Prairie View

Sunday, October 19, 2008

When Teachers Fail

Several area public school teachers have been in the local news recently for ignoble reasons. One, who is also a coach, was captured on camera in a tirade against his athletes, in which he used the f-work sixteen times in one minute. The record was posted online. The other is a long-time teacher who was convicted of molesting an exchange student who stayed in his home. Testimony at the trial came from three people who claimed to have also been molested by him 30 years ago.

Both of these men have been vigorously defended by current and former students and their parents who speak of all the good these people have done. They cite instances of caring and going the second mile they observed in these men. One person said of the alleged molester "He is not capable of doing what he's been accused of."

Although I don't know either of these men personally, I find these incidents very unsettling.

On the one hand, the molester's betrayal of trust and the coach's shocking lack of self-control and common decency make me want to nail them both to the wall. How could they do those despicable things--to minors, no less?

On the other hand, I see these flawed individuals as being a lot like the rest of us, able sometimes to be their best selves, and at other times, failing to live above the stresses and temptations that assail them.

I would be happy to hear that there was admission of wrongdoing and an obvious desire to seek forgiveness and restoration. In the absence of such admissions, I'd hope they would not continue in a mentoring role to young people. Being a winning coach or a good speech and debate teacher are not compelling enough reasons to continue as educators in the presence of such significant wrongdoing.

What if they clearly repented? What then? Should they be able to continue in the teaching profession? I don't know. I'd like to say yes. If the "whole world" is watching, it seems to me that it's unlikely that the objectionable behavior would be continued, and the good qualities that some people see could still be a benefit to everyone.

Legally, and in the public eye, the molester is in far more trouble than the potty-mouthed coach. I wonder how God looks at it. Offending a "little one" was condemned by Jesus, and both words and deeds can certainly be offensive, even to high-school-age children.

I feel sorry for the students and the people on staff in the schools where the coach and the speech teacher worked. I'm sure they feel betrayed and sad. Probably some of them are downright angry and would find it hard to forgive even if forgiveness was sought. Others who thought highly of these people keep going over their good qualities and try in vain to reconcile what they saw with what they know now was present, but not on public display (except when the coach slipped up in tense moments during ball games). I can imagine that it's hard to feel confident that their own assessment of people has any validity at all, because they were so far wrong in this case.

Sin always has consequences, and when people indulge in wrongdoing, they have no power to control the results. Sadly, innocent people often suffer as surely as the guilty ones.

I'm glad God unfailingly sorts things out accurately when he deals out final consequences. Until then, guarding my own heart and actions, praying for teachers and others in mentoring roles, seeking discernment from Him for the present, and trusting Him to right all wrongs in the end is the best I know to do.


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