Principles can be cruel. The principle that teachers should never succumb to sexual attraction to a student is a very important one. Yet the consequences seem cruel in a case such as that which came to public attention on Sunday.
Here was a 26-year-old woman at a boys' school. After attending a volleyball game she took two students to her home for a meal. She had sex with one of them, a fifth-former aged "about 16." Word was soon around the school. The teacher conferred with the school's chaplain and resigned. The school principal and board discussed the incident with the boy's guardians - he was evidently an exchange student - and, believing him to be at the age of consent, did not take steps that would have ended the woman's career.
She, deservedly shaken, went to another school, where she has become very highly regarded by fellow teachers. Now, three years later, the incident is cited as evidence of the need for mandatory reporting of misconduct to the Teacher Registration Board. The woman concerned has been honest enough to admit the indiscretion, and for that her name is now public knowledge and her ability to teach is compromised.
Did a few minutes of folly really warrant this fate?
Certainly it was unprofessional, not least for the reason she quickly discovered: her reputation in the school was compromised and she could no longer be an effective teacher there. She paid a personal price, too, for a moment with one so young. The youth kept phoning, coming to her house and asking for money for cigarettes. There were explanations to her partner and parents. By her admission it was a thoroughly chastening experience. To argue that she should suffer further requires raising her offence almost to the level of a crime.
One youth welfare spokeswoman yesterday held that the incident could not be regarded as consensual because a teacher has a position of power and authority over students. That may be a good general principle when there is any suggestion of reluctance or regret on the student's part. But in this case it is hard to imagine the young man as an injured victim. Perhaps the real reason that responsible people are inclined to throw the book at the teacher is that they are determined to treat her exactly as they would a man. Consistency prevails even when it is cruel.
The case is important because the new Government intends to have a law passed requiring schools to report all cases of misconduct to the Teacher Registration Board. It must be hoped the legislation leaves the board with some discretion to deal justly with each case. Justice is seldom served by rigid, automatic penalties regardless of particular circumstances.
Teachers who fail to maintain a professional relationship with their pupils should pay a price proportionate to their behaviour. At the least they make their job in the classroom harder. When they let themselves down seriously enough, as this woman did, they make their continued presence in the school impossible. When they raise doubts about their suitability to be in any school, for reasons of character or incompetence, there ought to be a way of alerting all schools to them. But to blacklist someone for a single, consensual and regretted indiscretion could be unduly harsh, the more so when there is no evidence of harm to the "victim."
<i>Editorial: </i>Pilloried for a few moments of folly
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