From foxnews.com http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479817,00.html SEATTLE — Washington state law does not bar teachers from having sex with 18-year-old students. That's the decision of a three-judge panel of the Washington Court of Appeals, which on Tuesday ordered the dismissal of a case brought against Hoquiam High School's former choir teacher. The teacher, Matthew Hirschfelder, was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor. He challenged a judge's refusal to dismiss his case. The appeals court unanimously agreed that the state law is vague, and that the Legislature only intended to forbid sexual contact between school employees and students who are 16 or 17. Hirschfelder was 33 in 2006, at the time of the alleged relationship with the young woman. He resigned the next year.
My senior year we had a brand new teacher, fresh from college. He was young and attractive and all the girls.. ok some of the girls (he was too much of a "pretty boy" for me to like) had the biggest crush on him. About a year after graduation he married one of my classmates.... and as far as I know they lived happily ever after. I'm pretty sure nothing happened while we were still in school, but I am also pretty sure that these two spent some time together at a local coffee shop after school hours as "Teach" was usually there as were many of the students.
I know it is a fine line...especially when you are talking about an 18 yo and a 22 yo...or so....under any other circumstances it is fine... However, you cannot date someone you have an unequal relationship with and parents have a reasonable expectation that teachers are not going to be propositioning thier children in school. employers can make the rules...and this man lost his job. (and rightfully so) I am at a loss to decide if it is actually criminal or not. Sometimes things that are wrong are not illegal. and sometimes illegal things are not wrong. hmmm.
I just find it creepy when an authority figure like a teacher,can date a student.I know I worded that wrong,but I'm tired,lol.
I posted before about the teacher in our middle school that was involved with one of the girls. He waited for her until she graduated, then they got married and had a bunch of kids. They're still married, and she graduated in 1983!
I guess that means it's okay for a teacher to have sex with a 15 year old! LOL just kidding. We live in a sick world.
I was thinking about this. If my child was 18 and having sex with the teacher I would be mad as a hornet! For one, I am paying taxes for my child to be educated not propositioned. He can go to a bar if he wants to pick somebody up on his own time. Not while he is on the clock. Even if my child was 18, if she lived under my roof, she isn't solely independent and/or allowed to date a much older men. The mentality of an 18 year old is not that of an older, experienced, college educated person who has experienced the world in a much different way. The teacher isn't so naive, the student is. I do believe the teacher would be taking advantage of the students ignorance. Even if the teacher is 25 shouldn't make a difference. He has an obligation to his students as a teacher. ..and I do not have a problem with older men or women marrying each other. I have a problem when an 18 year old is still in school being pickup by her teacher.
Well, I was a teacher of high school seniors at 22 and I still am at 35. The boys can be aggressive, but I am the adult in the room. I am the role model of appropriate behavior. To me, if they are still in school, they are children regardless of their age. However, I certainly know this happens - young teachers, substitutes, student teachers....you name it. My aunt married her gym teacher, so believe me, I know it happens.