An Avoidable Quagmire
It's an old story, really, at the core of it. He said, she said kinda deal. An area high school teacher was accused of sexual misconduct with a student. The details are sketchy, but basically it comes down to a pre-school tutoring session and she's the only girl who showed up and she claims certain inappropriate actions took place. He denies the allegations.
Students have rallied and called the news stations. Overwhelming support for the teacher. "He couldn't have done it. We know him. He'd NEVER do anything like that." Underlying tones of "she's a liar."
She's under the radar. Being a minor and all that.
Maybe it's because I work with high school students myself I see all sorts of wrong across the board.
The students, as well intentioned as they may be supporting a teacher, really don't know what transpired. They're looking at appearances which can be very deceptive. I wonder what they'll do if a jury finds the teacher guilty. What will be the lessons they learn?
The teacher, as glowing as his reputation is among the student body and colleagues, had no business tutoring a student of the opposite sex one-on-one without taking preventative measures. Even us highly unprofessional youth ministers get those lessons at Youth Ministry 101.
The girl should have her priority on telling the truth. If she's crying wolf, the fallout is terrible. A good teacher with a wife and kid gets irreperable damage to his professional and personal reputation. Other aspiring teachers might choose another venue for their talents. The girl's reputation falls. Other girls lose their ability to tell the truth, costing them their power over predators. I could go on.
If she's telling the truth, justice should be served all across the board and the chips rightfully fall where they may on the school, the teacher and his family, etc.
This whole thing is a mess...and from where I'm sitting with the information I've heard, the teacher could've done more to prevent this. Everything from arranging the environment to where he's not tutoring a student alone to ensuring his actions couldn't have been misconstrued and a whole grocery list of stuff. He's the professional. He's the adult. He had more locus of control.
Note to self: Be VERY careful. Careers can fall in seconds when you work with teenagers.
It's an old story, really, at the core of it. He said, she said kinda deal. An area high school teacher was accused of sexual misconduct with a student. The details are sketchy, but basically it comes down to a pre-school tutoring session and she's the only girl who showed up and she claims certain inappropriate actions took place. He denies the allegations.
Students have rallied and called the news stations. Overwhelming support for the teacher. "He couldn't have done it. We know him. He'd NEVER do anything like that." Underlying tones of "she's a liar."
She's under the radar. Being a minor and all that.
Maybe it's because I work with high school students myself I see all sorts of wrong across the board.
The students, as well intentioned as they may be supporting a teacher, really don't know what transpired. They're looking at appearances which can be very deceptive. I wonder what they'll do if a jury finds the teacher guilty. What will be the lessons they learn?
The teacher, as glowing as his reputation is among the student body and colleagues, had no business tutoring a student of the opposite sex one-on-one without taking preventative measures. Even us highly unprofessional youth ministers get those lessons at Youth Ministry 101.
The girl should have her priority on telling the truth. If she's crying wolf, the fallout is terrible. A good teacher with a wife and kid gets irreperable damage to his professional and personal reputation. Other aspiring teachers might choose another venue for their talents. The girl's reputation falls. Other girls lose their ability to tell the truth, costing them their power over predators. I could go on.
If she's telling the truth, justice should be served all across the board and the chips rightfully fall where they may on the school, the teacher and his family, etc.
This whole thing is a mess...and from where I'm sitting with the information I've heard, the teacher could've done more to prevent this. Everything from arranging the environment to where he's not tutoring a student alone to ensuring his actions couldn't have been misconstrued and a whole grocery list of stuff. He's the professional. He's the adult. He had more locus of control.
Note to self: Be VERY careful. Careers can fall in seconds when you work with teenagers.
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