Friday, January 13, 2012

Student-Teacher Affairs

It has always been in the news. It may not be prevalent all of the time, but it is there. Those offenders and victims try to keep it a secret; however it always comes out one way or another. We all have crushes, but what makes those crushes turn into something more; something illegal?

Recently, a male teacher from a nearby town was arrested after turning himself in for having an affair with one of his students. I didn’t really put much thought into it. I just thought, “Oh here we go again…” However, I was immediately drawn in once I heard the name: Brett Messenger. I knew I had heard this name before, and I knew exactly where I had. Brett Messenger was my student teacher for band while I was in middle school. We all loved him! He was really nice to everyone and always had something funny to say. Needless to say, I was like any other young, teenage girl: I had a crush on Mr. Messenger. He was so cute, and when you would flirt, he would subtly flirt back! However, I just thought that was his personality. I never thought he would go farther than just flirting with any of his students. After I graduated from middle school, I lost touch with him. However, the other day when I was watching the news, and the student-teacher affair came on mentioning his name, I was shocked. I immediately looked more into the story.

(Thanks to KCRG and KGAN) Brett Messenger graduated when he was done doing my student teaching and got a full time job at a high school about an hour away. (He is still young; only about 26.) After only spending a year at that school, he resigned (for “no reason”) and moved to a local school in my town. He was liked by many and many people thought he was a great band teacher. I can second this, because I had him as a teacher! However, after news of a student-teacher affair was reported to the police department, Brett Messenger turned himself in. He was immediately jailed and bond was posted for him. He was released on bail, but must appear in court. Since he admitted to it, as did the student, he will face up to five years in prison.

I still cannot put into words how shocked I really am. I never thought that his flirtatious nature would turn into a serious issue. Even though it has been 5 years since I last saw him, I still feel affected by this. The fact that someone I know will most likely be in prison for having an affair with a STUDENT! I don’t understand the need for teachers to break their code of conduct and for students to do this. Having an affair is very risky for everyone. It looks bad on the school, the teacher, the student, as well as anyone else involved. There are no excuses for having an affair with someone who is your teacher or your student. They are either your authoritative figure or you are the authoritative figure for a reason.

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