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Originally posted by jennybee35
reply to post by Brood
Wow. I have never heard of a high school that offers law classes, or client management and professional services classes. I had no idea there was a high school that offered psychology, either! Where the heck did you go to high school?
Originally posted by blamethegreys
Young people are, well, young. Easily impressionable and controlled.
Originally posted by blamethegreys
Look at it another way: A teacher friends a student on Facebook. If the thought crosses the student's mind, "If I don't accept will this affect my grade somehow?", then it is clearly a case of unequal power balance, and that is why it is inappropriate.
Originally posted by PETROLCOIN
There are many adults who are impressionable and easily controlled as well. There are many adults who are gullible or get easily attached. There are adults who are mentally challenged. Should it be illegal for adults who do not fall under these categories to date adults who do?
The laws against adults dating minors is not because minors are impressionable or easily controlled. It's because someone in authority at some point decided that someone over 18 could not date someone under 18. Personally, I don't know or see why.
Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with a law that punishes adults who engage in sexual relationships with minors; I don't think it's right for a 54 year old man to date a 12 year old girl. But what I do have an issue with is the definitions of "adult" and "minor". I see no reason why 18 should be considered the point at which you legally become an adult. Why not 16?
I'm under no delusion that there are not adult men and women out there who strive for sexual relationships with, or to impress upon or control, minors simply because they are minors. But not everyone over 18 who dates someone under 18 is a pervert or a pedophile. That's an incorrect assumption that a lot of these overly outraged, politically correct individuals make when they see or hear a story about an adult-minor relationship.
I do agree that that is inappropriate. But that needs to be dealt with as a separate issue, not used as evidence of teachers exerting their authority in order to engage in sexual relationships with the student. In the event that a teacher does send a friend request to a student, if the student is afraid of that if they deny it they will be targeted in class or through their grades, they need to involve their parents and the school, not accept it and open themselves up to other potential issues.