Teachers/Students and Sex: A Growing Trend?

I recently read an article titled “Ex-Burrell swim coach admits to sex with teen” in the Valley News Dispatch, a local newspaper that covers area news in and around New Kensington, Pennsylvania.  The swim coach, Mr. Raymond Novak, plead guilty to having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old female student.  The charges he plead guilty to were aggravated indecent assault, statutory rape, indecent assault and using a cell phone for sexual communications.  He will be sentenced to five to ten years in a United States prison.

     As I read the article I could not help but wonder whether teachers/students and sex is becoming a growing trend?  It seems to me that local and national news media outlets are covering stories not only to raise awareness but because it is happening more often than people want to admit.  These teachers are breaking the codes of morality and ethics by having sex with a student; that is not enough for them, some of these teachers are either impregnating the student they are having sex with (if it’s male teacher having sex with a female student); or, the teacher is getting pregnant by the student (if it’s a female teacher having sex with a male student).  What sense does that make?  What would make an adult teacher want to have a child with a child?  What could that child (student) do for the adult (teacher) financially and more importantly, what can a child offer another child (infant)?

     Some people may ask, have I ever been attracted to a teacher when I was in middle school or high school?  The answer is yes; who didn’t have a crush on a teacher in one way or another?  Would I have had sex with that attractive teacher if given the opportunity?  I probably would have and that is because I would have been young and did not know any better.  So, who should we blame if a teacher has sex with a student?  In my opinion, I would put full blame and responsibility on the teacher.  Why?  Because the teacher is an adult and the student is a child.  We should hold teachers responsible for breaking a code of ethics and morally a teacher should not want to have sex with a student; their morals shouldn’t allow.  In this day and age, teachers in the United States of America are getting younger and younger because they are going to college immediately after high school and completing four years of college in three years or they started college at the age of seventeen which means they are graduating between the ages of twenty and twenty one.  Even though there is not much of an age difference between a high school student and a young college graduate who is now a teacher, having sex with a student is wrong.  If you are that attracted to your student you can either wait until that student graduates or reconsider your profession if you cannot control your hormones.

Gaining Leadership Skills is a Process:

     In February, 2012, I was anonymously selected to be an orientation leader for new students who have decided to seek higher education at Pennsylvania State University at the New Kensington campus in the United States of America.  I do not know who selected me or why, but what I do realize is that they clearly saw something in me that I did not see in myself; for that, I am forever grateful.

     So what is an orientation leader?  In my opinion and based on what I’ve learned, it is building a lasting relationship; an orientation leader is the starting point for any new student who has decided to seek higher education.  You are the first person they get to know and depending on what you say or do, it can and will either affect him/her negatively or positively. 

     Gaining leadership skills is a process and it takes a lot of training.  The last thing you would want to do is have a negative effect on a person because it can last a lifetime.  Your ultimate goal is to learn how to have a positive effect (it too can last a lifetime) by motivation someone, inspiring them, and being relational just to name a few.  Once you have acquired these skills you are not limited to only using them with new students; you can also apply them to your everyday life.  For example, you can use learned leadership skills at work, at home when dealing with a spouse or children, at school, or even in your community as to tool for unifying a divided community.  In my opinion, once you are a leader you are always a leader.  You are always going to learn new leadership skills and find ways to apply those skills efficiently and effectively. 

 

Interesting link:

Fish Philosophy

Social Media Passwords Wanted by Employers:

     What is “privacy”?  Does it still exist in the United States of America?  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, privacy is defined as: a) The quality or state of being apart from company or observation: Seclusion, and b) Freedom from unauthorized intrusion. 

     If asked by an employer to provide your password(s) to any and all social media accounts before you can be considered as a possible candidate for hiring would you provide your password(s)?  That is what happened to Mr. Justin Basset, a New York City statistician, during a job interview.  In an effort to select a qualified job candidate, employers are going beyond Google searching a prospective employee; they are asking you for your social media account user name(s) and password(s).  The biggest question is; are companies legally able to request such information or is this invasion of your privacy?  According to the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) web site, “The ACLU believes that this is a gross violation of personal privacy because people are entitled to their private lives online just as they are offline.”  Employers asking for social media user names and passwords seem to be a growing trend among companies.  It has not only alarmed potential job candidates; it has also grabbed the attention of political personnel.  Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) is so outraged by the employer’s need to invade the privacy of potential employees that he is writing a Federal Bill to outlaw the practice.  The senator said, “I am deeply troubled by the practices that seem to be spreading voraciously around the country.”  He added, “The bill that I am writing to stop this practice will be ready in the very near future.”  Facebook, a very popular social media site also weighed in on the privacy issue of employers.  Erin Egan, the site’s chief privacy officer writes, "This practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user's friends.   It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability."  So the next time you’re on a job interview and the employer asks you for your user name and password to your social media account(s) don’t be afraid to say no; your privacy depends on it.