Basket.

There are honestly few things I see and hear about anymore that are truly disturbing, but revelations from the recent case of a teacher acquitted of molesting his students have shaken me somewhat.

For those of you who have somehow contrived to not know about this case, a teacher was recently acquitted of molest, much to his relief. However, details of his close relationship with a number of his students tumbled out during his trial, and have been listed in the newspapers over the past few months. Among the things he did were adopt 22 students as godsons, buy them expensive gifts on various occasions, greet them in school with hugs and kisses and sharing a bed with them on various separate occasions.

I find such behaviour, to put it lightly, highly questionable. It is not, to me, behaviour befitting of an educator and someone responsible for the well-being of teenaged students. In fact, this case is disturbing on so many counts: the disturbing behaviour of the teacher, the disturbing fact that somehow the school administration failed to act to stop such unseemly conduct and the disturbing "it's ok" attitude of the parents of certain students involved in the case.

I mean, what was the teacher thinking? One of the golden rules of being a teacher is not to get too close to your students. Teacher-student relationships must always be healthy and respectful, with a line drawn somewhere. This particular person virtually behaved like a sex predator. Kissing and hugging underaged schoolboys? That is way beyond acceptable behaviour. The teaching profession is not for people without any semblance of self-control whatsoever; if you cannot control your desires, it is not the right occupation for you. Because what kind of example, exactly, would you be setting? Like it or not, we are judged because of the very nature of our job - which is to mould upstanding citizens of the future. An upstanding citizen is one who knows that there are limits to anything and is in full control of all his faculties. That is not something the teacher in question has demonstrated.

Just to clarify, in case anyone is wondering, I am far from homophobic. I fully support the right of consenting members of the same sex to enjoy a loving relationship. However, I do not support at all a loving relationship of this nature occuring between a teacher and student(s) of any gender. It is just not right, because there must always be a proper distance in any fruitful teacher-student relationship. Our job is not to get entangled with our students; our job is to look after their well-being, education and personal development.

I am also appalled that the school administration seemed clueless about all these sordid goings-on. This case should have been dealt with well before it saw the interior of a courtroom. The teacher and relevant students should have been strictly warned of the consequences of their actions, failing which the teacher should have been sacked, taking the rap because, as a discerning adult, he ought to have known better. What kind of principal was running this school? As it is, the case went to court, so many details were revealed, and it is definitely going to have some effect on all parties involved, the school included.

Most shockingly of all, parents of some of the students in question believe that the behaviour of the teacher was, to quote the papers, "acceptable". I cannot believe that any responsible parent would not be seriously disturbed to hear about his/her son's teacher greeting him with hugs and kisses in school. If I was ever in such a position, I would demand the immediate removal of the teacher, failing which I would pull my son out of the school at once. I do not care for all that bullshit about being an "inspiring and caring" teacher. A teacher is perfectly capable of being inspiring and caring without greeting his students with hugs and kisses and sharing his bed with them. Such behaviour borders on paedophilia, and is completely unacceptable to me.

I might be sounding far too uptight and alarmist, a departure from my usual style, but there are things I firmly believe in and will not compromise upon. The role of a teacher, I say again, is to guide and nurture, not to get entangled with his students. This is an occupation that requires patience and restraint. If you have neither, if you are not able to keep your desires in check, this is not the profession for you.

The teacher has expressed a wish to return to the service. I say keep him out. He has been a disgrace to the profession. I am certainly all for second chances, but I believe this particular person has gone too far. Until he shows that he is able to exercise a degree of restraint, able to keep a healthy distance from students, able to involve himself in a proper teacher-student relationship, he should not be allowed to step into a classroom.