The Teacher of the Year and the football player: Sounds like a Lifetime movie
This sounds like the plot of a Lifetime Channel movie: Teacher of the Year has sex with football player.
But it’s a real allegation in a Gwinnett County high school.
The AJC story is very interesting in that it has quotes from both parents, those of the teacher and of the student. The teacher’s father understandably defends his daughter and casts the student as a “knucklehead,” but the story notes that the teacher admitted to the relationship, calling it consensual.
I still don’t get the teacher/student thing. When you read these stories, you assume that there is something unique about both the teacher and the student, that a teacher drawn to a student must be much more immature than the average adult and the student who is the subject of the teacher’s attentions must be much more mature that her/his peers.
But when these cases explode and you see the participants in court or interviews, they are just normal people who ended up in abnormal — and illegal — situations.
With all the negative publicity about these cases and the outcome possibly a prison term, I can’t see how a teacher ends up risking it all for what seems a small return. I taught at a community college when I was 25, and I never considered any of my students, some of whom were my age or older, as friends or folks that I would invite out for coffee. The classroom created a wall between us that I never thought about crossing.
Any insights from folks in the field?
According to an exclusive AJC story:
The Teacher of the Year at Shiloh High School has resigned after admitting to having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student, according to records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Keenon Aampay Hall, 29, left a promising career as an English teacher at the Gwinnett County school amid allegations that she seduced a senior who came to her for homework help. An investigative file on the case compiled by the school system’s human resources division contains the student’s accounts of sexual trysts at a hotel, a friend’s home and in the teacher’s classroom during school hours. The report also says that pornography was found on Hall’s Gwinnett County schools laptop.
The student, a player on Shiloh’s football team who is to graduate Friday, claimed that Hall gave him gifts and pressured him to commit to their six-month relationship by giving her a baby, according to the file. When he declined, the student’s family said, Hall gave him a failing grade, prompting him to report the relationship to school officials.
“The allegation of the inappropriate behavior came to light because the teacher decreased the student’s grade,” Gwinnett schools spokeswoman Sloan Roach said.
Gwinnett County Public Schools police are investigating the incident. The governor recently signed a new law making it illegal for teachers to have sex with students, even if the sex is consensual. In addition, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which has the authority to revoke Hall’s teaching certificate, is scheduled to review the complaint next week.
Hall, elected by her colleagues as Shiloh’s Teacher of the Year, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Hall’s peers had voted her Shiloh High Teacher of the Year in the fall. Her name was touted in school bulletins; she gave inspirational speeches; and was recognized at a Gwinnett County awards dinner with other top district teachers. Her parents, who attended the banquet, said they were proud but wondered why she never got her Teacher of the Year ring.
“She earned it,” her father, Dennis Hall, said. “I believe this is the action of Principal [Gwen] Tatum. It definitely opens the county up for a defamation lawsuit. … How can seven years of teaching and a reputation be destroyed because of the word of one knucklehead? I think that’s wrong.”
Hall has a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University and has completed her master’s work, her parents said. On an application for her Gwinnett job she wrote that she was “uniquely qualified” because she has “a passion for education and working with children.”
The student, now 18, relocated to Georgia from North Carolina to live with his uncle, Jason Pender, a football coach at Shiloh High. Ericka Pender allowed her son to leave home so he could focus on academics his senior year and graduate instead of getting distracted by old friends in Winston-Salem.
Coach Pender said his nephew had been dating a teenager at school and didn’t seem any more stressed than most seniors trying to get into college. “I wondered how he got the cell phone when he was not working,” Pender said. He grew concerned when the teen’s progress report in English “went from an A to a D or F.”
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134 comments Add your comment
Ernest
May 27th, 2010
3:20 pm
I believe that this teacher should be de-certified, asap.
As for the Teacher of the Year, like most things, sometimes it does recognize good performance sometimes it doesn’t.
As a lawyer for someone who walked away from this school system because of a derranged former student who was stalking his family (with no wrongdoing on his end) and the system would not respond, always wait for all the facts before you leap. In my case, this teacher chose his family over his career and is now flourishing elsewhere.
My experience with this system is that it is heavy handed, and skirts employment practices and open-records acts in a bunker mentality.
Rebecca
May 27th, 2010
3:29 pm
“The only thing that Brookwood has compared to Shiloh; referencing the Highway 78 divide, is a little more money. It would be interesting to see the “ruckus” that would happen if redistricting happens the way it actually should; to the Brookwood cluster”
“A little more money” has nothing to do with, it’s called the Brookwood “community” for a reason. The Brookwood “community” is dedicated to protecting and improving the lifestyle and education that exists there. The “community” is the reason for our sucess and it’s worth fighting for. The proof is there. Instead of bashing me for telling the truth, get out there and fight for Shiloh and your kids.
cobb mother
May 27th, 2010
3:33 pm
I graduated from High School in upstate NY in 1978, in my highschool the Male English Teacher, year book advisor was carrying on a sexual affair with a female class mate since our Junior year. Everyone new about it. He was married with two kids. Nothing is done about it, she graduates they move to Florida together and marry. They have the nerve to show up at each of our 10, 20, 30 year reunions as Mr. and Mrs. Miller, ( real last name) everyone in our class feels very uneasy at every class reunion when this pair shows up. Nothing was ever done to him.
Tweets that mention The Teacher of the Year and the football player: Sounds like a Lifetime movie | Get Schooled -- Topsy.com
May 27th, 2010
3:35 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by DC Public School and DC Public School, MONISE SEWARD. MONISE SEWARD said: From @AJCGetSchooled Teacher of the Year & Football Player: Sounds like a Lifetime Movie http://ow.ly/1QMtf #education #parenting [...]
Proud Black Man
May 27th, 2010
4:02 pm
The heavy hand of censorship is back.
Pluto
May 27th, 2010
4:13 pm
@ Rebecca Who voted for you as the chair of social consciousness? Teachers can’t have a sense of humor; immature or not??
DJ Sniper
May 27th, 2010
4:20 pm
First of all, I don’t think race has anything to do with this situation. I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting this teacher to be black (since most of these situations involve white teachers), but still, it’s quite a stretch to call racism simply because this story was posted after the one about the teacher and the students dressed as Klan members.
Now, several people have already mentioned this, but I’ll say it again: It’s way past time for equal punishment for this type of offense. It kills me how female teachers don’t seem to receive the same type of punishment when they get involved with students. I still remember the teacher in Florida whose lawyer made the argument of “she’s too pretty for prison.” Let’s get this issue under control.
TOTY
May 27th, 2010
4:35 pm
The teachers nominate each other for teacher of the year (TOTY). You can accept or decline the nomination. If you accept, you fill out an application. A committee picks three. The three are filmed. The videos are shown and the staff votes based on the video (or popularity). Often it is an amazing teacher…sometimes just a popular teacher. Sometimes it’s the politically correct nominee.
Gail
May 27th, 2010
4:48 pm
Rebecca: Please do not use this unfortunate situation to bad mouth Shiloh High School. My older 2 children attended Shiloh and each enrolled in college with almost 20 AP credit hours. I think they received a fine education. They are making fantastic grades at their university. And no, they are not attending a community college. I hope you read a few weeks ago that one of the 141 2010 US Presidential Scholars is from Shiloh.
Proud Black Man
May 27th, 2010
5:25 pm
@ Gail
Waste no breath on Rebbecca. According to her we are all “bad” parents who do not “get out there and fight for Shiloh and your kids…” Tea (insert the name that cannot be mentioned) of her ilk love to engage in patronizing stereotypes.
Show Me
May 27th, 2010
6:19 pm
I’ve got news for you all,… GCPS is not the creme de la creme of school systems!
@ Earnest, I would like to know how to contact you. I formerly worked for Gwinnett, when an EBD student (not my student) threatened to kill me after I wrote him up for testing violations. He was even calling my home and leaving threatening messages. GCPS refused to do anything at all. GAE told me to go to GC Police. The GC police told me to report to the school resource officer, but my principal circumvented my call and put a stop to any investigation. I never felt safe teaching in Gwinnett. GCPS’s reputation is a house of cards. Boo!
J Moore
May 27th, 2010
6:56 pm
We are getting what we deserve. We hire and promote “people” based upon their skin color–not their intelligence. In this case, obviously intelligence was not a factor. What was this teacher’s SAT or IQ score anyway? Secondly, the student should be rushed to Wal-Mart–obviously he cannot see well.
the prof
May 27th, 2010
7:00 pm
PBM isn’t black and is afraid of honesty.
Dan
May 27th, 2010
7:08 pm
Some people are just dumb.
Proud Black Man
May 27th, 2010
7:38 pm
@ J Moore
“We are getting what we deserve. We hire and promote “people” based upon their skin color–not their intelligence.”
And what about the previous high profile, ALL WHITE, teachers caught screwing around with their students? More white right jibba jabba from an obvious tea (insert the name that cannot be mentioned).
Where are the test scores?
May 27th, 2010
7:41 pm
The biggest cheating scandal in Georgia’s educational history, the test have long since been returned, and no one will report the test scores?
Does this not strike anybody as odd?
Mr. Peepers
May 27th, 2010
8:37 pm
Good giggly wiggly–that teacher is butt ugly. Dang J Moore–Student does need glasses.
Where are the test scores?
May 27th, 2010
10:26 pm
Have the test scores ever been released so late in the year as they have this year, the year after the biggest cheating scandal in Georgia’s educational history?
Hmmm....
May 27th, 2010
10:42 pm
This has nothing to do with race, but has to do with extremely poor judgment. While I do not personally know this teacher, I was aware of her last year during a county sponsored staff development. She struck me as a kind and intelligent person who was passionate about teaching. She obviously had a serious lapse in judgment and there is no excuse for that, but I think that people are being quite heartless. Her life is in shambles. I think that is the beginning of her punishment.
jpfromtheA
May 27th, 2010
11:20 pm
I see a lot of people that think this stuff wasn’t going on when they were in school. Well I hate to burst your bubble but it happened when you were in school too.. It was just kept hush hush. I had a teacher (20 yrs ago) we all suspected was sleeping with some of the girls. To my surprise, years later I ended up working for the school system in the records management department where I came across all the proof on that teacher and how they got a student pregnant. It’s happening folks and it’s been going on forever.
Ole Guy
May 27th, 2010
11:45 pm
As for teachers and students doing “close order drill”, there is only one answer…BAD, BAD, BAD. When teachers…former teachers of the year, much less…allow this sort of thing to happen, they denegrate the meaning of such an award, and of the very profession.
As far as that wall in the classroom…the student body at my alma mater was almost entirely vets of the Viet Nam era. Students and instructors/teachers would often belly up to the bar, not in a superior/subordinate role, but as fellow vets and aviators. In the classroom, it was ALWAYS Mr. So-and-So between students and teachers…at the bar, at parties, or on the golf course, it was generally a first name basis.
It’s all about maturity and respect, something of which the teacher and student in question are entirely devoid.
Mr. Peepers
May 28th, 2010
12:02 am
PBM–you can spot a racist ten miles away–does my comment make me a racist? Or can a white man say a black woman is ugly without him being one step removed from being a kluck kluck??
Proud Black Man
May 28th, 2010
6:11 am
No it doesn’t make you a racist but your screen name makes you sound like a pedophile. Satisfied?
Understanding Atlanta
May 28th, 2010
9:15 am
Hey Y’all. I’m still wondering why this is suprsising to people. Not all teachers sleep with students but it happens and has been happening for a while. Couple of weeks ago I was at a family gathering going through my mom’s yearbook from ‘72. My mom and aunt’s were pointing out the few students that went with teachers.
While in college, I volunteered at a HS in S. Georgia and there was a teacher married to another teacher, except they started dating when the wife was still a HS student. Is it wrong, yes. Is it suprising, no. Are you going to get rid of everyone that would have a relationship with a student, unlikely.
Let’s be honest, especially if you’re a first year teacher about 23-24 and you have a student that’s 18. I can see them dating as long as they weren’t in the same district.
booklover
May 28th, 2010
10:46 am
To all the posters complaining about sexism and the fact that female teachers supposedly aren’t punished as harshly as male teachers:
A study by the associated press found that, while male teachers were much more likely to COMMIT acts of sexual misconduct, female teachers were much more likely to be prosecuted. Incidents involving female teachers were also much more likely to be intensely covered by the news media.
In my district, a male teacher was forced to resign last year for a very similar incident–some misconduct (exactly what was never determined) between him and a 17-year-old female student. Because of the laws at the time, he was never prosecuted, and the scandal barely touched the pages of the local paper, let alone the big papers in Savannah or Atlanta.
That said, this teacher clearly suffers from bad judgment.
citation: http://blackbirdwhistling.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/when-boys-cry-gender-bias-and-sexual-abuse/
Hot Dog
May 28th, 2010
1:05 pm
Rebecca sounds like a “Teacher of the year” last year in a county just north of atlanta that was nominated as a joke, by a guy that was leaving the district before he was forced. Teachers at the school were shocked and a few with connections polled every department and could not find one single teacher that voted for her although it was reported that she was elected by a land slide. The “Teacher of the year” mess is a bigger pile of dog poop than Sonny Boy. By the way I can’t think of anything more laughable than Sonny Boy getting involved in education ( something which he knows absolutely nothing about and the fact that he is educated is in much doubt )
Tony
May 29th, 2010
8:55 am
For purposes of the ciminal justice systems, 17 years old means that you are a legal adult. My respectful opinion is that everyone is making this young man out to be a victim when it is clear to me that he was the opportunist. The young and obviously socially inexperienced bookworm teacher (who must have big issues with self esteem) was infatuated by the big strong football star. Even though the teacher was twelve years older than he was biologically, his street I.Q. was higher than hers. He used her for six months while it benefitted him and when he did not get his way, he outted her. Now, her career is over and his life is just beginning. The real victim here is the teacher. Obviously, her upbringing did not allow her to mature enouch socially and she has paid a heavy price. Sometimes perception is not reality.
Economicwoes
May 29th, 2010
11:04 am
Former Woodstock High Student- You won’t see Danny Porter do anything to GCPS. He never has, or least not in the last 14 years.
VeronicaDekalbTeacher
May 29th, 2010
5:51 pm
It is sad, but I believe the teacher of the year is no longer an honor. A PE teacher at my school became teacher of the year, and then DISTRICT-WIDE teacher of the year. He can’t put two words together to make a sentence and doesn’t teach the children anything, not even sports. What criteria is used for teacher of the year? We believe he was hand picked by the principal…..and there you have it!!
Teacher of the year? Please!
May 30th, 2010
1:15 am
I work in Dekalb where theTeacher of the Year award is a joke! At one particular school it is clockwork that if a White person wins one year, the next year a Black person wins. Qualifications does not matter; the hue of the skin is more important. In addition, this award is given to the teacher who is most popular; it has nothing to do with merit. I have known teachers who are excellent in the classroom but not held in high regard by their peers; hence they are not even nominated. As you all know, DeKalb has many issues and this is one of them.
7 Days in May
June 1st, 2010
10:30 pm
Ahhh….she had “TENURE” (”…seven years of teaching…”).
and:(this post)SPOT ON! ROFL! Perfect! Exactly! Not an idiot sexually insecure whack job pervert unbalanced predator robe wearing cross burning freak among any of the teachers I know that were RIFed either!!!
Just want to say that all the teachers I know who were RIF victims neither had sex with students, nor did they dress in klan robes.
A CONSERVATIVE
June 5th, 2010
8:17 am
LIBERALISM & its lack of moral values is at the core of this problem…SEX outside marriage…& SEX with a teenage boy should have been a NO-NO with this female..Public Schools are not allowed to enforce Christian moral values in schools…
Truth
June 10th, 2010
2:01 am
Look at affair Dr. keith Thompson of GIVE West Middle had with fellow admisnistrator. Another prime time drama.
Like Im Really Gonna Reveal My Name
June 24th, 2010
12:23 am
I was a current student of Ms. Hall when this situation began and just so you all know Ms. Hall was a great teacher. She helped me become a better writer and helped me pass my Gateway Exam. She gave her classes an interesting twist to make lessons enjoyable and fun. It was very unfortunate situation Ms. Hall got herself into. But let us not forget that BOTH Teacher of the Year AND Football Star were in this together. BOTH of them were wrong. I also know the student and his grades were not that great to begin with. Im not saying that he’s lying, but the fact that he received an F….not that suprising. I also do not appreciate the fact that SOME people are saying things like “Shiloh is certainly not the creme de la creme of GCPS so no suprises there” (Rebecca). That is really offensive. A school’s reputation should not be based on what ONE teacher was accused of doing. I have had a great exprience at SHiloh. The principal, the teachers, and the students make the experience worth wild. Plus their Concert Choir, which i participate in and also directed by Mr. Craig Johnson, KICKS BUTT!!!!!!!