Teachers and Proms

A recent news article reveals that a track coach in Oregon, Melissa Bowerman, has been fired from her position because the married 41-year-old escorted one of the 17-year-old students to the school's prom.  The report (found at http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/track-coach-daughter-law-nike-co-founder-fired-141749438.html) quoted Bowerman as stating that she and the student "danced to 'a couple' of slow songs and spent the rest of the evening playing ping pong and foosball."

The motivation for this date, apparently, was to motivate the student to do better in his classes.  What is not clear was whether the student asked the teacher whether she would go with him, or whether it was the teacher who came up with the idea for the date -- to motivate the student (since he was depressed about the fact that he didn't have a date).  It is interesting (to me) that the student's father had no qualms about the date, stating that the coach was "like a surrogate mom" to the athletes.

I understand that romantic encounters between adults and minors are serious matters which must be dealt with.  I also understand that teachers are rightly scrutinized, precisely because they work in close proximity to minors on a daily basis -- interaction that is not always closely monitored.  But this wasn't something that happened in an unmonitored classroom; this occurred in a public venue.

I suppose this story catches my attention because of something that happened a number of years ago.  My wife was a school teacher at that time, and she was called upon to be one of the teacher chaperones at the school prom.  I went with her, and we danced to one or two songs.  She also noticed one of the teenaged girls was obviously wanting to dance, but was not being invited onto the dance floor by any of the male students.  She elbowed me and told me to treat the girl to a dance -- and I did.  There was nothing romantic or sexual involved.

Was I wrong to dance with the girl?  I don't think so.  Could someone have walked in while I was dancing with her, not knowing any of the "background," and had concerns?  Perhaps.

But isn't it troubling that we automatically assume the worst in such situations?  We assume guilt until innocence is proven ... ignoring the fact that the accusation itself will tarnish the person's reputation, often beyond repair.  Even worse, I can't help but suspect that this usually happens in the name of self-preservation.  That is, I would suggest that the dismissal was based on the school's fear of a lawsuit, as opposed to any concerns about the students and their interactions with this particular coach.

Perhaps I'm wrong.  Maybe the very fact that an adult shared a dance with a minor is something that cannot be tolerated.  It seems to me, though, that this only makes sense if we assume the worst and suspect that the dance was indicative of other, more serious, issues.  With no evidence to substantiate those concerns, I don't see a justification for the punishment.