I did flirt outrageously with the handsome and smart fiance of our moronic debate team coach, though. It all went on right under her nose, though, and was 100% harmless and non-sexual.
My junior year of high school, the drama teacher was accused of something like “child annoyance”, basically that he flirted and did odd things but was never accused of touching or molestation. Most of the school thought that the charges were bunk, because IIRC, at least two of the accusers were D students.
A few weeks later, though, a newspaper in town discovered what had happened in a two year gap in his resume, which he’d claimed he’d been unemployed. Turned out he’d been teaching somewhere, and had been caught naked in a students bedroom by her father. He’d been fired, but apparently no charges filed.
After that, I think most people tended to beleive that, at the least, it was a good thing he’d been dismissed.
It’s kind of sad that the reliability of an accuser is based on their cumulative GPA…
While I was teaching, I never asked out a student that was younger than I was (and only once with one who was older), but I did get cornered once in my first year by three fifteen-year-olds who announced “we love you and we want to go out with you.” I dissuaded them as politely as I could. Had they been seniors, though, I probably would have answered “here’s my number, give me a call after graduation next month.”
Bricker, a LOT of girls feel ashamed and guilty, even though it wasn’t their fault. They’d rather put it behind them and forget about it, sadly.
When I was a senior, there was a student teacher working with one of the social studies teachers. He was extremely good looking and knew it. He was arrogant, and flirted with every girl he came into contact with.
Because the teacher he was working with taught mostly freshman, most of the freshman girls had crushes on him. Most of us seniors who encountered him in the library thought he was pathetic.
He actually was showing off pictures of himself in some sort of best body contest or something to the librarians-even THEY were commenting on how unprofessional he was.
The teacher he worked with was so pissed he vowed never to have another student teacher.
I wouldn’t say he was “creepy”, per se, just young, stupid, and unprofessional. Mostly we just rolled our eyes.
Written at 10am, before my modem quit for the day…
Good question, and if I’d known at 16 what I know at 29, I would have said something. But at the time, it was less clear. Things like sexual harassment and predatory behavior weren’t talked about as much as they are now, and no one had ever said to me “If your teacher weirds you out, then you should tell.” I doubt it ever occurred to my parents back then that any teacher would do such a thing. I had no idea that the people in charge might want to know, that he could be dealt with, and it didn’t occur to me that this man could easily be a danger to other girls or might go farther than shoulder rubs with them. I knew he was oogy, but I didn’t realize it could be worse than that. (I am constantly amazed at my teenaged self’s naivety.)
I wasn’t all that sure that it was meant as creepy behavior on his part; maybe it was innocent and I was the one who was putting a weird spin on it (yeah, right, my 29-yo self thinks). My mindset as a kid was very much that there wasn’t much I could do about some problems, and I just had to live with them and get on with things. I didn’t know that if I asked for help, it could be given–and I had a nice family, nice friends, and an OK school!
I suppose the other girls at school felt something similar. None of us wanted to bring it to the attention of other adults, anyway. I suppose the teacher kind of depended on that. I guess we tended to think of adults as a mass population, and not one that was friendly to us.
At any rate, you may be sure that it will be pounded into my girls’ heads that they can tell, and they should.
When I was in year 12 I started seriously flirting with a P.E teacher at my school. That in itself isn’t so bad because at the time he was 23 and I was 18. Nothing more than that happened until after I finished school.
We hooked up about 2 months after grad, when we saw wach other at a party. Were still together now.
ladyfoxfyre: In all fairness, it’s only prudent to question the motives of someone who has something to gain from such an accusation. As NurseCarmen mentioned, false accusations from poor students happen.