I could, elbow him in the fat belly, then run.

I told my father about this event about 30 years later. I told no one at the time. By the time I'd reached home I felt so ashamed that I would have rather torn out my teeth than told anyone what had just happened, and I had decided that no one would believe me.

I went to school the next day, and every other school day for the rest of that year. Mr. Reikins never approached me again.

So ... that's my experience with a teacher. I am very sure that I was neither the first nor the last student that man violated. Whether or not he was ever caught or punished, I have no idea.

Do I need to tell you how close an eye I have kept on teachers ever since? I gave them a wide berth while I was in school and told both of my older kids the story when they were old enough to understand ... I think they were around eight at the time ... so they would never be as unprepared as I had been, nor feel as alone as I did in my shame. Sam and Cj will hear it, too, some day.

In the meantime, I watch like a hawk and listen carefully to every word about school and other activities that Sam participates in outside the realm of my care.

Homeschooling isn't legal in Seychelles ... and I'm not sure I have the temperament to be a good enough teacher for Sam and Cj ... but you can bet the farm that their teachers will always know that I have both eyes on them.