The Good Teacher: Introduction (Graduate)
ED 589: The Good Teacher: A Story of Sexual Misconduct
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Donna Rice
drdonnausa@gmail.com
757-871-1336
INSTRUCTOR: (1st alternate):
Dr. Elden Daniel
drdaniel@wildblue.net
719-852-2158
COURSE CREDIT:
3 graduate credits
DATES & TIMES:
8 weeks online, 6 hours per week
PREREQUISITES:
Baccalaureate degree required
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The Good Teacher (Graduate Syllabus)
The purpose of this online asynchronous delivered course is to develop new
knowledge to help those witnessing sexual misconduct by colleagues to make
appropriate interventions. As a character in an interactive movie participants
will maneuver through the complex, emotional, and often morally ambiguous
world of teaching. Students will make decisions at strategic points in the
interactive movie answering thought-provoking questions about seemingly
insignificant yet pivotal situations teachers, administrators, and others who
interact with young people face throughout the year. As a result of the decisions
made, students will face negative consequences or emerge as respected
educators who know how to create safe and healthy school and community
environments. The experience will increase insight into how even the best
educators and other youth leaders can find themselves sliding down the slippery
slope of sexual misconduct. In addition, students participate in two seminars by
nationally known experts in sexual misconduct, Dr. Troy Hutchings and Dr. Glenn
Lipson. Through the seminars and navigating through the interactive scenarios,
students will learn to avoid inappropriate behavior at all levels and how to
protect others to avoid it as well. They will also conduct research into
prevention programs and create a prevention program for their school or work
environment.
TEXT: (2014)
Webinar/Seminar 1: The Good Teacher
Webinar/Seminar 2: Making the Right Choices
Lipson, G. & Hutchings, T. (2010). Cost: $50.00 (access fee)
http://www.mrctrainingportal.com/login/93/MakingRightChoices_com_Certification_Portal.aspx
REQUIRED ARTICLES:
Johnson, L. S. (2012). Guidelines for Dealing with Educator Sexual Misconduct. National Association of Independent
Schools. Retrieved from https://www.nais.org/Articles/
Documents/Educator_Sexual_Misconduct_12_finaledits.pdf
Ali, R. (April, 2011). Dear Colleague Letter. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Retrieved from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/dear_colleague_sexual_violence.pdf
If this link does not work go to www.whitehouse.gov and put dear colleague sexual violence in the search engine
Zemel, J. E., & Twedt, S. (Yea1999r, October 31). Lessons In Betrayal Small But Dangerous Contingent Of Sexual Predators
Lurks Among The Dedicated Teachers In Our Nation's Schools. Pittsburg Post-Gazette. Part 1 Retrieved from
http://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate/19991031newabuse1.asp; Part 2 Retrieved from http://old.postgazette.com/regionstate/19991101abuse1.asp; Part 3 Retrieved from http://old.postgazette.com/regionstate/19991102dspenn2.asp
REQUIRED VIDEO
“Mr. Holland’s Opus”
You Tube video clip from the movie, “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (re-watch) Someone to Watch Over Me. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb0s4cn
T3hM&feature=endscreen&NR=1
REQUIRED Discussion questions and tutorials
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Guided asynchronous online content. Students’ work will be assessed to ensure it includes learning
described below. Instructors will provide feedback as to what additional work needs to be
completed to verify the objectives are met and to assess that the discussion questions and directives
can be answered.
GOALS/LEARNING OBJECTIVES/COMPETENCIES/OUTCOMES
Students will . . .
1. Describe the teacher/student relationship and the lack of preparation teachers receive in preservice training.
2. Summarize the slippery slope of sexual misconduct as portrayed in The Good Teacher and the
seminar/webinar by Dr. Troy Hutchings.
3. Analyze and evaluate the different outcomes of the good and bad decisions and discuss rewards
for good decisions and the implications for poor ones in your state/work environment.
4. Compare and contrast what characteristics of a caring, holistic teacher lead to boundary
violations.
5. Analyze, evaluate, and present directives for preventing and handling sexual abuse for school or
work environments.
6. Conduct research on the context of teacher sexual misconduct with students and prepare a
prevention program based on that research and this course.
7. Analyze and describe the similarities and differences of actions by sexual predators versus actions
by those who cross boundaries without the ultimate intention of sexual misconduct
8. Synthesize learnings from the course using five discussion questions to prompt thinking and
construct a critical analysis of how you would handle the situations presented.
Activity 1: Introduction to the Lack of and Need for Teacher Training and
Guidelines in Teacher/student Relationships
Activity Resources:
Pre-Activity: “The Good Teacher” Introduction and XXXXX(2014) Book
View the Introduction by Dr. Troy Hutchings
Main Task (50 points)
In this Activity you will:
Go through the tutorial on the presentation section of the video, answer the
related discussion questions, Read XXXXXX, Preface, and view the
Presentation by Troy Hutchings to:
Relate the reasons teachers pursue careers in education.
Explain why an ethical framework is necessary to guide teachers.
Reflect on pre-service training and discuss why teachers are so unprepared
for the immersion in the complex world of teacher/student relationships
Relate how the teacher/student relationship is a continual emotional and
intellectual interchange
Drawing from the list of discussion questions discuss in approximately 250
words your thoughts from this assignment. Respond constructively to at least
one other student’s entry.
Learning Objective: 1
The Good Teacher
Instructions:
View
Introductory
Scene
Instructions:
Tutorial:
Teachers usually pursue their careers
because they have the opportunity to
impact student growth on so many levels.
They receive very little training in their
teacher preparatory programs or on the
job about proper relationships with
students. This lack of training is
unfortunate because the teacher/student
relationship is a continual emotional and
intellectual interchange. From the
beginning few teachers are prepared for
the immersion into the complex world of
teacher/student relationships. At a
minimum a solid professional, ethical
framework is necessary to guide teachers’
words, acts, and decisions.
Questions from the Introduction:
1. Why do teachers generally pursue their careers?
a.
b.
c.
d.
they like summers off
they enjoy students’ enthusiasm from their lectures
the opportunity to impact student growth on many levels
the salary
2. To avoid very troubling scenarios a solid professional, ethical
framework is necessary to guide teachers’
a.
b.
c.
d.
words, finances, and decisions
words, acts, and decisions
words, finances, and acts
all of the above
Instructions:
Questions from the Introduction (cont):
3. In reality few teachers are prepared for the immersion in the
complex world of teacher/student relationships.
a.
b.
true
false
3. The teacher/student relationship is
a.
b.
c.
d.
should always be formal
is never emotional
a continual emotional and intellectual interchange
needs to be completely sterile
Instructions:
Activity 2:
Activity Resources: Presentation by Dr. Troy Hutchings; Mr. Holland’s Opus movie and video clip
Pre-Activity: “The Good Teacher” Presentation and XXX (2014) Book XXXXX
Read XXXXX Chapter 1
View the Presentation by Dr. Troy Hutchings
Watch the video Mr. Holland’s Opus, and the scene at the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb0s4cn
T3hM&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Main Task (150 points)
In this Activity you will:
Complete the tutorial on the presentation section of the video, answer the related discussion questions,
construct a Venn diagram of similarities and differences, and write an Analysis and a Compare and
Contrast Paper that covers the following points:
Discuss the tension between the conflicting messages teachers receive and how teacher and student
characteristics and circumstances can lead to dangerous relationships.
Depict some of the conditions necessary for the “perfect storm” of an inappropriate relationship to form
between a teacher and a student. Include the concept of “famine of the soul” and a portrayal of
characteristics of vulnerable students.
Consider the attributes that make a teacher successful and possibly “award-winning.” Discuss how those
same attributes could lead to a teacher becoming overly involved with individual students.
Consider the circumstances in Mr. Ken Lamberton’s life as well as Mr. Holland’s lives and list at least five
ways they parallel your description. Reflect how you may have watched Mr. Holland’s Opus without this
information and missed what was happening, but now that you have some awareness you can see the
potential for the possibility of an inappropriate relationship. Relate how this heightened awareness can
help you and others to circumvent your peers from potentially dangerous relationships. Discuss anything
similar in your own experience that happened to you or to a fellow teacher and explain how you (or the
other teacher) avoided (or did not avoid) boundary violations.
Attach to your paper a Venn diagram to show the diverging and overlapping characteristics of effective
teachers who do not violate boundaries and those who do violate boundaries.
Length of Paper: 3 - 5 pages
Drawing from the list of discussion questions discuss in approximately 250 words your thoughts from this
assignment. Respond constructively to at least one other student’s entry.
Objectives 2, 4
Presentation by Dr. Troy Hutchings
Instructions: Click
Next to continue
Tutorial:
Amazingly, teacher misconduct with students is a subject
not discussed and as stated previously, rarely included in
teacher preparatory programs. As a result, we have an
entire workforce interacting with children that does not
understand boundaries. In many cases of sexual
misconduct there is myriad of decisions made that go
from verbal and written communication all the way to
physical contact. Thus, the title of this program could be
anything from “The Slippery Slope” to “Are you Ready for
Some Controversy” to “Duh, Shouldn’t Teachers Just
Know?” Most people believe that the top priority for
schools and their teachers is to educate children. It is,
however, the safety and welfare of the children. They are
the largest population of people who are “held captive”
and the responsibility for their safety is huge. Teachers
and administrators are fiduciaries who are entrusted to
take care of the children. Statistics indicate we are not
doing such a good job of this though because according to
Shakeshaft 9.6% of all students in grades 8 – 11 report
contact and/or non contact educator sexual misconduct
that was unwanted
Tutorial:
Five groups of people are fiduciaries - teachers, attorneys,
doctors, counselors/therapists, and the clergy. Of the five only
one group does not receive formal ethics training – teachers. All
the others receive that training starting in pre-service and
throughout their careers. Yet teachers are the only group that
works primarily with a captive audience.
Most people think that those who become involved in sexual
misconduct are monsters, but in reality they are often very good
teachers.
Instructions:
Questions from the Presentation:
1. Teacher misconduct with students is a subject
a.
b.
c.
d.
not discussed and rarely included in teacher prep programs
with no solutions so rarely included in teacher prep programs
always about predators so rarely included in teacher prep programs
all the above
2. We have an entire workforce interacting with children that
does not understand
a.
b.
c.
d.
boundaries
time limits
financial implications
all of the above
Instructions:
Questions from the Presentation (cont):
3. In many cases of sexual misconduct there is myriad of
decisions made that go from verbal and written
communication all the way to physical contact
a.
b.
true
false
3. The topic of teacher misconduct could be called:
a.
b.
c.
d.
a slippery slope
are you ready for some controversy?
duh, shouldn’t teachers just know?
all of the above
Instructions:
Questions from the Presentation (cont):
5. According to case law, what is the top priority for all schools
and their teachers?
a.
b.
c.
d.
6.
education of the children who are the future of the country
safety and welfare for the children who are held captive
none of the above
all of the above
Fiduciary refers to a power imbalance where a group is
trusted to take care of another
a.
b.
true
false
Instructions:
Questions from the Presentation (cont):
9. According to Shakeshaft ___% of all students in grades 8 – 11
report contact and/or non contact educator sexual
misconduct that was unwanted
a.
b.
c.
d.
6.
11
1.2
3
9.6
Fiduciary refers to a power imbalance where a group is
trusted to take care of another
a.
b.
true
false
Instructions:
Questions from the Presentation (cont):
11. Of the five groups of people who are fiduciaries - teachers,
attorneys, doctors, counselors/therapists, and the clergy, the
only group that does not receive formal ethics training starting
at pre-service and throughout their careers is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
attorneys
teachers
doctors
counselors
12. Most people think that those who become involved in
sexual misconduct are monsters, but in reality they are often
a.
b.
c.
d.
just kidding
poor teachers
very good teachers
none of the above
Instructions:
William Fibkins
“The boundary between helping
and becoming a friend,
confidant, surrogate parent,
even a lover is hard to see when
the teacher becomes overly
involved with her students.”
“Sexual issues and needs
dominate teenage life as do the
needs to belong, to be accepted,
to be cared for, and to be loved.”
Instructions:
“When teenage students find a caring teacher they transfer
those feelings to that person. Teachers have similar needs for
friendship, to be cared for, to be accepted, and being human
teachers can and will develop a problematic personal
relationships at various stages during their careers and seek
out comfort, caring, and support. Many teachers will
experience issues related to divorce, death, and so on”…. we
call that the famine of the soul.”
Tutorial:
William Fibkins Innocence Denied (cont).
“The boundary between helping and becoming a friend,
confidant, surrogate parent, even a lover is hard to see when the
teacher becomes overly involved with her students.”
“Sexual issues and needs dominate teenage life as do the needs
to belong, to be accepted, to be cared for, and to be loved.”
This is where our schools are struggling and you might be getting
two different messages and you need to be strong: On one
hand, the dismissal of teachers in the school for sexual
misconduct is met with call for more vigilance, scrutiny,
background checks, yet at the same time teachers are expected
to serve as advisors, quasi counselors for students. Here are two
different approaches – one says, watch closely all teachers
involvement with students as it can lead to sexual misconduct,
the other says we have to have teachers become more
personally involved with their students.
Where are you on this issue?
Instructions:
1. Boundaries blur when teachers
a.
b.
c.
d.
stay after school
attend sporting events
become overly involved with students
none of the above
2. When students find a caring teacher they often __________
their need to belong, to be accepted, to be cared for, and to be
loved.
a.
b.
c.
d.
complete
transfer
forget
all of the above
3.Teachers often receive two different messages – keep your
distance and become more personally involved.
a.
b.
true
false
Tutorial:
Tara Star Johnston, in her book,
From Teacher to Lover, Sex
Scandals in Classrooms.
“Good teachers are going to have
emotional and intellectual
intercourse every day with their
students.”
The danger is that special
relationship can go to an
emotional relationship to a
physical relationship.
Offender characteristics:
1. Often troubled family history or self-esteem issues during
adolescence, resulting in a feeling of a lost adolescence that
may be reclaimed later.
2. Arrested development resulting in a juvenile behavior
3. Feeling the void from an unhappy relationship or recent
breakup
Instructions:
Tutorial:
4. Teaching persona – often (a) a very highly respected
educator, (b) holistic teaching – teaches the whole child –
reaches out to marginalized students – teacher as savior role
lays the foundation for sexual misconduct – the desire to
save students from academic failure or from an unhealthy
home environment is a noble one that can go awry when a
teacher focuses on a few needy students – holistic teachers
know their students better than those primarily focused on
delivering content, but the more time, energy, and love a
teacher invests in one student, the more consuming a
relationship becomes
Instructions:
1. Poor teachers are going to have intellectual and emotional
intercourse with their students every day.
a.
b.
true
false
2. Sexual offenders often had __________issues during
adolescence.
a.
b.
c.
d.
self-esteem
discipline
academic
none of the above
3.Teachers who become involved in sexual misconduct often
have a ___________ in their lives.
a.
b.
c.
d.
desire to achieve
secret ambition
sense of failure
void
Tutorial:
The slippery slope:
1. The teacher holistically reaches out to an individual student
2. Teacher crosses emotional and subject lines in conversation
(written – emails, facebook, texting – or verbal). (Be sure to
follow school policy on that and if your school does not have
a policy on it consider developing an internal policy on it).
Law officials say this type of accessibility is the single most
common gateway to sexual misconduct.
3. Student perceives this as needed emotional attention and
reciprocates attention to an emotionally needy teacher. All
counselors know this – when a needy client comes in he
transfers his feelings to the caregiver. And then there is
something called the counter-transference of feelings. The
caregiver also has a need and transfers back onto the
student. Counselors are trained on this, but don’t teachers
have far more interactions?
4. The teacher sets up scenarios where further emotional
boundaries may be transgressed
5. Students are allowed to establish the boundaries and are
now the ones in control.
6. Boundaries now are arbitrary
7. The teacher has constructed a new reality
Instructions:
Tutorial:
8. The teacher feels: valued and affirmed and perhaps even
loved, empowered, and liberated from the past.
9. A relationship can provide relief and liberation from an
unhappy adult relationship and the teacher is most always
confident that code of silence will be maintained.
10. As the relationship develops the teacher experiences a loss
of reality and his or her professional role. The student
becomes a peer and the behavior seems justified.
11. At some point the teacher realizes that boundaries have
been crossed, but the relationship becomes impossible to
stop
12. The offender often confers to a sympathetic adult confidant
who validates the behavior (often the confidant is not aware
of all of the behavior)
13. The offender struggles with the tension of resisting or
succumbing
14. The relationship is acted out in a manner where obvious
cues lead to suspicion (why don’t people pick up on the
clues? We could say the same thing about suicide).
15. Confrontation leads to initial denial and then finally relief
Instructions:
1. The slippery slope often occurs when a teacher
a.
b.
c.
d.
reaches out to a certain group of students
an individual student
another teacher
none of the above
2. Law officials say the most common gateway to sexual
misconduct is
a.
b.
c.
d.
written communication
social networking
oral communication
all of the above
3. Teachers, unlike counselors, are not trained on
a.
b.
c.
d.
counter transference of feelings
differentiated feelings
classroom culture
all of the above
4. The student sets up scenarios where further emotional
boundaries may be transgressed
a.
b.
true
false
5. The teacher then allows students to establish the boundaries
and the students
a.
b.
c.
d.
are now at fault
are now the ones in control
begin to feel threatened
try to quit school
6. Once the boundaries become ___________ the teacher has
constructed a new reality
a.
b.
c.
d.
rigid
arbitrary
stable
none of the above
7. The teacher and the student become ___________ and the
behavior seems ____________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
defiant/wrong
inseparable/strange
peers/justified
none of the above
8. The offender struggles with the tension of resisting or
succumbing
a.
b.
true
false
9. The offender leaves cues similar to those contemplating
a.
b.
c.
d.
a robbery
murder
suicide
none of the above
Tutorial:
Watch the video clip:
Someone to Watch Over Me. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb0s4cnT3hM&feature=end
screen&NR=1
Mr. Holland’s Opus – great movie about a teacher, but we forget
there is about a 15 minute segment in that movie where Mr.
Holland is on a slippery slope with a student by the name of
Rowena.
Mr. Holland was feeling incomplete – he was trying to compose
the song, the Opus, and it just wasn’t working. He wanted to be
a musician and a composer, but it just wasn’t happening so he
became a teacher to pay the rent. Both he and Rowena were
experiencing issues and were working in a highly emotive
subject – music, singing metaphorically to each others hearts
and souls. Mr. Holland was struggling with his wife who did not
understand his passion as a teacher for making a difference in
the lives of students. So he put all his time into school – into the
lives of his students.
Instructions:
Tutorial:
The story of Mr. Holland’s Opus depicted eros – the
transformative quality of education. “Eros…a Greek word for
love…. that creative power which propels the knowledge quest
and gives resonance to the search for meaning.” For great
teachers, eros is a part of what you do - it is not erotica.
The Greeks identified this notion as “Eros” and believe it to be
the radical underpinning of transformative learning and a key
ingredient in education. Eros is not sex. It is passionate, it is life
changing, it is glorious, and it is addictive, and it is dangerous.
“Plato’s Eros inspires us through out sense of beauty…but Eros is
a trickster and must be treated critically.” (Murdock)
Instructions:
1. Mr. Holland was feeling
a.
b.
c.
d.
erotic
confident
incomplete
none of the above
2. For great teachers ________ is a part of what you do – it is
the _____________ quality of education.
a.
b.
c.
d.
eros/transformative
lecture/highest
erotica/best
none of the above
3. Plato’s Eros inspires us through our sense of beauty…but Eros
is ____________ and must be treated critically
a.
b.
c.
d.
evil
a trickster
blind
a lie
Tutorial:
Ken Lamberton 1985 Mesa Unified School District Teacher-of-the-Year
Spent 12 years in prison for a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student,
transporting her across state lines
Middle School Science teacher, father of three children 28 years old. Active in
church
His interview after spending 12 years in prison:
You stop thinking – you let your emotions ride – I became obsessed with wanting
to spend time with her, to get to know her better, I felt alive. She became a
distraction. Intellectually I knew it was wrong, but emotionally, it was very
powerful and I did not know what to do with those emotions…God must be
allowing this to happen because of the way I feel…It is ridiculous to think that now.
If I stopped to think about it I wouldn’t do it – the problem was I was just moving
through all this raw emotion and I began to compartmentalize everything. My wife
and family – who I wanted to keep, and this relationship which I also desperately
wanted. My emotions were lying to me. I was at a place where I wanted just
anybody to tell me what to do and she was willing to do that. I was riddled with
guilt – acting younger than the victim.
Instructions:
How was the interview with Ken Lamberton related to
the steps outlined in the Slippery Slope?
Tutorial: Excerpts from Dr. Troy Hutchings:
“Effective teaching is the seduction of learning. It’s not just
approaching content with passion, or rather engaging in a
passionate interchange, creating a shared space that resonates on
the intellectual level, the emotional level, the transformational level.
This reciprocity – back and forth – of passionate teaching and
learning turns routine poetry into words of profundity and epiphany
– a school musical becomes a merging of different voices into a
collective understanding, the difficult daily training of a crosscountry team becomes a realized metaphor for the challenges of
life. A passionate teacher and a passionate coach enter into a place
with their student that no one outside of that experience can
understand or articulate. A powerful place of connectivity and
transformation – it is what separates schooling from education, it is
what separates passive note-taking, answer giving, from homework
checking, test taking, and the forgetting that so quickly follows from
the fiery engagement of mind and spirit. Passionate teachers are
the ones who make a difference in our lives. By the intensity of their
beliefs and actions they connect us with a sense of value that is
within and beyond ourselves – it is that teacher who opens up a
world of the mind to some students who had no one else to make
them feel they were capable of doing great things.” (Hutchings)
Instructions:
Tutorial:
“In our fight to promote professional practices, within the teaching profession
we need to recognize a very important truth within contemporary American
society and that is the contextualization of the schooling relationship within
an increasingly sexualized society. There is this tension that seems to exist
between the roles of children and adults, which is blurring the lines of
propriety without any premeditation teachers often reject the responsibility
that has traditionally been associated with entrance in the teaching
profession. As societal emphasis is placed on them to be young, to be
beautiful – the concept of adolescent behavior and arrested development
were mentioned numerous times in my research as a common characteristic
of teacher offenders, but in contrast with that, what’s happening to the
students? Adult themes are being projected onto the students. So while we
are trying and striving to be young, and a part of that culture that we are
immersed in, they have adult themes projected onto them every single day
resulting in a skewed reality that presupposes their emotional readiness for
adulthood. When adolescents act out the roles – the adult roles they are
given, and when adults intentionally seek youthfulness through their
engagement with popular youth culture, boundary violations are certain to
occur. If adults and children share the same cultural space, boundaries will
become permeable, the fiduciary role will be fractured, and quite possibly
student victimization may result. Education must be the profession, your
classroom, your school, must be the profession texts and sanctifies the role
of the child at the same time to honor and nurture children within the ethical
boundaries of moral and responsible teaching practice. It is thus imperative
that prevention strategies are implemented not just systemically but within
ourselves to eliminate the blurring of lines between teachers and students
and the slippery slope to exist in American society and culture.”
Instructions:
Journal: Provide a bulleted outline of the highlights of Dr.
Hutchings comments
Activity 3:
Activity Resources: “The Good Teacher” Interactive Video and XXXXtchings, T (2014) Book
Pre-Activity:
Read XXXXXXX Chapter 2 and Navigate through the Interactive Video (The Good Teacher) by WILL Interactive and participate in the decision tree
making your choices, and then again making choices you know are poor to see what the ending could have been. Pay close attention to how those
around the potential perpetrator (Clayton Jennings) and the perpetrator (Mike Roberts) did or could have intervened for a less destructive ending.
Main Task (150 points)
In this Activity you will:
Write an Analysis and Integration Paper that:
Describes the “slippery slope” and how over-involvement with students and a series of boundary violations can lead to sexual misconduct. Include risks
involving social media and how they can be neutralized.
Analyzes the continuum of behaviors (between 1 and 10) regarding interactions between teachers and students, with 1 being the most appropriate and
10 representing the most inappropriate, and documents one possible behavior for each point along the continuum (a total of 10 behaviors).
0
1
2
appropriate
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
inappropriate
Provides an exploration of why trouble begins with crossing the first boundary.
Discusses how bystanders (those around the perpetrator) did or could have intervened in at least five different points and helped to prevent the
misconduct.
Length of Paper: 5 - 7 pages
Drawing from the list of discussion questions discuss in approximately 250 words your thoughts from this assignment. Respond constructively to at
least one other student’s entry.
Learning Objectives 2, 3
Activity 4: Making the Right Choices
Activity Resources: “Making the Right Choices” Online Training and XXXXX(2014) Book
Pre-Activity:
Complete the online training, “Making the Right Choices”
Read Chapters 2 -4 of the XXXX
Read assigned articles
Main Task (200 points)
In this activity you will:
Prepare a PowerPoint or Prezi presentation to brief city officials, parents, administrators, and
other interested parties to describe how inappropriate relationships develop, the need for
ethical guidelines and professional development and the major points you have learned thus
far. Ensure you answer the question: What is the difference between an opportunistic
offender or a pre-meditated offender in terms of the progression and development of an
improper relationship?
Length: 6-10 slides (with 2-4 references on a reference slide)
No more than 6 bullets per slide or 6 words per bullet
Notes Length: 150-200 words for each slide
Be sure to include citations for quotations and paraphrases with references in APA format and
style. Save the file with the correct course code information.
Drawing from the list of discussion questions discuss in approximately 250 words your
thoughts from this assignment. Respond constructively to at least one other student’s entry.
Learning Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
assignment. That is okay but ensure every word counts and that you avoid redundancy.
You may learn more about APA style online at apastyle.org or in any grammar handbook,
such as: Diana Hacker's "Rules for Writers." A helpful guide to the APA 6th Edition PowerPoint
can be found at http://utsa.edu/trcss/docs/APA%206th%20Edition.pdf.
Main Task (300 points)
In this activity you will:
Write an Application Paper. Review the discussion questions posed for the course. Choose
five of the questions that prompt your thinking and prepare a critical analysis of how you
would handle the situations presented.
Length of Paper: 8-10 pages
Drawing from your list of discussion questions discuss in approximately 200 words your
thoughts from this assignment. Respond constructively to at least one other student’s entry.
Learning Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Discussion Questions:
What can administration do to foster an environment where improper
relationships are less likely to occur?
What are the possible cues or warning red flags that would cause you to
intervene to protect a colleague or a student from a potential inappropriate
relationship between a teacher and a student?
How does the use of social media and digital devices lead to boundary
violations?
What are possible risk factors from a teacher’s personal history that might
compel him/her to try to rescue students?
What are some events that might be currently happening in a teacher’s life (in
the present) that might make him/her more vulnerable to inappropriate
relationships with students?
Discussion Questions:
What are the possible risk factors from a student’s personal life that might
result in that student seeking an inappropriate relationship with a teacher?
What are some preventative steps that will allow you to keep your balance in
your role as a teacher?
How does being dedicated exclusively in your life to your role as a teacher
expose you to becoming overly involved with a student?
Can a teacher be over dedicated?
What are the dangers or benefits of feeling a particular connection to one
student?
Discussion Questions:
What are possible actions that a teacher might use to mask from others an
inappropriate relationship with a student?
How does a teacher justify to himself/herself the gradual decisions that lead to
an inappropriate relationship with others?
What are possible signs that a teacher’s relationship is progressing down the
slippery slope?
How do you respond to a colleague who you feel might be in jeopardy?
When is it appropriate to go to a colleague about concerns? When is it no
longer appropriate to go to a colleague about concerns, but rather instead
directly fulfill your mandatory reporting duties so a student is not placed at
further risk?
Discussion Questions:
What are some of the possible effects for a student (male or female) that arise
from an inappropriate relationship with a teacher?
What are some of the possible consequences to the teacher for being in an
inappropriate relationship with a student?
What are some possible requests (either implicit or explicit) that either a parent
or student may make of a teacher that will lead to a relationship that will end
badly.
Describe the gradual steps that may eventually lead to a teacher becoming
overly involved with a student that jeopardizing his/her career?
Discussion Questions:
In order to be more fully aware of those vulnerabilities that you may possess,
please answer the following:
If you were single and dating, what aspects of your background would cause
a person to wonder whether or not they should be in a relationship with
you?
What experiences have you had in your life that, if questioned by an
attorney, might lead a jury to believe that your judgment may at times be
clouded?
What do you need to recognize within yourself, based on your life history, which
may result in feeling a unique connection with a student?
If a teacher has become consumed with the needs of a particular student
because of his prior life experiences, how can that teacher step back and not act
on those impulses?
Discussion Questions:
In order to be more fully aware of your strengths in establishing boundaries,
what experiences have you had in your life that will help you navigate the
emotional needs of your students?
How does the relationship between a teacher and his/her colleagues change
when a teacher becomes overly involved with his students?
What strategies can you apply to avoid missteps in your relationship with
students?
When you find yourself concerned or confused about a relationship with a
student, how should you go about making a correction?
What resources are available to assist you in making those corrections?
Discussion Questions:
Out of a classroom of students, what would single out one particular student to
be more at risk for an inappropriate relationship?
List possible signs that a teacher may have lost the ability to keep the
appropriate emotional and professional separation between himself/herself
and a student.
What are the signs that your desire to “rescue” a student may lead to disaster?
What are some societal myths, or implicit expectations of teachers, that make it
easier for a teacher to justify having an inappropriate relationship with a
student?
Assignment
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4
Activity 5
Total
Points
100
150
150
200
300
900