Would you care if...

[BettyBookWorm]

A high school teacher used to do porn (still in circulation) and was a stripper prior to finishing their education? I would not care. As long as the teacher was performing their duties to teach the material then that is what matters to me. I am not expecting a teacher to teach my kid morals, but education. There is an article in my local newspaper where a teacher lost her job over her porn/stripper past. I feel that that is not right.

What do you think?

[maucat]

I think if she's doing a good job teaching, and she's not presenting herself in a way that makes her past obvious, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it. TBH, I know I'd feel somewhat squicked out if I knew, especially because that then means all the straight teenage boys probably know. But if she's doing a good job, I don't think her past should be grounds for termination.

[housegeek]

I can see a moral fiber issue, I wouldn't be comfortable knowing one of my teachers was a stripper.

[Muddled]

I think I'd be ok with it. It might depend on her age and how recent the past is. That may not be entirely rational, but that's the way it goes.

I also think that a school should do a background check before hiring teachers.. How did that not come up then?


eta-- I'm honestly not sure. It's rolling around in my head and I am going back and forth. Teachers should be role models.

[maucat]

I think what's bothering me the most is that the porn is still in circulation. But then, I also don't like that she succumbed to the pressures to make a living that way instead of resisting. Heck, any of us could've made that choice to pursue stripping over a minimum-wage job, but we didn't, for a reason.

Her having been in porn is a bigger thing to me than having been a stripper. Not exactly sure why.

[wrathofkuus]

I certainly wouldn't hire him/her if I knew, but I don't know that I think it's a basis for firing.

[broc]

There are a few factors to consider... with the internet as it exists now, I'd bet that every last one of us has something floating around out there which would seriously damage our job prospects if it were suddenly common knowledge. Obviously not porn star worthy, but we all have that one friend who takes pics during parties where everyone's had a few and uploads them to FB like an idiot.

Oddly, the younger the kids are the more inclined I'd be to let her teach anyway. A high schooler is more likely to find out about her past and know exactly what that means, and have it lead to disruption in the classroom. It might affect her ability to do her job if she suddenly has 30 high schoolers smirking about what a slut she is. A kindergartener wouldn't be likely to find it and even if they did 'porn star' isn't really in most kindergartener's world views, heh.

[cuddlyevil]

ITA with Broc.

[gbck]

I'm w/ muddled on "don't they google candidates?" And I do think there's the tricky part that the number of qualified people looking for teaching jobs is HUGE for every opening--locally, in the hundreds. So I could see it being what they use as a 'weed out' thing.

I think that we don't compensate teachers NEARLY enough for them to have to live up to expectations 24-7. (think 'drunk pirate' bullshit: voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/12/court_rules_against_teacher_in.html)
(that said, porn is a different level of choice than 'drunk pirate, arr')

[Muddled]

Nov 12, 2012 12:35:49 GMT -5 maucat said:

Her having been in porn is a bigger thing to me than having been a stripper. Not exactly sure why.

Maybe because there is less tangible evidence of stripperhood?


I agree, Broc, that it would bother me less if it were younger kids than high school. I wasn't sure if that was exactly logical.

[housegeek]

I think there it's a far leap from drunk photos on fb to porn.

[maucat]

Nov 12, 2012 12:42:36 GMT -5 Muddled said:

Nov 12, 2012 12:35:49 GMT -5 maucat said:

Her having been in porn is a bigger thing to me than having been a stripper. Not exactly sure why.

Maybe because there is less tangible evidence of stripperhood?


I agree, Broc, that it would bother me less if it were younger kids than high school. I wasn't sure if that was exactly logical.

Agreed with all of this. I think the potential risk with teenagers is much larger. Which is what I was trying to reference in my initial comment. Time to drink more coffee and see if I become more coherent.

[imoan]

ITA with broc

[gbck]

Nov 12, 2012 12:44:39 GMT -5 housegeek said:

I think there it's a far leap from drunk photos on fb to porn.

there is, but there's also a hard push to basically vilify teachers for being human beings with lives that may not be Beatifically wonderful 24-7.

Although, I'd have to wonder if this is in the morals clause of the contract-there's basically always a morals clause, but does it really include things that you did before signing said contract?

[imoan]

I just hate the idea that people just don't get a second chance... you know? Maybe she had a shittastic childhood and that's why she turned to stripping/porn. And then one day she pulled herself up by her bootstraps, worked hard and chased after a dream. And basically... she's SOL when it comes to a second chance?!

[housegeek]

I don't know, I go back on forth on it. I would totally take a business and marketing class from Jenna Jamison.

[aliceinfairyland]

The stripping wouldn't really bother me, unless if was still occurring (Varsity Blues, anyone?). But the porn bothers me.

I don't really want a situation where my kid could see his/her teacher naked.

[Muddled]

I agree, imoan. This is why I am torn on the issue.


Ultimately, I think she should not be fired because it was the school's responsibility to conduct a background check before hiring her.They hired her as is. As porn/stripping is not something that puts the kids in danger, she should not be fired UNLESS there is something in her contract that specifically states her past is grounds for termination.

[sparksfly]

Nov 12, 2012 13:00:58 GMT -5 imoan said:

I just hate the idea that people just don't get a second chance... you know? Maybe she had a shittastic childhood and that's why she turned to stripping/porn. And then one day she pulled herself up by her bootstraps, worked hard and chased after a dream. And basically... she's SOL when it comes to a second chance?!

I agree with Broc and this!

[sparksfly]

Nov 12, 2012 13:04:31 GMT -5 aliceinfairyland said:

The stripping wouldn't really bother me, unless if was still occurring

That could just make for some REALLY awkward parent teacher conferences.

[neonpink]

I agree with Broc, if you're teaching small kids who would never know it's not really a big deal. High school kids if they heard would google the crap out of it. I feel bad that she's being judged for her past and she's trying to move on from it.

[Chirp]

Oddly enough, this happened in my high school.

One of the teachers had a stripper past. She was in her late 20s, thin and blond. All of the students knew. The boys loved having her class. As far as I know, there wasn't a parental uprising over it.

There was a parental uprising over the French teacher. She went to a sperm bank and had a baby as a single mother. She had no boyfriend or husband (she's holding out for Gerard Depardieu, or so she says) and wanted to have a child.


Apparently, in my town, intentionally having a child out of wedlock shows questionable morals. But being a stripper is ok.

[housegeek]

It's all well and good that she's trying to move on, but teachers need to be held to a pretty high standard. Thinking of my girls, I would not be happy if she was their teacher when they are teens, I personally would not be ok with them thinking porn or stripping is a possible path though life. There are a million other career choices she could've made that don't have her influencing young minds.

[imoan]

Nov 12, 2012 13:14:52 GMT -5 housegeek said:

It's all well and good that she's trying to move on, but teachers need to be held to a pretty high standard. Thinking of my girls, I would not be happy if she was their teacher when they are teens, I personally would not be ok with them thinking porn or stripping is a possible path though life. There are a million other career choices she could've made that don't have her influencing young minds.

Well obviously the teacher didn't think it was a viable path through life because she stopped it, worked hard to get an education and rose above her formerly humble beginnings. I think that's a GREAT person to be a role model.

And honestly, you have no IDEA what kind of shit your kid's teachers are in to. A lot of it is just less advertised. Like my teacher friend who got a DUI... or my teacher friend who is 31 and still living with her parents and has never ONCE been on her own or paid her own bills. Or the teachers I know who are RAMPANT alcoholics/cokeheads. I'd rather the stripper/porn chick teach my children over those two.

[housegeek]

I know I have no idea about 99% of my / kids future teachers lives, and that is perfectly fine. Where the line is crossed is when my kids find out about the after school shenanigans.

I'm not going to hypothesize about how her life went. It could've been absolutely rosy and she jut stripped for extra change, or did a porn or 2 to lash out at her parents or whatever. It could've been awful and she made something of herself. It all is irrelevant because there is currently videos out there of her naked having sex and doing who knows what else. I think that's where I draw my line.

[housegeek]

On the other hand, if she's a good teacher and getting through to the kids, it could be fine. Depends on how the majority of the kids are reacting to it?

Eta- I could clearly debate myself on the topic

[sprky79]

Is she teaching dance? No? Then I don't care. Conduct yourself like an adult in the classroom and I am satisfifed.

[sillygoosegirl]

It wouldn't bother me. At all. I hope my children grow up learning to respect all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds.

[Deleted]

Totally uncalled for.

[imoan]

Nov 13, 2012 8:46:13 GMT -5 Cloverfield said:

Nov 12, 2012 12:25:17 GMT -5 Muddled said:

I think I'd be ok with it. It might depend on her age and how recent the past is. That may not be entirely rational, but that's the way it goes.

I also think that a school should do a background check before hiring teachers.. How did that not come up then?


eta-- I'm honestly not sure. It's rolling around in my head and I am going back and forth. Teachers should be role models.

Dude, I know lots of teachers that smoke weed & sleep around.

Yeah... this is where I am. Knowing what I know about some of my teacher "friends"... a past of porn and stripping is the LEAST of my worries.