In ancient Athens, all schoolteachers and students were male. These men were responsible for teaching young boys how to play the lyre and recite Homer's poems. Most people know teachers who would do better reciting the lyrics to the "Thong Song" than those of Homer or Shakespeare. But those who cannot recite "The Iliad" could do better by behaving with dignity, unlike Paris or Menelaus. The following are situations to keep in mind when pondering how to best set the proper example for students of any age.
First, we must again turn our eyes to the realm of reality television and take a look at the truth of human greed. "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancˇ" featured Randi Coy trying to convince her family that she had become engaged to an overweight, irritating man öö who was actually an actor meant to drive her family and herself to the brink of insanity. The woman was a first-grade Catholic schoolteacher from Scottsdale. Because of the show, she was placed on unpaid administrative leave and she later decided to quit. It was her first year teaching.
During the wedding, her family was in tears over her deception. It was argued that she had her family in mind and that she was doing everything for the sake of this extraordinary gift just for them. But the truth is that these people were hurt for the money. And they weren't the only ones coming out on top - Randi walked away with half a million dollars as well. What would her students' parents think of these shenanigans?
Other teachers completely devote their lives to their work and the well-being of their students. One teacher felt pity for a student who was apparently unable to find female attention within his own age group. So she engaged in sexual intercourse with him, had a child with him and even went to prison for him. I'm sure he feels much better about himself.
In attempting to search for her name and what state she taught in, I found so many related results on teacher-student statutory rape that I couldn't possibly know which one was the teacher I'd been thinking of.
It's not always a teacher in his or her late 20s and a senior in high school who has perhaps failed a few too many times. An eighth-grade student impregnated a female teacher. A teacher had consensual sex with a 12-year-old girl.
One is left to wonder how these people ever came into the teaching profession. It always seemed plausible that those people brave enough and willing enough to attempt molding the minds of America's depraved youth might have a special set of genes to help them endure their specific tribulations. Perhaps in some cases, these specialized genes have evolved from loving children to really loving children - possibly like the evolution of priests' relationships with altar boys.
Troubling situations are not only in other parts of the country or state; they're also just up the road. Only a few years ago, sixth-grade teacher Kathy Morris of La Cima Middle School thought on a grand scale and took into consideration the welfare of a whole school of students instead of one individual. She believed so strongly that students' safety was at risk that she snuck a gun into school and shot herself, claiming that it was a student who had committed the crime. An act of dedication or a state of total insanity? She cared so much for the well-being of young people that she decided to name a Hispanic male teenager as her attacker before admitting to her actions. It's quite unlikely that any Hispanic teenagers were able to feel very safe with such racial accusations flying around.
Education majors, keep in mind: Teachers walk an extremely fine line between human guides and supreme instructors. Not all teachers set the same examples as Randi Coy, yet I'll always wonder about what my first-grade teacher was really like. Just remember, nobody's perfect.
Sara Warzecka believes there is no greater miracle-worker than a teacher. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.