Paul Scott comment: There's a right way and a wrong way to apologize

(The following is a comment by decorahnews.com's Paul Scott):

"It's one of the facts about news coverage that it tends to concentrate on what's happening right now, which doesn't always give enough time for issues to be resolved before the next headline appears.

That's why I want to make sure the racist statements at a Waverly-Shell Rock baseball game earlier this summer don't get lost in the crush of other news.

Did you know that most experts agree on the steps which should be taken when apologizing?

The first step is to say 'I'm sorry' or 'I apologize for my actions/statements.'  Waverly-Shell Rock Schools did that when they issued a statement saying, 'This behavior is unacceptable. We make no excuses, because there are none. We do, however, wish to make a sincere apology to the Charles City school district and community and, in particular, the young man towards whom these comments were directed.'

The second step in a productive apology is to admit responsibility for what happened.  Waverly Schools waffled on this question a little in its statement: 'We can't undo what's been done. But we are using this as a learning experience for the responsible party and, we hope, for many others in our schools and communities.'

The third step in a productive apology is to make amends for the results of your actions.  Charles City Schools is asking the Northeast Iowa Conference to hold Waverly Schools to its promise that it will take steps to change the culture at Waverly.  There's been no statement from Waverly Schools about this part of the equation, although there is time for that to happen.  Judging by the public response to the statement by Waverly Schools, there are a lot of people skeptical that this will happen, but the school district needs time to deliver on concrete ways that this 'learning experience' will have an effect.

The fourth and final step in a productive apology is to promise that it won't happen again.  No such promise has been made by Waverly Schools.  The only way for this to be a 'learning experience' for Waverly Schools is to have actions change in the future.  There should be a specific deadline set for the Waverly school district so that this issue isn't forgotten as the next wave of news stories on other topics allows the issue to slip into the background."