You would have to be living under a rock (or not watch the news) to not know the latest
teacher scandal. From the
Modesto Bee:
A 41-year-old Enochs High School teacher in Modesto has resigned and moved in with an 18-year-old student. The reaction has been largely shock, disapproval and betrayal.
The
teen's mother has waged a very public campaign on Facebook since last
week, when her daughter moved out of the family's home and into a
Modesto apartment with the man. He has left his wife and children, one
of whom is a junior at Enochs.
Modesto police are investigating whether there was inappropriate contact before the girl turned 18 in the fall. And
school district and teachers union officials worry that an ethical and
moral line has been crossed, even if the student is legally an adult.
James
Hooker was placed on paid administrative leave Feb. 3 by Modesto City
Schools and resigned Feb. 22, he said Tuesday. Hooker taught business
and computer classes, and he was an adviser to three active campus
clubs.
"In making our choice, we've hurt a lot of people," Hooker
acknowledged. "We keep asking ourselves, 'Do we make everyone else happy
or do we follow our hearts?' " Hooker and Enochs senior Jordan
Powers said Tuesday in an interview at The Bee that they are making a
life for themselves "day by day."
Powers was in Hooker's virtual
business class and an associated club until his suspension. They said
they met when she was a freshman.
Tammie Powers, Jordan's mother,
said she believes Hooker pursued her daughter. She said her daughter's
grades fell this year, and Jordan had panic attacks. "I believe it
was the stress of the lie," Tammie Powers said. She said her daughter
was "always compliant," kept her room tidy at their Waterford home and
minded her curfew. No R-rated movies until she was of age. No lone trips
to the mall or the movies.
"I was really, really careful. I wanted her to be safe," she said. "In hindsight, in retrospect, I should have looked at things differently," Powers said.......
Looking back over phone records, she said
she found an estimated 8,000 text messages between the teacher and
student going back through the summer. In the fall, about 32 texts a
day, starting at 6 a.m. were recorded, she said......
On Facebook, Powers has called Hooker "an
arrogant pervert," among other things, and urged readers to "help get
the word out" about his involvement with a student.
The hundreds of responses are, for the most part, supportive of her. Many express disbelief.
Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2012/02/28/2090490/enochs-high-teacher-resigns-after.html#storylink=cpy
David Wainwright posted that he sees teacher and student as complicit
in the relationship, then added: "I just wouldn't of expected this from
my fav teacher. What is the world coming to?"
Modesto City Schools Superintendent Pam Able confirmed Hooker's resignation Tuesday morning.
"Allegations
of Mr. Hooker having a relationship with a student is the source of
great concern for staff, students and parents. I consider
student-teacher dating relationships to be not only unprofessional, but
immoral," Able said via e-mail.
Modesto City Schools Board
President Rubén Villalobos said Tuesday: "Schools need to be a safe
place. Anything less than that is a failure." He said he could not
comment on the case, but said in general teacher-student romances are
wrong "because of that unequal balance of power."
Hooker
knows his decisions may have cost him his teaching career. He taught
business courses for 15 years and advised three campus clubs — Future
Business Leaders of America, Mock Trial Club and Virtual Business Club. Extra
jobs such as the clubs earned Hooker $28,000 in added pay in 2009, the
latest figures immediately available. District records show Hooker made
$110,537 that year.
Hooker
and Jordan Powers said their relationship was strictly teacher-student
until mid-December, when they started talking more frequently and then
dated. "I just kind of knew that she's the one," he said.
Powers
turned 18 on Sept. 5, and Modesto police say that makes her a consenting
adult. However, Lt. Rick Armendariz said there is an ongoing
investigation involving a high school teacher and student.
Hooker
confirmed Tuesday that he remains the object of a police probe. He said
he is confident he will be cleared of accusations that any physical
relationship started while Powers was a minor. "There's no evidence of that. There's no proof of that. It didn't exist," Hooker said.He
said the criticism is part of a campaign of lies he and Powers face
online and in person. "I've been portrayed as a monster through all of
this," Hooker said. "I'm not a monster. I'm not any different than I've
always been."....
Hooker said he hopes to get a job in the private sector. "We're just taking it day by day," he said.