A Bryant, Arkansas, “former” high school teacher has been charged with six counts of felony sexual assault. Courtney Speer, 31, resigned from her 9th grade teaching position at Bryant High School after a 17-year-old student told authorities he and Speer had had sex on at least six occasions. Speer is married and has two children.
When I saw this bit on my local news last night, naturally I texted my son and his wife, both graduates of Bryant High School, to ask if they knew this woman. Neither of them had heard of her, but they have been out of school a few years so it’s possible she began working at Bryant after they were out of school.
There are conflicting details. One story says Speer and the student started having sex when he was her student in 9th grade English, when he was fifteen. Most stories say that they started having sex in June of this year in the school parking lot. IN THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT. Wow. This is new heights (or lows?) of stupidity.
Seriously, Ms. Speer? What part of “sex in the school parking lot with a student” says “good idea!” to you?
Teachers having sex with students is something I just can’t wrap my head around. I mean, I’ve been a teacher. Never, at any time, have I been the slightest bit attracted to a student. Usually when you hear about student-teacher sex scandals these days, it’s men with boys. There have been two or three of those cases right here in my home county. But women having affairs with male students is not unheard of. The most famous case, of course, is that of Mary Kay Letourneau, who went to prison from 1997 to 2004 for having sex with her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. She was married with four children at the time. The two continued the relationship during her imprisonment and she had two children by Fualaau while incarcerated. They got married after she was released.
Oh, how times have changed. Or maybe not. When I was a sophomore in high school, two of my school’s football coaches were having affairs with female students. One was married with three kids, and the girl he was seeing and I were in his biology class together. Yeah, pretty awkward, since it was an open secret throughout the school what was going on. The other coach was younger, unmarried, and his girlfriend was a year older than I. She was also his student and his student aide during the class period I had him for history. The School Board eventually called both coaches on the carpet. They told the married coach to cut it out or be fired and put his on probation, whatever that meant, but the unmarried coach? They told him as long as his personal relationship was not evident during school hours, he was fine.
Now this School Board was comprised of very conservative, Church of Christ town leaders. We students were like, WHAT? The girl in question was quite mature for her age, and her parents didn’t have a problem with her dating this man and they were a prominent family in our small town, but STILL. I couldn’t get over the sight of the two of them walking off the field arm in arm at the end of every football game on Friday nights.
The weird thing for me is that typically, the teachers involved in these scandals are not unattractive. Other people report that they seem to be nice, normal human beings. So what’s the deal? Why can they not find someone to have sex with WHO IS NOT THEIR STUDENT??? A partner, even, WHO WON’T LAND THEM IN JAIL. There must be thousands of potential partners for any given person of reasonable attractiveness and intelligence. So really, why go there? Some of them are ALREADY MARRIED, which, of course, is not the same thing at all as having a sexual partner.
I’m not normally a judgy-type person, but I judge these teachers and find them seriously wanting as human beings. They are supposed to be taking cared of these students, not taking advantage. I don’t care if the students were willing participants, and I suspect many of them are. They are still kids, and the teachers are adults in positions of trust and enormous responsibility. Teachers who break this trust deserve to have the book thrown at them.
Yes. I just said that.
Sarah
10/03/2012
There was an incident like this when I was in high school. The teacher was promptly removed, which was fine, but I don’t think any charges were pressed. So, at least we go after these people now.
Still, the question for me remains: What do you find attractive about 15 year old boys? I live with a 15 year old boy. They are not attractive. I don’t think you can even mistake teenage love/lust for attraction, no matter how flattering it may be. I don’t remember finding 15 year old boys attractive when I was 15! ICK.
Andrea
10/03/2012
it IS ick! I was a substitute for a while and the boys flirted with me a ton, but it’s not like I was even remotely tempted by that. they’re children! the response to teenage boys flirting with you is an eyeroll and a, “You wish.” ick.
Handflapper
10/03/2012
Yeah, I’ve had that experience, too. My only thought was, “They’re ridiculous.” I would NEVER.”
Handflapper
10/03/2012
EXACTLY. I didn’t like 15yo boys when I was 15, or 17yo boys when I was 17.
Angie Uncovered
10/03/2012
I have asked that myself several times when I see these things on the news. I have a 16 y/o boy and cannot fathom what would be attractive to a grown woman. Of course I wasn’t attracted to 16 y/o guys when I was a teenager either.
Handflapper
10/03/2012
I wonder if these women are trying to recapture their youth. The link to the Mary Kay Letourneau story has a gallery of female teacher sex offenders and they have all the same look to them. Most are blonde, all are attractive and look like they work hard to stay that way. Maybe they need reassurance that they’re still youthful? Yuck.
Andrea
10/03/2012
I get the whole don’t do it at school thing when it’s at the college level, because, you know, it’s legal. but sex with an underage anyone is illegal! slap on the wrist? really? good grief. I have no words.
Handflapper
10/03/2012
Back in the day, in the case at my school, I’m pretty sure the authorities told themselves the couple weren’t necessarily having sex. Not everyone who dates has sex, after all. No one ever caught them in the act, and the girls never made a complaint, so where was the proof? Still, a romantic relationship of any kind with a student is WRONG.
BTW, the coach at my school who was allowed to date the girl? The girl ended up breaking up with him because he wouldn’t make a commitment to her. She started dating a boy her own age. A couple of years later he started dating a girl a grade behind me (I had already graduated by this time, so she was a senior) and they’ve been married some 20+ years now.
Lucy Ball
10/03/2012
Former teacher here. It never ceases to embarrass me about my chosen profession when I read this stuff. These are children. They are vulnerable and clearly being preyed upon. Makes me sick.
Handflapper
10/03/2012
I know some students go after their teachers, but again, they are CHILDREN. It’s up to the adults to make responsible decisions.
brahm (alfred lives here)
10/03/2012
In the parking lot…? Man and these jerks were such a class act until that point.
Criminal act, people, and technically speaking the violation of trust and of a child…she should be locked up, period.
Handflapper
10/03/2012
I keep thinking about her own children. I don’t know how old they are, but how would she feel if they had been treated like this by their teachers? I have a feeling that she’s too selfish and immature to care much.
annonymous
10/03/2012
I was 15 and “fell in love” with my coach. He was 9 years my senior. It was exhilarating and exciting. I felt powerful and important. My friends knew though I didn’t talk about it much. When my parents discovered what was going on, they reported it to the school. I was forced to talk with the administration, which was extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing. As trite as it sounds, I was victimized by the system. Having to sit in front of police officers telling them about the intimate details of our “relationship” was beyond humiliating.
But this was in the 90′s. There was not a lot about this in the public eye and there was no statute for it at the time. My parents hired a powerful attorney. But ultimately, I still felt that he loved me and was certain I loved him. They couldn’t force me through a lawsuit and when he plead No Contest, I stuck my feet in the mud and wouldn’t continue.
It took me MANY years to realize how irresponsible, selfish and totally inexcusable it was of him. When I turned 24, the age he was when engaging in relationship with a 15 year-old, I got it. I was mature, yes, but extremely young and vulnerable. It changed a lot for me in a quick period of time. I am SO glad there is precedent set to protect students. Anyway you look at this, it is an inappropriate use of power, NO MATTER the age difference. I hope our consciousness about it in this decade saves other young people from this kind of abuse. Because ultimately, that is what this is…
Handflapper
10/03/2012
Abuse is exactly what it is. Teachers who get involved with students must be immature and selfish to feel an attraction in the first place.
Sarah
10/03/2012
Anon, I just want to respond to your comment and tell you: Thank you for sharing your side of the story. No snark involved here– I really do appreciate that you spoke up and told us what happened when you were a teen, because I think a lot of us have difficulty in understanding what it’s like on the ‘inside’ of these scenarios.
Handflapper
10/03/2012
Yes, what Sarah said. Thank you.
Vinny C
10/03/2012
We had a case here a year ago that was a major scandal. A male teacher at a prestigious all-girls school was caught sending nude pics of himself to some of the students. He was only 29 & engaged. I just don’t get it.
Handflapper
10/03/2012
Ick. Couldn’t there be some sort of screening, a psych test or something that would weed these freaks out of teaching programs?
I’ve said it before and often. Teaching does not tend to attract the best and the brightest as a profession.