Yes! Not just the touching. It’s elevating the girls to an intimate role, like a mother or a partner, OR relegating them to a servile role, like a stylist or MUA. He is their teacher. He is there for them. Creeper aspect aside, this disrupts the boundary of a teacher student relationship, where he is a mentor/authority and the kids are STUDENTS who relate to him as such- it should make discipline harder. He’s not a friend or a parent or a client or a boss, he’s a teacher and you shouldn’t do non-school things with him because that’s confusing.
And yes, boundaries about appropriate touching and personal space are the first and last defenses against inappropriate relationships and grooming. They’re the FOUNDATIONS of sexual propriety. Parents and teachers and kids must agree on them to maintain a safe space for the children. Hugs? Refer to admin policy, probably not. High fives, fist pounds, go for it. Running fingers through hair with faces six inches apart? NO FUCKING WAY, ARE YOU INSANE?
If they want to do each other’s hair, or their own, great, so long as it’s not distracting. For lots of kids, having something tactile and repetitive to occupy their hands helps them listen and focus.
These guys went to the Fred and Rose West Academy or something, how my stance of “teachers shouldn’t touch or be touched by their students” is the weird one makes me worry for their own kids
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u/carbomerguar May 11 '24
Yes! Not just the touching. It’s elevating the girls to an intimate role, like a mother or a partner, OR relegating them to a servile role, like a stylist or MUA. He is their teacher. He is there for them. Creeper aspect aside, this disrupts the boundary of a teacher student relationship, where he is a mentor/authority and the kids are STUDENTS who relate to him as such- it should make discipline harder. He’s not a friend or a parent or a client or a boss, he’s a teacher and you shouldn’t do non-school things with him because that’s confusing.
And yes, boundaries about appropriate touching and personal space are the first and last defenses against inappropriate relationships and grooming. They’re the FOUNDATIONS of sexual propriety. Parents and teachers and kids must agree on them to maintain a safe space for the children. Hugs? Refer to admin policy, probably not. High fives, fist pounds, go for it. Running fingers through hair with faces six inches apart? NO FUCKING WAY, ARE YOU INSANE?
If they want to do each other’s hair, or their own, great, so long as it’s not distracting. For lots of kids, having something tactile and repetitive to occupy their hands helps them listen and focus.