I've just been finding a lot of interesting stuff lately. Anyway, I found this video: To summarize, a female teacher had sex a few times with some jock males that were 18 and 19. While I definitely think that it's morally wrong and shouldn't be done, I think she should have just been fired and not jailed for five years. The students were of legal age to consent. Obviously, if they had been 17 or below, that would have been a problem, but they weren't. Also, just to repeat myself, I am in no way saying that teachers having sex with students is all right on any level, I'm just saying that since they were of legal consenting age, I don't think she should have been jailed. What are your thoughts on teachers having sex with students, whether they're of legal age or not, in general?
I personally just think it's... weird. I mean, yes it is morally wrong and that is why I find it weird. In this case with the video, they were all consenting to it, none felt like victims... and I feel like in this case she shouldn't be jailed. In general though, under legal consenting age, absolutely not. I feel like even with consenting age and if none of the students feel like victims, jailing time shouldn't be necessary. It is still wrong, but... if consent was given, the teacher shouldn't be locked up for it.
Jailing is probably too extreme, but at the same time I still don't find it at all appropriate for the teacher/student relationship. I've seen teachers who've really connected with students and kept in touch with them long after they've graduated, but throughout the entirety of said student's studenthood, the relationship between them remained clear cut as a sort of mentor/mentee thing. Teachers' primary and most important job to their students is to instill them with knowledge and different ways of thinking they can use or will need later on. A relationship, romantic or otherwise, between a student and a teacher heavily blurs that line, and can lead to the teacher/student not getting their job done -- to teach/acquire knowledge. If the student is no longer a student (they've finished with school completely and are making their own way), I don't see any reason why a student and teacher can't get together. But while the student is still under tutelage of that teacher or in that school building, the relationship is not something that I would be able to condone.
It's tough to decide. I've experienced as a student fairly liberal teachers who would swear and talk about their lives in lessons, as well as make jokes with students. Not to sound like 'hip' or 'cool' but just as a social kind of thing. With said teachers I got on more with them, became basically friends whilst teachers. It didn't weaken their teaching in my opinion, nor strengthen it. I think we knew that work was work, fun was fun and those two never really got mixed up. A year later when I hadn't got into Uni and I needed a job, one of those teachers (when I reached out for jobs on facebook) said that a Teaching Assistant position could be up for grabs at the school I'd left. So I went along, did an interview, all that and eventually ended up with the job. At that point, I was now a colleague of my old teacher. We didn't see much of each other since we worked in different departments, but we were pretty much the same combative and jokey selves. It was also funny going in to her lessons as her TA, she was really chilled with me when I thought she'd be quite stern about work (she was that sort of person). So my relationship with teachers hasn't been the norm, never encroaching on the romantic or sexual though (maybe thought a few teachers were attractive) so regard or disregard my experiences as much as you like. I was mainly trying to highlight the diversity of relationships students and teachers can have than just what you'd see in movies or tv series. I don't think having a relationship with someone who teaches you at an age when you haven't got full independence is as tough. I've heard of a few night class teachers getting together with students, but that's different because their both adults with jobs and opportunities a student at regular schools can't do. I also don't know if it's wrong if the teacher and student go to the same school but never have classes together. That is very different in my mind, the teacher/student dynamic is basically the same on paper but the experience and interactions aren't Like I said it's tough.
I think prison is a bit much if they were actually consentent the whole time. One of my childhood friend started dating her gym 33 years old teacher when she was 16 or 17. He wasn' t a school teacher, just a club teacher. We told her to be cautious, but we knew she was smart so we didn' t go all doom and gloom on her. That was 16 years ago, she' s still with him, she' s now a school teacher and they have two daughters. That being said, I fully understand why the laws have been rigged the way they are. The teacher/student relation is like a boss/employee relation, it' s a power play from starters. How can you be sure your teacher won' t make you pay hell if you refuse to comply ? Well that' s just it, you can' t. And if the whole thing eventually blows up it' s usually your word against theirs, so there' s a 50/50 chance you' ll be the one who gets blown. Err ... burned, I meant burned. Most victims probably drop it and pretend they were consentant to spare themselves the shame and fruitless investigations.
Thanks for the opinions so far, guys. Yeah, I still keep in contact with my teachers, but it's nothing more than friends. I really connected with them, which I'm sure some of you here have as well with your past teachers, during my years at the high school.
Really it's a double standard. Any decent father is going to be upset if his boy was involved in sexual acts with one of his teachers, while at the same time he is going to be secretly thinking that his boy is a "player" given the ages of the two aforementioned boys. Having said that, if his girl were to partake in sexual acts with a teacher, or anyone for that matter, the dad's going to be extremely upset and possibly homicidal. I don't really care, so long as it's above the age of consent. If it was my boy I wouldn't have pressed charges. I wouldn't have even brought it up. I'd just see about having his classes changed so she wasn't teaching him anymore to prevent favoritism and potential slacking off in the educational department. I'd be more upset if it was my daughter, but I'd more than likely just have him fired if she was over the age of consent. Hopefully my kids wouldn't still be living with me at the age of 18/19. I'd like for them to be out of the house so I can enjoy my free time. All statements are my sole opinions. I'm a tad bit weird so I view things differently than most people. I feel like if you are old enough to get the buck out of my house, you're old enough to make your own decisions. All statements were based on the assumption that the whole ordeal was consensual between both parties.
Yes, it was indeed consensual on both parties, which were both at or above the age of consent. It's the reason why I thought jail wasn't needed and she should just have been fired.
I don't think it's right to have any physical verbal or mental sexual relation between teacher and student; Teachers are mainly supposed to TEACH, and especially when It comes to college/Highschool whatever further education It is when they hit that age limit, she's making them skip class to do this sort of thing? now don't misunderstand this but it would have been better doing it OUTSIDE of lesson time , though i'm not supporting this in any sense but when it comes to lessons you're supposed to learn and teachers are supposed to teach or get papers out of the way, so why Is she making someone skip lesson? Honestly though, I do agree with you that she shouldn't have been jailed, on the legal and rules side of things she was doing things with people above the age of consent but I presume it might be different in each state or there are some rules against student to teacher relationship I can't be sure but morally I'm still disgusted.
Basicaly this, while I don't think she should have been arrested (as they were not underage or compelled). But the law and punishment exists to protect all the children, maybe if she got away with it other teachers could try to use this as a loophole. But even if there was some punishment It could be doing some kind of social work.
Honestly, where I live this is ALL that has been in the newspapers recently. I think in far more extreme cases than in the OP. In my town, a teacher in a school who was 35 was having sex with her 16 year old pupil in public parks and stuff- even though he is of consenting age, he's also at an age where he could be easily mislead. She had a daughter the same age as him (gross) There was also a guy who was 30 sleeping with a girl since she was 14 and ran away with her to Paris (this was probably covered internationally in the media). It's abusing a professional position of trust. That's what's wrong with it. They're there to educate, nothing more. If they were 18+ and no longer in school, then sure. I'd see no problem. I just don't see why a grown adult would want to pursue sexual relationship with kids at such young ages, especially when they have husbands/wives and kids of their own.
Game of power, felling young/desired again, younger people are normally more beautiful than their older counterparts , fetish, etc.. I am not saying it is the "right thing to do", but I acknowledge there are reasons, as for most bad behaviour in life like drugs and crimes.
While I can understand not wanting any favouritism or bias towards anybody in a class, that happens anyway, and I personally see no issue with a teacher and a student having a relationship, whether sexual or romantic. At the end of the day consent is consent; once you start layering more and more rules and morals on it you end up having too many limitations, which is unfair because of one simple fact: you cannot choose who you are attracted to, and you should have the freedom, if the attraction is mutual, to act on it regardless of situation. At most, were I the head of that school, I would have had a teaching assistant keep an eye on the teacher in question for a while and ensure there was no favouritism while the class was in session. What happens out of school hours is personal business that is nothing to do with anyone else.
Yes I do think jail was too far in this case but I can understand it, it's also an example to other teachers who want to do it to try and deter them as well as the possibility of protecting the students from a teacher with a history of sexual contact with students. I know this is blurring the lines between consensual sex and rape with students but there is that possibility. I have left school and keep in contact with 2 of my teachers and talk to another from time to time (he doesn't have facebook ;-;) but I am currently planning on returning to the school as a voluntary teaching assistant to get some work experience. Now I had (and probably still have but a lot weaker) a massive crush on my old english teacher and when I was younger it was a lot worse and I tended to think about this topic a lot. I constantly tried to think of a way around it so I could justify it in my mind but looking back, it is a student/teacher relationship and it's definitely not something to be encouraged, it can disrupt the class especially if it doesn't work out which would destroy the learning of them all. It could also be an impressionable teenager who thinks they want the relationship but don't really and thus ruins their lives.
She doesn't have to be put in jail per se, but what she did was incredibly stupid. Teachers should keep a respectable distance with their students at all times, if only to increase the odds of being taken seriously. She'll have plenty of time to reconsider her career options in any case...
