Would you be uncomfortable if you found out that your child's teacher had a "questionable" past?

Question

Suppose that it was in NO WAY related to children, mental health, or violent behavior. Suppose that it was something you had never suspected, and was an excellent teacher otherwise.

Examples could include:

danced as a stripper (but not during the day)

uses drugs or alcohol (again, not during the day)

has a criminal record

acted in p**n or posed in magazines

Would you notify the school administrators? Would you pull your child out of school? Or would you let it go?

Answer 1

Past is the Past if the teacher is excellent with the kids let it be don't take your child out the class everyone has grown from something.

Don't judge people on their past but their present.

Answer 2

No, their past wouldn't bother me at all.  In fact, if they had overcome adversity & bad decisions and come out of it with the life experience & outlook that helped them to be a good teacher, I would find it admirable.  And, adult to adult, or even, depending on the child, their age & their relationship with the teacher, the story might be interesting or inspirational.  

I'm curious about your question, though - what difference does it make if a person is a stripper or drug user during daylight hours as opposed to evening hours?  

Answer 3

the school wud already no, and if they wer an excellent teacher and had stopped ther wud be no point in notifying.....just make sure the students dont find out lyk at my skl  

Answer 4

let it go.. everyone has a past. and it takes alot to overcome them sometimes. if there are no questionable behaviors now why bring ghosts out of the closet? i am sure you have done things that other s might question.

Answer 5

The criminal record may concern me, depending on what exactly it was...

stripping, drugs/alcohol (in the past!), acting in p**n/posing nude... would not bother me so long as they didn't tell my child about it.

Answer 6

It wouldn't bother me a bit. Now if he were a s*x offender, or had a history of being inappriate with kids...I would run his/her *** out of town.

Answer 7

First off, teacher's cannot get certified if they have a criminal past. Secondly, if this doesn't directly affect the teaching or care of your own child than mind your own business, especially if you're hearing this through rumors. How would you like your child's teacher digging up things from your past and forwarding this information on to your employer and families! Mind your own business. We teachers are entitled to have a life outside of our work, and whether you know about it or not, it's not your business. For example: Should I have to worry every time I take a sip of wine when I'm out to dinner?? Please we need it to deal with parents like you.

Answer 8

hmm dunno some people can clean there act up..and learn from there mistakes..i dunno what i would do in that situation...but i did think that they gave background checks and all before even hiring a teacher...

Answer 9

I think everyone is entitled to a second chance. But I would definately keep my eyes open for questionable behavior. If anything came up that I thought would effect my child and/or other students, then I would take action. As for a questionable past...thats all it is, the past.

Answer 10

The criminal record and drugs would have me on the phone to the school administrator that exact minute. I could care less if adults legally drink alcohol during non-school hours, or if they did p**n or stripped. It isn't like they are going to teach the students "You need to go to college. If college is too expensive, just take off your clothes for money!"

Answer 11

Don't pull the child out of school, you can ask to have the child switched to another glass so she has a different teacher.

but it's the last one isn't it, she was in a p**n or posed in a magazine huh?

Answer 12

The last three examples would cause me to be extremely concerned.  Although, I would be prompted to action if this teacher felt the need to relay stories of their prior profession.

I concur with your statement regarding the difficulty of finding excellent teachers with all they have to contend with: rowdy/unruly students, lack of appropriate supplies and inferior wages.

Unfortunately, entry level jobs during college do not usually provide enough financial support to avoid, say exotic dancing, so I can empathize with that choice.

Hope this helps.

Answer 13

drugs or alcohol: who doesn't do that?  criminal record: depends on what the crime was.  p**n/stripping: that might make me feel a bit weird, but I'm not sure what I'd do about it.  As long as they were a good instructor, I'm not sure I'd do anything.  But, if you feel uncomfortable, you should say something.  A parent's instincts are rarely wrong.

Answer 14

First of all, the Board of Education does background checks on potential hires, not only in the classroom but for all personnel. The likelihood that you would learn something that the Bd of Ed didn't already know is not great and would most likely amount to rumor and conjecture on the part of someone whose kid was unhappy in the classroom.

The school has a fiduciary responsibility to employ individuals who do not pose a risk to the students. (This tenet was of course for many years out the window in the Catholic school but that is because the Church has such sway over potentially complaints.)

Keep in mind that dancing as a stripper is not a crime. Drinking alcohol is not a crime or 95% of the population would be in prison. A person can have a criminal record for any number of reasons. Posing in magazines or acting in p**n films for the most part is also not a crime. I doubt very much that such folks would be hired by a fundamentalist Baptist school, for example, and private schools are entitled to make such calls. But generally speaking, much of what you site is based on personal standards and not the law.

While it is always a great idea to be diligent about the people with whom are kids connect, I think its important to have faith in the system, provided that we know there is a viable system.

Answer 15

The only thing a parent needs to worry about regarding their child's teacher is what goes on in the classroom. If the "questionable" (read: not illegal) activities are not happening or being discussed in the classroom then it shouldn't matter. If they are an excellent teacher, then they are an excellent teacher. End of story. (And school administrators would already know about any criminal record anyway, and probably wouldn't have hired them.)

Teachers are people too and I'll bet you would be pretty angry if your boss fired you because you like to have a few drinks on the weekend or whatever else you choose to do (as long as it's legal of course)

Answer 16

I would let it go. Everyone has a past, you can't change that.  

Answer 17

I would let it go in most cases. People do stupid things and I think most deserve a second chance. Dancing as a stripper or acting in p**n, posing in magazines poses no potential threat to my child.

The only thing I would question really would be what exactly the criminal record came from.

Answer 18

All except for being a drug user, none of the other things would matter to me. I wouldn't pass judgement on a person who was a teacher who happened to have been a stripper or starred in p**n movies at some point in their life. That's none of my business. It's not like their past actions would have anything to do with their ability to teach.

I doubt that I would complain to the school administration. I would assume that when they were hired as a teacher, a thorough mental evaluation would have been conducted so I wouldn't see them as unfit.  

Answer 19

If as you said, it was in no way related to children or violence of any kind, I would have no problem with them.  

Answer 20

yeah no no.

i would just request a diff teacher

Answer 21

Any illegal activity including drugs I would have a problem.  A criminal record, it depends on what it was and if they have paid their debt. (If it's too serious then they wouldn't be hired)

The other, danced as a stripper or still does..doesn't bother me.

Alcohol, as long as they aren't drinking while working and they are of legal age, no problem.

p**n or in magazines...again, not too much to worry about

I found out a number of years ago that one of my favorite teachers from Junior High, moved got a job somewhere else and then had a s*x change operation.  That wouldn't even bother me.