Societal Value: Is Having Sex with a Teacher Okay If She's Hot?

Sarah Jones as a BenGal

Sarah Jones, of Northern Kentucky, is a former Ben-Gal cheerleader-turned-teacher facing two criminal charges: having sex with a 17-year-old student and wrongful use of electronic means to coerce a minor into engaging in sexual activity. Each one of these charges could come with up to five years in prison. This is the Huffington Post's story on the case in early August. Jones has maintained since her resignation in November that she is not guilty, and was actually blaming some of the high school girls for what happened. Two weeks ago, however, the court deemed it appropriate to include text messages and emails in the evidence used in the case. The extremely public trial was set to begin later this week, but this morning we woke up to the news that Sarah Jones is going to accept a plea bargain later today. On GMA this morning, one of their legal analysts said that the bargain will almost certainly reduce her punishment to maybe a month in jail, or even just parole!

It is absolutely incredible to me that a teacher who had sex with her student might only get a month in jail. Granted, her teaching career is over, so that's a rather large punishment, but only a month in jail?! That is nothing, compared to what that student is going to go through. We don't know his story because he is a minor, but it's not too hard to figure out: He has a crush on her, ends up flirting with her a little bit, she sees it as a thrill to be able to manipulate the student, while he thinks he's in charge of the situation; and then it goes too far.

This student has no idea what his life is going to be like now: How is he going to trust anyone again? She was married, but still had sex with him. Why should he ever trust that a woman who tells him that she loves him isn't cheating on him behind his back? Or why should he trust that the school he sends his kids to someday will keep them safe? It's the school's responsibility to keep the students safe, and his school's administration did not keep him safe. At least he can trust the fact that she will not be teaching ever again and will never do this to another student.

One that I find extraordinary is the reaction of the public to this case. Comments on some of the stories I was looking at this morning included, "I want to give that guy a high-five for that. She's hot. Who really wants to make a big deal over some teen getting some from an NFL cheerleader. Someone is jealous" and "All she will get will be a slap on the wrist...I'd gladly slap her, but not on the wrist." WHAT?! Is it just me, or is our society incredibly skewed when it comes to this kind of stuff? If it were a man having sex with a female student, he would be absolutely abhorred by the general public. Because this teacher is apparently "hot," though, this student is actually having people giving him props for having sex with her, and no one seems to care a whole lot that she was an authority figure who took advantage of her position. This is a problem that really needs to be addressed! Teachers are people who parents entrust their children's well-being to, and if parents can't be sure that teachers are not taking advantage of their children, the public education system is definitely going to lose credibility. The fact that I wrote an article similar to this one a month ago means that there is an absolutely huge problem in our schools. How can this be happening so much? And how many teachers are committing heinous acts like this and haven't been caught yet? And when they do get caught, are they getting prosecuted?

Students, please report anything you're seeing or hearing in regards to this topic. Teachers who commit crimes need to be taken down. They are supposedly pillars of our society, and if they are running around being inappropriate with students, they need to be taken out of that position. Let's stop this, please. All of us need to work together to make this something that is not okay. If you, personally, do not want to get involved, then use the anonymous tip lines. They are anonymous. Get these teachers out of our schools. Keep our kids safe.

UPDATE: Sarah Jones was charged with a misdemeanor around 9:45am EDT. A misdemeanor. That's it. Wow.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Sexual Abuse: Teacher-Student Relationships

Good morning!

This post is going to be a little bit serious; it's on a topic that is very close to my heart. 

Yesterday in the news there was a story about Erica DePalo, a 2011 "Teacher of the Year," who was arrested for having a sexual relationship with one of her students. While this alone is enough to make my blood boil, the thing that caught my attention and really infuriated me was that former students who are now in college were interviewed and said that there were always jokes going around about her relationships with students. That means that people knew about this at least six years ago, which means that this 15-year-old student is not the first to have this happen with this teacher. Generally, students aren't going to pick up on something like that and joke about it unless there is something actually there. I have no idea if the administration at her school knew about what was going on or had heard the rumors, but it is their job to know what is going on in that school and take every rumor or joke very seriously, especially when it involves a teacher-student relationship.

Now, I want to be very clear that I am not blaming the students or administration for what happened. While it is important that everything is reported and investigated, every teacher has a responsibility to his or her students. When a teacher signs a contract, they also sign a code of ethics. In this overview of a standard code of ethics for teachers, Principle I is about protecting students. It is never in a student's best interest for a teacher to flirt with him or her, or start a sexual relationship. What this teacher did is an abomination. It has changed the course of those students' lives. Even though they have graduated, are (possibly) in college, and maybe even engaged or married already, they will never forget what happened to them in high school, and it may take them years of therapy before they can really, truly trust again.

So, students, if you know there is something inappropriate going on between a teacher and a student in your school, please tell someone. It needs to stop now. 

Administrators, if you know there is something inappropriate going on between a teacher and a student in your school, please take the right action, not just the convenient action. It needs to stop now.

At the bottom of this story, which is the same one I linked at the beginning of this post, there is a set of photos of "Teachers Behaving Badly." There are 35. In a few days, I'm sure Ms. DePalo's photo will be among these. But what about the teachers who haven't been caught and fired yet, like Ms. DePalo wasn't for last six years? They are out there, and it is our job to do our part and bring them to justice.

Keep our children safe. Keep each other safe.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi