Does A Teacher's Past Sexual Activity Matter?

As long as the reporter reported something which is demonstrably true, he broke no law. Ethical concepts of 'right' and 'wrong', 'fair' or 'foul', have nothing to do with the law. Let's not overthink this. The reporter did what he was paid to do -- his job is to report. The school committe did what it is supposed to do -- launched an investigation. The fact that a good teacher's reputation and, indeed, career may have been totally ruined by these actions is in no way legally germaine. We may sympathize with the teacher, but we can't point fingers and blame anyone ("blame" in any legal sense, I mean) other than the teacher himself.

he may have a completely different lifestyle....don't we all from when we were very young?

It's not just a matter of legalities--whether the reporter was guilty of libel or slander.

I appreciate Linkat's point about morality--about someone doing something for possibily malicious reasons to deliberately harm someone else, or disrupt their life. I would wonder about their motives.

Don't you think there are ethical considerations that go beyond the law? Are your notions of right and wrong limited to only what is covered by laws?

This is difficult because this teacher did not do anything illegal, but would I want my kids being taught by a porno star? Probably not. But is it any of my business – no. If it does not come into the classroom and the teacher asks appropriately in the classroom then I am ok. However, where this became public – how do you keep it out of the classroom? Who’s rights take over here?

It really is not right that this reporter brought it out. It should have been kept private. And then it would be no problem.

OFF DEADLINE: After teacher porn scandal, what’s next?
By Lisa Guerriero/ WickedLocalMelrose.com
Melrose Free Press
Posted Dec 03, 2011

Melrose, Mass. — If you’ve been following the story of the local teacher accused of appearing in pornographic films, you’ve probably seen the wide variety of responses from readers and residents.

Kevin Hogan, a high school English teacher at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School since September, was put on paid administrative leave following allegations he appeared in past pornographic movies. Located in Malden, the school also has students from Melrose, Medford, Wakefield, Stoneham, Saugus and other nearby communities.

News of Hogan’s alleged participation in adult movies was broken by Fox News. Since then, many readers have wondered who informed Fox, and what was the tipster’s purpose. Some readers contended it was concern for students, while others speculated it might’ve been someone who has a grudge against Hogan personally, or who has a problem with the school, since charter schools tend to have vocal opponents in Massachusetts. These are valid questions, but we may never know the answers, unless the tipster comes forward or is outed.

Perhaps the most important question is, what now? If the allegations are true, do Hogan’s actions mean he should no longer be allowed to teach at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School? The answer has less to do with Hogan’s alleged past than with the public scrutiny and potential concerns of parents. Until the initial buzz about this story dies down, it will be tough to determine whether Hogan can effectively return to teaching.

Many people who commented on the story argued that Hogan’s private life is his own business and doesn’t have any bearing on his ability as an educator. Some have described him as a good teacher who is worth keeping, and two Facebook pages have sprung up in support of him. One, facebook.com/firemikebeaudet, calls for the reinstatement of Hogan and the firing of Mike Beaudet, the Fox News reporter who broke the story. The other was reportedly started by students, and can be found by searching for “We Want Mr. Hogan Back.” Both pages have quickly gained numerous friends and supporters.

Hogan made it through the screening process at Mystic Valley, a top-rated charter school. His alleged participation in adult movies that were released last year wouldn’t have shown up on a CORI check, of course, because pornography isn’t illegal. He didn’t report it during the hiring process, according to a school official, but whether he should have done so — if in fact the allegations are true — is a moral question and not a legal one.

One reader noted that Scott Brown famously appeared in racy Cosmopolitan photos years ago. His photos aren’t the same as adult films, but there’s a clear parallel here. Brown’s centerfold doesn’t seem to have affected his ability to serve as a U.S. senator, and it certainly didn’t prevent him from being elected.

So, in theory, appearing in three adult movies shouldn’t stop a man from working as a teacher, which is a much less public position than a senator. Yet the issue isn’t so cut-and-dried. Hogan’s private life should have remained private, but the fact of the matter is that, in an era when the Internet makes transparency almost inevitable, very little information remains concealed.

Like it or not, when Fox announced the allegations against Hogan, it threatened the school’s reputation and its ability to function normally. Boston TV media swarmed the school after the story broke, which no doubt caused disruption for the teachers, students and parents.

The high-profile story could require parents to have conversations with their children that they’d probably rather avoid. And as another reader pointed out, there’s a good chance that some of the high school students will be looking up their teacher on the Internet, and they won’t be looking for his educational credentials.

When Hogan’s alleged past was a secret, it didn’t affect his teaching or coaching of the crew team, but that may no longer be the case, however unjust. At the time of this writing, school officials were conducting an internal investigation and have been silent on how they’ll deal with the scandal. Whether they’ve received complaints from parents and whether they believe he can still be an effective teacher remains to be seen.

School officials face an unenviable decision. They need to determine if the allegations are true, to weigh the ethical and legal implications of releasing a teacher for something in his personal life, and to consider whether the school’s reputation and the quality of education will be damaged by the scandal.

Based on the facts that have come out thus far, and on the initial public support for Hogan, we hope the school officials can find a way to put this behind them and keep Hogan on their educational team.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/news/lifestyle/columnists/x1560334422/OFF-DEADLINE-After-teacher-porn-scandal-what-s-next#axzz1fiSWiFjF

While the reporter had the option of simply making the info available to the school district, and letting them decide what to do, one has to wonder why he chose a more sensational, and somewhat sleazier approach, seemingly designed to maximize public embarrassment to both Hogan and the school.

Oh my god, a TEACHER had a pornographic past?! ... WHO CARES?!

Like many of the posters on here, I agree that Mr. Hogan's past should not jeopardize his career as a teacher. This modern witch-hunt is abhorrent IMO. As long as a teacher's "questionable" (for lack of a better term) past is legal and does not come into the classroom environment or interfere with the education of the students, it shouldn't be a big deal.

I had no interest in his personal beliefs nor the history of his life.
That has applied, in my mind, to all teachers

I had no interest in his personal beliefs nor the history of his life.
That has applied, in my mind, to all teachers

That may have been you, David,

but I don't know that necessarily applies to high school students who have access to their teacher's naked image in porn videos. I think that many of them would be plenty interested in getting copies of those videos, and looking at them, and, once that happens, that's going to destroy what should be an appropriate student teacher relationship.

What this teacher did by appearing in those porn videos was incredibly stupid and an act of incredibly poor judgment if he had any intention of wanting to pursue his teaching career. And he didn't do these things as some act of youthful indiscretion, he appeared in those videos last year. And these aren't "private" matters since he appeared in a commercial porn product that is publicly available. While he might have chosen to omit this info on his job application, did he really think knowledge of it wouldn't surface at some point?

So, not only did he make an error in judgment in appearing in the porn, his second mistake was in not being open about it when he applied for his job and letting his potential employer decide whether they wanted to hire him anyway.

He set the stage for this story to erupt and to do so in a manner guaranteed to put the school in a difficult position.

While I don't agree with the way the Fox reporter chose to break the news, in our internet age, this story would have surfaced sooner or later.

I don't think this is just about teachers having an obligation to be good role models,

it's also about the image of themselves that teachers, or anyone else, want to make publicly available.

And, when those public images involve being naked and appearing in a sex romp designed to elicit sexual arousal in the viewer, the boundary between extremely private matters and one's public persona--as a teacher--shatters, somewhat irretrievably. You can't put this genie back in the bottle. Those images will always be available for view, and will affect your ability to command the respect and dignity that being a teacher requires.

I keep thinking how much worse this would probably be if it were a female teacher whose three porn videos, and still images from such videos, were available to her teenage male students through the internet. Would anyone really question whether she could ever again regain the proper respect in the classroom if her male students were also pleasuring themselves with her naked images after finishing their homework?

How about commanding respect from their dads on parent-teacher night?

Or respect from male colleagues?

You just can't successfully present yourself as a blatant sex object and a teacher at the same time without those presentations of yourself becoming hopelessly confused.

And I do think that adversely affects students and the educational process.

So, as badly as I feel for the teacher involved in this mess, after giving the matter considered thought, I really think he should resign. He put himself in this situation, and he put his school in this situation, and I think that his resignation would be his way of taking responsibility for the consequences of his actions.
And this certainly should send a message to teens about being careful about the images of themselves that they post or send to others.

He needs to keep his priorities straight.