By Editorial Board
Everybody’s seen it, either in movies or real life: it’s that teacher that invades personal space when standing over their student’s shoulder, that coach who gets a little too involved in the stretching of their athletes, or the boss who reserves that special promotion for the employee who’s willing to do a little “extra work.” No matter how we experience that crossing of the professional boundary, it happens, and no matter what, it isn’t a good thing.
“There is an appropriate professional boundary to be had,” Superintendent Dr. Charles McCormick said.
On the contrary, the professional boundary isn’t always had. With a new policy in place, the Kaneland district has implemented suggestions for their staff regarding student communication. While the changes aren’t required, staff is strongly recommended to carbon copy (cc) an administrator if they send a text or e-mail to a student because it protects the staff member.
“We can’t legally tell somebody what they can and can’t do. [These suggestions] protect everyone,” McCormick said. “It should inhibit people from engaging in inappropriate relationships.”
“It’s a strong recommendation for staff [to cc an administrator] because of their reputation and what they can get into. It’s to cover their behinds. Before you send something, think it through first,” athletic director Leigh Jaffke said.
However, not every professional is going to do this, so this new “strong suggestion” isn’t enough. Adults who want to cross this boundary are going to, so students are also responsible for making sure these boundaries aren’t crossed. More responsibility falls on the adult because they’re more aware of inappropriate situations than students, but we also need to be careful. Varsity tennis coach Tim Larsen texts his players.
“I text information about tennis to the team, and I copy it to Ms. Jaffke,” he said. “I try not to [text] too late, because that seems weird, and I make sure that it’s always strictly related to the team.”
There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with texting or e-mailing, as long as it’s related to the professional relationship in a professional way.
“You can have a close relationship with a student while still maintaining a professional one,” Jaffke said. “[Contact] should always be school-related. We’re not calling you up and saying, ‘Whatcha doing?'”
Technology becomes an enabler in situations like this. There’s a possibility of a personal relationship, which could lead to inappropriateness.
“There are good uses for [technology],” Larsen said. “It’s important to highlight the good uses. You have to respect the potential dangers of making that personal relationship available. A lot of it is common sense.”
Larsen also suggested that professionals make sure parents are aware that staff might use texting as a form of communication.
“It’s every professional’s responsibility to handle things in a professional and respectful manner,” he said.
Contrary to popular belief, not all too-personal relationships start out with crazy perverts.
“All these problems [with boundary crossing] start very innocently with well-meaning people, but they become things they just shouldn’t become,” McCormick said. “It’s pretty clear what should be happening in the relationship. But if there’s a needy student, and a needy adult, and you put them alone with minimal supervision, the relationship basically goes south. It’s like matches and kerosene.”
What’s even worse is that these relationships aren’t always sexual. In other situations, professionals may use their students or athletes as a way of getting ahead, and using blackmail to get those students to do favors for them. There’s not necessarily any real way to recognize the violation of these boundaries, so we need to use common sense. If it feels wrong, it probably is.
“[Staff members of all schools over the years] have been urged to develop relationships and get to know students. There’s a limit that that should not go beyond, and that’s the boundary,” McCormick said.
If a line is crossed, we need to know it’s okay to say something to someone, but lines shouldn’t be crossed in the first place. We shouldn’t put ourselves in a situation where that can happen.
“[Personal relationships] expose you to that potential downside,” McCormick said. “What is the upside? Is [the relationship] needed?”
No. There’s no reason for you to need to see your teacher’s Wall on Facebook.