By Chris Cannon
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Several Mid-State teachers were accused of inappropriate conduct with students. A victims advocate spoke out about what she calls a disturbing trend.
"I think that it's been happening for a long time, but people didn't know to say something about it," said Verna Wyatt from the group You Have The Power.
Wyatt explained a student's crush on a teacher is a normal part of growing up.
"What's not a part of normal development is that older person taking advantage of that crush. Kids aren't ready for this kind of stuff, they're not psychologically ready," Wyatt said.
She said inappropriate student-teacher relationships can be devastating for everyone involved. The teenager involved may not realize the impact on their life for many years.
"People who have those relationships early on like that, they have relationship problems in the future," according to Wyatt.
For the accused teacher this type of relationship can dire consequences.
"It's a life ruiner. I mean, if you act out on a student, your life is going to be ruined. You going to be on the sex offender registry, you're going to go to jail," Wyatt explained.
She feels it is a small minority of teachers who are not realizing an important fact about their relationships with their students.
"They might look like full grown adults, and they might act like full grown adults, but they are not your peers," Wyatt said.
Wyatt said she met with state education leaders who are looking into teacher in-service training to help curb this problem in Tennessee schools.
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