I think that the issue of student-teacher boundaries is an important issue that everyone should take seriously. Crossing the boundaries could potentially jeopardize the relationship with a student and may result in ending a teacher’s profession. I believe, from my experience as a student and working with children in a school setting, that boundaries between the student and teacher are crossed more often than intended. There may be time were students may experience some kind of attraction towards a teacher. In this case, if the teacher becomes aware of the students feelings the teacher should remain professional and should not act on the feelings. The teacher been the adult should talk to a trusted friend or co-worker about whats going an eventually talk with the dean or principal. However, other boundary-related circumstances may not be as obvious and therefore may be more common within schools, such as; accepting a gift from a student, taking a student for drives in a teacher’s car and giving a student a home or cellular number. Any of these circumstances could lead to a more serious boundary-crossing issue. In order for teachers to avoid professional misconduct, they should make decisions based on a judgement of whether the teacher-student relationship would be damaged in such a way that the student may be harmed. The best interests of the student should always be in mind in any circumstance.
Teachers need to know the types of ethical boundaries that arise when teaching in order to prevent themselves or their students from being harmed in any way. Teachers need to be able to mask and control their emotions, realize when to let go, and avoid cursing in front of their students. Teachers should also not reward or punish a student based on their relationship with the teacher, their popularity, or favours done by the student or teacher. Talking about highly personal subject matter with the students or engaging in conversations with students when the student is sharing information that does not benefit the student crosses ethical boundaries.