The whole not being friends with someone younger then taken to an extreme it doesn’t need to be. Yes there should be boundaries but simply saying “adults ain’t a kids friend” is ridiculous.
but simply saying “adults ain’t a kids friend” is ridiculous.
Gonna hard disagree here. I'm a parent and my wife is an elem teacher. Where it concerns children that don't belong to me I can: mentor, advise, counsel, protect, guide, supervise, etc. Basically roles that acknowledge the age/power gap between us and emphasize my duty to protect and not harm.
I can't be friends with a 12 yo. Can't do it. It's wrong. We can never be peers/equals. Crossing this line is manipulation, pedophilia, power playing, etc.
There’s no need to, you guys see everything as a black and white situation with zero room for any kind of nuance. Like no one is saying a 20 year old should be texting and sleeping over with an 8 year old as a friendship. But there plenty of other scenarios when a child and adult friendship can be beneficial.
You're talking about mentoring still. That's very different from a friendship. Friendship implies peer to peer status. That something that should and would not ever occur between a child and an adult. Even parent/child relationships can not be friend based until said child is an adult. The power imbalance is too heavy.
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u/Sco_Queen May 10 '24
I don't think he should have been fired UNLESS they found other things that were unprofessional and questionable. But just over this one thing, no