You need to reconsider...

My first instinct would to be agree with most everyone that this chapter is a no-brainer; however, I think that people are really not considering how important this chapter is to YOU. Okay, so I understand that none of us are going into the profession planning on crossing any boundaries when it comes to sexual relations with our students, and I'm sure all of us will be wanting to give each of our students fair opportunities, and we will do our best to protect them and report things that need to be investigated further, but have we really considered that all these things could and most likely will happen to us?!

I don't know about you but I have already seen how easy it could be to find ourselves breaking these "ethical" rules (whether intentionally or not). You think that you are going to be able to give your students fair opportunities? I work at an after-school program with the same kids each day. I have students that I enjoy more than others, and it is hard to be fair to everyone and not take my frustrations out on the kids who pose the most problems or rub me the wrong way while I may let another student get away with it (until the one I don't care for points out that I'm not being fair). We can't be so quick to say it is obvious that we need to be fair to each student because we will all reach a point in our careers when we find ourselves not being fair.

Have you ever really considered the privacy that our students deserve? No doubt, we have a job where students can really feel comfortable talking with us and really opening up to us - especially as English teachers. We understand that they don't have to open up to us. We understand that they have "bubbles" that should be respected. However, what about those times where you find out about a student's miserable home life, about his/her life outside of school, or some other private aspect of his/her life? Teacher lounges are breeding grounds for talking about students and what we can dish about their home life or their parents. We all want to hear it, and I'm sure at one point we are going to be the ones sharing the private information. Lets talk ethics - it isn't as obvious and easy of a matter as we think it is.

Lastly, I think that we really need to take the issue of sexual ethics seriously. I certainly have no plans for anything near what Christenbury talks about, but I think that it is something that we have to constantly be aware about and consider how our actions may be giving wrong messages. We never know when a student could take our body language, speech, etc. the wrong way. Furthermore, who knows what kind of actions our students will do, even without any "encouragement" from ourselves? One of my roommates went through her student teaching last semester and while she was at one of the school's basketball games, with her husband and sitting with some of the other teachers, one of her male students came and sat on her lap. Of course, she was quick to get him off and show him that it was very inappropriate. This instance had nothing to do with her actions in the classroom, yet it certainly did not look good for her, and it is frightening to think about what could possibly have happened if this student took her reaction the wrong way and decided to spread rumors.

Before we begin saying that this chapter is "obvious" or "a no-brainer," I think that we need to reconsider our view of what Christenbury is saying. Who are we to say that the topic of ethics shouldn't take our careful consideration? When we get into the classroom, we are going to be hit with a wall of issues surrounding this topic, and I am quite certain that each of us will find ourselves at a point in our career where we will have to reconsider if we are treating everyone fairly, making sure we aren't telling other colleagues confidential information regarding our students, and making sure that our actions (even if unintentional) are not giving our students the wrong messages.