Hot for teacher

The front page of my local newspaper had another headline about a female teacher carrying on with an underage student. Every time I read one of these headlines, I always wonder what the teacher must have been thinking.

Even if sex is consensual between teacher and student, the activity is still illegal. I am sure that teachers must learn this at some point in their education. I can still remember when Mary Kay Letourneau made national headlines. 

She was the first female teacher to bring the illegal female-boy student sexual experience into the media. After serving a prison term and losing her credibility as a teacher, she eventually married her wonder boy. Unfortunately, since Letourneau, these incidents still continue to a point where we are no longer shocked. 

There also seems to be a double standard about these illegal encounters. The stigma seems to be worse for men because women aren’t chastised in the same manner as men who commit the same crime.

When a man has an illicit affair with a student, we consider him a pervert. When a woman gets caught with a male student, we feel pity. 

Most teachers I know have a passion for educating children. Regardless of gender, teachers who prey on children are predators. They are taking advantage of a youth that isn't mature enough for a sexual relationship. 

This immaturity is the reason for the creation of statutory rape laws. It's the same concept behind child labor laws. These laws protect our children from exploitation. 

For unknown reasons, some teachers will gamble their careers on a child's emotions. If a teacher has sex with a student, he or she has to hope the child will remain silent.  I am going to assume that many of these young teachers aren’t parents of a teenager. 

As a parent, I know you never tell a teenager anything you don't want to see on the local news. Teenagers almost always tell their peers everything. If they are having sex with a teacher, I almost guarantee they will tell someone. I would think public humiliation, a mugshot, prison time, and media coverage would deter a teacher from becoming sexually involved with a student. 

My lack of faith in human nature tells me otherwise. 

As long as our children are gullible and naive, there will be adults willing to exploit them.