bk1
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Post by bk1 on Sept 25, 2012 16:57:20 GMT 1
It seems to me that the school have a lot of difficult questions to answer if the media are correct in reporting that the situation between them was already in the public domain. Allegedly her friends reported that the pair were holding hands at the end of a residential school trip, many reports also say they were exchanging frequent text messages which implied a level of intimacy. No pupil should have or be receiving text messages from a teacher. There is a duty of care from the Principal and Governing body which has been sadly lacking in this case. I have been a teacher for almost 25 years and I can tell you that even one suggestion of improper conduct would be investigated thoroughly where I worked.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2012 17:21:48 GMT 1
....and another thing. We place higher expectations on teachers than they can possibly live up to. This derives from teachers bigging up their own status, IMO! IMO! when they're ordinary joes doing a job like anyone else...
Since when has teaching been a 'profession' - sorry Judith, but such a notion perpetuates a modern myth- it's always been a 'vocation' hasn't it? No shame attaches to the 'profession'. Qualified builders, by exam or experience, are no less 'professional' are they? So let's judge teachers as we would anyone else....
But with such expectations come ruinous consequences for breaches of the 'professional' code. Dismantle your status and give wrong-doers a second chance...
ps: I'm a qualified teacher...
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Post by judith on Sept 25, 2012 17:32:07 GMT 1
bk1 I actually have some sympathy with the school and the governing body, they are in a very difficult position. If the teacher and the pupil have both been questioned, as it seems they already have, and then denied any liaison, then what proof is there? It would be wrong of the school to ruin the career and reputation of a teacher merely on "reports" from other pupils, but you are right the investigation into this one does sound a bit flawed. All my pupils text me (and this is for private tuition at my house). I never want to have to feel uneasy about messaging them or them messaging me.
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Post by Ali on Sept 25, 2012 17:46:24 GMT 1
IMHO too much responsibility is swayed toward the teachers and the school.
Please let me throw one more thing into the mixing bowl - the parents.
I'd like to suggest that 'funny goings on' would have been happening for quite a time. Were the parents blind? Were they 'too busy' to notice or bother to do anything about it? How come the young girl got hold of her passport so readily?
Parents have a HUGE responsibility.
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bk1
I'm settling in nicely
Posts: 123
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Post by bk1 on Sept 25, 2012 17:51:16 GMT 1
I believe as teachers we are judged differently because we are looking after minors, there is an expected code of conduct which we must all adhere to. With regards to text messages, Facebook , social networks etc it is written in to our staff policy that we will not engage with pupils using these methods. It protects both parties. I value my privacy and the student has the right to theirs.
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Post by judith on Sept 25, 2012 19:07:03 GMT 1
Ali, you have a point about the parents. Obviously the girl was allowed quite a bit of freedom because she told her mum she was spending the night (a school night at that) at a friend's house and was allowed to do so. Surely seven months of goings on can't have gone unnoticed, especially if an investigation were being carried out? Trouble is, it ain't that simple because I spent half my life policing our teenage daughter, phoning other parents etc. and almost drove her away by bothering too much.
I agree Facebook is a dodgy area to be communicating with pupils, but texting is so common these days, it's only like picking up the phone to say "I'll be late for my lesson" or "Can you help me revise the subjunctive tomorrow night?"
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Post by <-Rinky-Dink-> on Sept 25, 2012 19:29:11 GMT 1
For what it is worth, I thought the girl was very manipulative when I heard her Mother describing how 'loving and affectionate' she was ... didn't sit right with me. That is not to say, the the teacher in question, the school and most of all her parents were less than responsible. I never allowed my son to stay over with a friend without me confiming the arrangement with the parents first. Neither did I ever allow him out after dark, unless he was going to a friends house, the cinema or whatever. There was no way he was ever allowed to just wander the streets! I always collected him at the end of the evening.
Many parents today just seem to allow children to do whatever they like. I remember a nurse telling me that her 16 year old son hadn't been home for two nights. I asked her where he was, and she said "I have no idea ... can't interfere with his life, can I?" With attitudes like that, no wonder so many kids end up on the wrong path.....
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Post by tinkerbell on Sept 25, 2012 22:32:05 GMT 1
If he is having a sexual relationship with a minor he is breaking the law.Taking her out of the country without the parents knowledge or permission could be seen as abduction.He could be jailed for several years.What a sad story.
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Post by Em on Sept 26, 2012 7:18:16 GMT 1
Wow this is a sticky one. I feel sorry for the parents who will be put under the microscope now. With regards to passport etc well I keep my childrens in a draw it is not locked, not sure mine know which but as the file is headed passports birth certs it would not take a genius to find it! If her friends were covering for her it is possible her mother really thought she was there, what is to stop the friend ringing and inviting her, if she had stayed there before I am sure I would not have asked too many questions. On the other hand I probably would have dropped her off. Just because she says she is at a friends does not mean she has stayed still. Trying to track teenagers is a nightmare, maybe I will put a GPS tracker in Elise's phone lol! Another point is sexual activity, at 15 in the UK she is too young but under french law they can have sex!!!!!!!!!! How would that sit in court in uk?! With regards to his marraige, house, professional life he has been an idiot. I doubt for the 15 year old it is the real thing what ever she may feel right now.
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cosima
I'm settling in nicely
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Post by cosima on Sept 26, 2012 8:26:07 GMT 1
What we all DO know is that the teacher has thrown his career away, wrecked his marriage and is probably, (when the police catch up with him) looking at some time in the pokey.
Anything else about the girl's character, her parents and upbringing is just supposition.
No doubt all will be revealed in the fullness of time.
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