When Good Teacher Goes Bad

When the case of the teacher who allegedly sexual assaulted her 13 year old student first came out I was stunned and outraged by her reported conduct. To be a teacher is to take on the responsible of caring for other peoples children. These young people look to you for an education and guidance at a time when they are still developing both in mind and body. Nothing is more shameful then for someone to take advantage of a child and then blame it on the child.

As a parent of a teenage girl this type of behavior is one of our worst fears. Parents have a right to know that their children’s teachers are sound in mind and free from a criminal history. I see no reason why criminal background checks should not be carried out more often. Mental health treatment should be something made available to every teacher in this state. Doctors should always report any possibility or probability that a teacher might harm a child in anyway.

With the budget as tight as it is right now I have little hope of these safeguards becoming a reality anytime in the near future. Perhaps it is time to create support groups for teachers so that someone could be stopped before they harm a child in their care. Parents should make a effort to spend time getting to know their children’s teachers. Student lead conferences are most assuredly a step in the wrong direction. As a parent I would never allow my child to spend time alone after school with any of her teachers no matter how much I trust them.

No teacher should be treated with anything but total disgust if they are found guilty of sexual assaulting a child. Harsh treatment should not be reserved for male teachers only. Teachers should understand that once they cross that line that their lives changed forever if they are found out by anyone either among their colleagues or the community. No tolerance should ever be giving to a teacher who harms a child in this manner.

This is just one example of why teachers should receive better training and better pay so as to attract quality individuals to our field so that higher standards of personal behavior can be freely enforced in our state. You cannot pay a poor salary and expect professional level employees. Parents should be outraged that more is not being done to get the incomes to the classroom teacher instead of paying it to educational administrators who never even see their children.