Any thoughts on the teacher, the schoolboy and, I believe, another woman

[NKF]

I wish I could do links - can anyone explain?

que?

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/66159...

Nope. Doesn't work.

this one?

assuming that this woman is innocent, she was still exceptionally foolish to become that emotionally involved with a student.

When you are a teacher the realtionship that you have with your students can be freindly but you are not their friend, you are their teacher.

And as the adult in the relationship it is your duty, professionally and ethically, to make sure that the lines are set to keep evey one 'safy' and unharmend.

I have children contact me via e-mail, but only to my work e-mail, and I keep hard copies of all the communication. Just in case.

In this situation she was the grown up and he was a child. She was a foolish woman.

I find this sort of thing very sad

It is always very borderline

I know there HAS to be lines drawn but when things are so confusing it is just a sad human story

Kind of glad she got off though, instead of being banged up as a paedo for life

I know it's flippant, but I keep wondering how on earth she could have fancied a 15 year old boy that much. I didn't fancy 15 year olds when I was 15, never mind by my late 20's... Agree that she was beyond careless to let things get to that level.

Martianbishop, would you really let them contact you via email? I don't think I would.

I find it hard to see her as the victim.

I feel very sorry for the husband

he must have imagined at some point that he wasn't the father

It is part of our Virtual Learning environment, and is set up, monitored and run by the school. We are expected to let them contact us.

Okay, I see. Hmm. Must avoid such schools.

God, they don't have my personal email!

VLEs are becomeing very common. I also run a message board and a wikispace. But I only use these with my A level students

You wouldn't have their mobile number though would you? Or give yours to them?

Why would you not want a child to email a teacher? It isn't a personal email address.

Not if hell froze over! Or my home number.

I have called their home numbers but that is only to talk to their parents* not them!

I think the woman was exceptionally foolish

There is nothing at all wrong with getting schoolwork related emails from students. It is a different ballgame when you are allowing them to MSN you as I believe is the case here.

Very sad case as the boy obviously has some kind of need for a mother figure as he is now dating a 37 yr old. Incredibly loyal of the husband to stay with her after all this.

Not sure. Partly that every case like this I've read always seems to involve email and msn. But perhaps that's blaming the technology rather than the behaviour. I think there is a tendency for people to become rather peevish when their emails aren't responded to immediately. I have two this morning in my inbox. Cranky and hectoring because I didn't reply within 48 hours. I think I'd feel got at.

I get them to send homework by e-mail, and I mark it and send it back to them.

I hate coping with paper copies

Hmm. I'd rather read the paper copies I think. Part of the presentation of their work.

Am I the only person who thinks the woman was corrupting rather than the victim?

It says she started working at the school as a Teaching Assistant and then moved into a Year Leader role (which I understand is also a support role) and she then got the specific job of mentoring this boy.

So, I am guessing she is not a qualified teacher and that, as a mentor, she was working one to one with this boy.

I hadn't read that. But all those texts and telling him she loved and missed him. I can't feel sorry that her career is in ruins. She's not fit to teach.

No, I don't know that I have sympathy for her. She must have known that what she was doing was unprofessional.

I think that what she did was totaly unprofessional

And exceptionally stupid