Educating children has always been a passion of mine and education is what I have chosen as a career in my life. Through the years, I have realized how passionate I have become about things that are a reality to my everyday life. Several of my interests have been influenced by my job and my career choice. I find that I am always staying up to date with education politics, I try to stay informed about new things available for my classroom, and I even do corny things like sing nursery rhymes while I’m in the company of adults. These are the fun things in education… however we all know that education has a dark side as well. It hurts my soul to hear stories about children who are being neglected or harmed by their teachers. I often come close to tears when I turn on the news and hear about children that have been influenced by the world and have brought many home issues to school. Teachers have a special job and it should never be abused. I work with children everyday and seeing their smiling faces and laughing at their crazy jokes is what makes me happy.
Recently I happened to catch a show on tv that talked about an interesting area in education… an area that most teachers dare not go...
It’s a topic that isn’t mentioned as often as other things, however when it is mentioned it seriously puts a stain on education. Mr. Clark used the word “imbrue”- to taint to stain…. This story was quite interesting because sometimes when you have expectations of certain consequences, you find out that some people aren’t quite on board. I’ll tell you exactly what I mean….
The story started with discussing two teachers who worked for the same school district and happened to live in the same apartment complex. The school board was interviewing one of the teachers because she was the only eyewitness to the crime that had been committed. She agreed to come forward with this information and also agreed to be taped while volunteering the details of the offense. These two teachers didn’t have a close relationship but they were cordial because they worked at the same school and they lived in the same neighborhood. Miss Junglen was a middle school teacher at the school and was being accused of committing the crime and Miss Brown taught in elementary at the school and she was the eyewitness.
One Saturday I was on my way to my apartment and I saw Miss Junglen approachin’ the building with some guy that I had never seen around before. To me, he didn’t look like no young man, he looked like a young guy, maybe high school or somethin’, but I didn’t think nothin’ about it. I kept walkin’ toward the building and when Miss Junglen saw me comin’ she started walkin’ towards me. In my mind I’m thinkin’ what she wont? She asked me how I was and how my day was and we started talkin’ for a lil bit. I guess catchin’ up because I hadn’t heard from her in a while. She told me she started tutorin’ on the side for extra money and that she was tutorin’ with this kid all mornin’. I started lookin’ around for the kid and I couldn’t find ‘em. He must uh walked down the street or somthin’ because that boy was gone. “I don’t know where he was but he wasn’t there anymore.” Miss Junglen told me that she was coming back to pick up her laptop because they had taken a break and went to a restaurant to ease their minds from all the work they were workin’ on. She said that they were gonna head back to Starbucks to keep studyin’ for his exam that he had to prepare for. I told Miss Junglen that I had to go to the store because I needed to buy some stuff for the party that night. She already knew about the Cinco de Mayo party that the Parshe’s was throwin’ but she said she didn’t know if she was goin’. Both of us started walkin’ up the street, just small talkin’, and as soon as we turned the corner there was that boy. He was puffin’ so hard on a cigarette lookin’ all nervous and stuff. We talked for about another minute and then I couldn’t make up my mind about what I wanted to take to the party, so we all walked back toward the apartment. She asked the boy, “Chris do you know Miss Brown, she works at the school too.” Because this boy was in high school, I didn’t know his face. I couldn’t even remember ever seein’ him around school, seemed like a nice boy though. So we get back to the building and go in the lobby and Miss Junglen told the boy that she would be right back down after she got her laptop. He didn’t go up to her apartment and he didn’t do nothin’ he wasn’t s’posed to do so that was it. I went to my apartment and that was all I saw of him on Saturday. Miss Junglen came to my apartment about 20 minutes later sayin’ that she had decided to go to the Parche’s party and that we should go together, and we did.
So the next time I saw the boy was on Tuesday. I was feelin’ a lil sick that day so I called off from work and stayed home. I know I didn’t wake up until about noon that day, I had been so tired. I’m in my apartment and I hear Miss Junglen’s door open. I’m thinkin’, oh she must have been “sick” today too. So I look out my peephole and I see Miss Junglen standing outside the door and low and behold I see that same boy come out behind her. You know, the boy that she was s’posed to be tutorin’ on Saturday. He gave her a kiss on the lips and my mouth dropped. Both of them got on the elevator and went on bout they business but I was shocked. I didn’t know if my eyes had served me correctly so I ran to my balcony to look over and see if it was really him. My eyes was right… wearin’ the same ol hoody that he had on that Saturday, I just knew this would get her in a whole heap of trouble. Now I do understand that Miss Junglen is still a spring chicken herself but this boy is a chick if you ask me. He aint old enough to be with no Miss Junglen. So I calls my good friend Sophia and I say, “guess who I just saw comin’ out of Miss Junglen’s apartment?” Sophia works at our school too and she couldn’t believe it herself. While I’m thinkin’ its school gossip, she says, “Miss Brown, you know you need to gone and tell the school board and let them take care of it.” So I did. Sophia always serves me right, she’s a good fren’ of mines and I know she has my best interest in mind. That’s why I’m sittin’ here talkin’ to ya now. After the interview, the school board told Miss Brown that they would document all of the information that she had volunteered and would get back to her later.
Because the boy was too young to be taped during the interview, they could not air his part of the story. He denied having a relationship with Miss Junglen and denied ever having any physical relations with her. He denied ever being in her apartment and denied ever having any contact with her outside of the tutoring sessions that he was paying her for. After gathering this information from him, the school board asked Miss Brown to come in and share with Chris the information that she had shared earlier with them.
I still can’t believe they asked me to come and confront that boy. I guess they thought that with him seeing my face again he would admit to all his sins but he didn’t. I went in the room quietly and I sat right down next to him. I looked at him and I told him straight up… I saw you at Miss Junglen’s house, I saw that same green hoody from Tuesday and I saw it on you on Saturday. Crazy… crazy… cus when I looked down at what the boy was holdin’ in his hand there was the evidence right there, the same green hoody that I was talkin’ ‘bout. He even had it with him during the investigation. You kissed her in the mouth and ya went to the store or somethin’ cus you came back with bags… but he stuck to his story he said, “you must have a mistaken identity because it wasn’t me.” Alright Mr. School Board… da boy den made up his mind. He must play baseball or somthin’ cus the way he slammed that door when he left out the room… he had some strength in them arms.
At this point the interviewing video was shown again because Miss Brown was not only asked to confront Chris, but she was asked to confront Miss Junglen as well. Mrs. Junglen had no idea about what was going on and Miss Brown was very hesitant to confront her. “I told dem that I would sign a paper, I would admit to sayin’ it, but I did not want to confront Miss Junglen face to face.” “They convinced me to do it, I had to fess up to what I had seen.”
When I got in there I was quiet… the school board told her the information that had already been gathered and told her why she was havin’ this meetin’. He told her facts for facts until he got to my part, then he said, “Miss Brown you can continue from here.” I looked Miss Junglen right in her eyes and I said I’m sorry for havin’ brought you in on this mess. The boy that you introduced me to on Saturday was the same boy that I saw comin’ out yo apartment on Tuesday. You didn’t know but I called off of work on Tuesday and I was at home when he was at ya house. I saw ya kiss and I saw ya leave and come back with some bags, and even later on that night when ya ordered Papa Johns, the pizza man rang my door bell first and I let him in. I couldn’t see through my peephole which one of ya answered the door. This mornin’ on ya way to work I heard ya door open again and I saw both of ya come out. I saw ya get on the elevator. I thought he was leavin’ with ya but he came back up and I guess got in the bed while you headed to work. Miss Junglen was speechless. You could hear the crickets just fillin’ up the room. The school board looked at me and said, “Miss Brown thank you” and I took that as “you may leave now” and got my stuff and hurried up out of there. Shockingly I heard that Miss Junglen confessed to everything.
After all of the investigations had taken place, Miss Brown laid low and waited to see what would happen. The student was actually 19 years old. The law states that you have to be 21 years old to have full consent and until then you are considered a minor. Chris was a minor during this relationship. Confessions indicated that Chris’ parents were fully aware of the relationship and supported it. The relationship had progressed over a span of 4 months and both the student and the teacher were passionately in love. The parents suggested that if the teacher was forced out of the school, then she could come and live with their family. Miss Junglen and Chris could not see themselves without each other and felt like they could not continue to live without being in each others' lives. Since the dark had been exposed to the light, they would have to accept the consequences that were given.
Amazingly, there were no tabloids invading this case. There was no CNN, Fox 2 News, or Alton Telegraph. This case was “shhhh’d” and swept under the carpet for years. I don’t know if Miss Junglen had some great contacts to help her in this case or if truly the school board felt sympathy for her. To protect Miss Junglen from humiliation, she was allowed to submit a letter of resignation stating that she had to leave the school because of family issues. Nothing about this incident was mentioned concerning her teaching certificate or her teaching career. She left this incident without a trace. Because years had gone by during the time this episode was aired, Miss Junglen could not be charged with anything concerning the case. She was free. When the show had caught up with her to give an update on how she was doing, she refused to comment and denied all allegations. There may be many Miss Junglen’s in our schools, however not many of them get off this easy.
Often when these situations happen we tend to blame the teacher first, then the parents, then the child. In this case, there were MANY people to blame. There are many people who need to examine their positions and decide why they have accepted their role in education. All educators and administrators need to have the students’ safety as their first concern. Miss Junglen probably left that school with no remorse and with no regrets. I would not be surprised if there were more “Chris’” that had been added throughout the rest of her years of teaching. These are the things that make me question not “education” but “people”.
Now close your eyes and ponder on the details of this story and think about your reaction if this were your child… if this were your school district…if you were Miss Brown…now consider this…. what if I said I never turned on the tv…
Recently I happened to catch a show on tv that talked about an interesting area in education… an area that most teachers dare not go...
Inappropriate teacher and student relationships.
It’s a topic that isn’t mentioned as often as other things, however when it is mentioned it seriously puts a stain on education. Mr. Clark used the word “imbrue”- to taint to stain…. This story was quite interesting because sometimes when you have expectations of certain consequences, you find out that some people aren’t quite on board. I’ll tell you exactly what I mean….
The story started with discussing two teachers who worked for the same school district and happened to live in the same apartment complex. The school board was interviewing one of the teachers because she was the only eyewitness to the crime that had been committed. She agreed to come forward with this information and also agreed to be taped while volunteering the details of the offense. These two teachers didn’t have a close relationship but they were cordial because they worked at the same school and they lived in the same neighborhood. Miss Junglen was a middle school teacher at the school and was being accused of committing the crime and Miss Brown taught in elementary at the school and she was the eyewitness.
One Saturday I was on my way to my apartment and I saw Miss Junglen approachin’ the building with some guy that I had never seen around before. To me, he didn’t look like no young man, he looked like a young guy, maybe high school or somethin’, but I didn’t think nothin’ about it. I kept walkin’ toward the building and when Miss Junglen saw me comin’ she started walkin’ towards me. In my mind I’m thinkin’ what she wont? She asked me how I was and how my day was and we started talkin’ for a lil bit. I guess catchin’ up because I hadn’t heard from her in a while. She told me she started tutorin’ on the side for extra money and that she was tutorin’ with this kid all mornin’. I started lookin’ around for the kid and I couldn’t find ‘em. He must uh walked down the street or somthin’ because that boy was gone. “I don’t know where he was but he wasn’t there anymore.” Miss Junglen told me that she was coming back to pick up her laptop because they had taken a break and went to a restaurant to ease their minds from all the work they were workin’ on. She said that they were gonna head back to Starbucks to keep studyin’ for his exam that he had to prepare for. I told Miss Junglen that I had to go to the store because I needed to buy some stuff for the party that night. She already knew about the Cinco de Mayo party that the Parshe’s was throwin’ but she said she didn’t know if she was goin’. Both of us started walkin’ up the street, just small talkin’, and as soon as we turned the corner there was that boy. He was puffin’ so hard on a cigarette lookin’ all nervous and stuff. We talked for about another minute and then I couldn’t make up my mind about what I wanted to take to the party, so we all walked back toward the apartment. She asked the boy, “Chris do you know Miss Brown, she works at the school too.” Because this boy was in high school, I didn’t know his face. I couldn’t even remember ever seein’ him around school, seemed like a nice boy though. So we get back to the building and go in the lobby and Miss Junglen told the boy that she would be right back down after she got her laptop. He didn’t go up to her apartment and he didn’t do nothin’ he wasn’t s’posed to do so that was it. I went to my apartment and that was all I saw of him on Saturday. Miss Junglen came to my apartment about 20 minutes later sayin’ that she had decided to go to the Parche’s party and that we should go together, and we did.
So the next time I saw the boy was on Tuesday. I was feelin’ a lil sick that day so I called off from work and stayed home. I know I didn’t wake up until about noon that day, I had been so tired. I’m in my apartment and I hear Miss Junglen’s door open. I’m thinkin’, oh she must have been “sick” today too. So I look out my peephole and I see Miss Junglen standing outside the door and low and behold I see that same boy come out behind her. You know, the boy that she was s’posed to be tutorin’ on Saturday. He gave her a kiss on the lips and my mouth dropped. Both of them got on the elevator and went on bout they business but I was shocked. I didn’t know if my eyes had served me correctly so I ran to my balcony to look over and see if it was really him. My eyes was right… wearin’ the same ol hoody that he had on that Saturday, I just knew this would get her in a whole heap of trouble. Now I do understand that Miss Junglen is still a spring chicken herself but this boy is a chick if you ask me. He aint old enough to be with no Miss Junglen. So I calls my good friend Sophia and I say, “guess who I just saw comin’ out of Miss Junglen’s apartment?” Sophia works at our school too and she couldn’t believe it herself. While I’m thinkin’ its school gossip, she says, “Miss Brown, you know you need to gone and tell the school board and let them take care of it.” So I did. Sophia always serves me right, she’s a good fren’ of mines and I know she has my best interest in mind. That’s why I’m sittin’ here talkin’ to ya now. After the interview, the school board told Miss Brown that they would document all of the information that she had volunteered and would get back to her later.
Because the boy was too young to be taped during the interview, they could not air his part of the story. He denied having a relationship with Miss Junglen and denied ever having any physical relations with her. He denied ever being in her apartment and denied ever having any contact with her outside of the tutoring sessions that he was paying her for. After gathering this information from him, the school board asked Miss Brown to come in and share with Chris the information that she had shared earlier with them.
I still can’t believe they asked me to come and confront that boy. I guess they thought that with him seeing my face again he would admit to all his sins but he didn’t. I went in the room quietly and I sat right down next to him. I looked at him and I told him straight up… I saw you at Miss Junglen’s house, I saw that same green hoody from Tuesday and I saw it on you on Saturday. Crazy… crazy… cus when I looked down at what the boy was holdin’ in his hand there was the evidence right there, the same green hoody that I was talkin’ ‘bout. He even had it with him during the investigation. You kissed her in the mouth and ya went to the store or somethin’ cus you came back with bags… but he stuck to his story he said, “you must have a mistaken identity because it wasn’t me.” Alright Mr. School Board… da boy den made up his mind. He must play baseball or somthin’ cus the way he slammed that door when he left out the room… he had some strength in them arms.
At this point the interviewing video was shown again because Miss Brown was not only asked to confront Chris, but she was asked to confront Miss Junglen as well. Mrs. Junglen had no idea about what was going on and Miss Brown was very hesitant to confront her. “I told dem that I would sign a paper, I would admit to sayin’ it, but I did not want to confront Miss Junglen face to face.” “They convinced me to do it, I had to fess up to what I had seen.”
When I got in there I was quiet… the school board told her the information that had already been gathered and told her why she was havin’ this meetin’. He told her facts for facts until he got to my part, then he said, “Miss Brown you can continue from here.” I looked Miss Junglen right in her eyes and I said I’m sorry for havin’ brought you in on this mess. The boy that you introduced me to on Saturday was the same boy that I saw comin’ out yo apartment on Tuesday. You didn’t know but I called off of work on Tuesday and I was at home when he was at ya house. I saw ya kiss and I saw ya leave and come back with some bags, and even later on that night when ya ordered Papa Johns, the pizza man rang my door bell first and I let him in. I couldn’t see through my peephole which one of ya answered the door. This mornin’ on ya way to work I heard ya door open again and I saw both of ya come out. I saw ya get on the elevator. I thought he was leavin’ with ya but he came back up and I guess got in the bed while you headed to work. Miss Junglen was speechless. You could hear the crickets just fillin’ up the room. The school board looked at me and said, “Miss Brown thank you” and I took that as “you may leave now” and got my stuff and hurried up out of there. Shockingly I heard that Miss Junglen confessed to everything.
After all of the investigations had taken place, Miss Brown laid low and waited to see what would happen. The student was actually 19 years old. The law states that you have to be 21 years old to have full consent and until then you are considered a minor. Chris was a minor during this relationship. Confessions indicated that Chris’ parents were fully aware of the relationship and supported it. The relationship had progressed over a span of 4 months and both the student and the teacher were passionately in love. The parents suggested that if the teacher was forced out of the school, then she could come and live with their family. Miss Junglen and Chris could not see themselves without each other and felt like they could not continue to live without being in each others' lives. Since the dark had been exposed to the light, they would have to accept the consequences that were given.
Amazingly, there were no tabloids invading this case. There was no CNN, Fox 2 News, or Alton Telegraph. This case was “shhhh’d” and swept under the carpet for years. I don’t know if Miss Junglen had some great contacts to help her in this case or if truly the school board felt sympathy for her. To protect Miss Junglen from humiliation, she was allowed to submit a letter of resignation stating that she had to leave the school because of family issues. Nothing about this incident was mentioned concerning her teaching certificate or her teaching career. She left this incident without a trace. Because years had gone by during the time this episode was aired, Miss Junglen could not be charged with anything concerning the case. She was free. When the show had caught up with her to give an update on how she was doing, she refused to comment and denied all allegations. There may be many Miss Junglen’s in our schools, however not many of them get off this easy.
Often when these situations happen we tend to blame the teacher first, then the parents, then the child. In this case, there were MANY people to blame. There are many people who need to examine their positions and decide why they have accepted their role in education. All educators and administrators need to have the students’ safety as their first concern. Miss Junglen probably left that school with no remorse and with no regrets. I would not be surprised if there were more “Chris’” that had been added throughout the rest of her years of teaching. These are the things that make me question not “education” but “people”.
Now close your eyes and ponder on the details of this story and think about your reaction if this were your child… if this were your school district…if you were Miss Brown…now consider this…. what if I said I never turned on the tv…
