So here I am again, learning about bloodborne pathogens for the umpteenth time. Every year, I relearn that a vaccine exists for Hepatitis B but not Hepatitis C. Every year, they tell me to put on my gloves and sterilize the dust pan. The information might prove useful and insisting that teachers regularly review the dangers of bodily fluids makes perfect sense.

I have other online modules to complete. I have finished diabetes, ADHD/ADD, suicide prevention and ethics and boundaries for school employees. The last module made me feel wistful and a trifle sad. The gist of the module appeared to be that almost all exchanges between a student and teacher ought to remain impersonal. No favoritism should be shown to any student. Teachers should not allow themselves to be alone with students. The module did allow that a coach could contact players to let them know a game time had changed, but suggested emails and other electronic communications to students ought to be cc’d to administrators.

This teaching module reeked of correctness as it laid out a set of rules spawned by our litigious times. I can’t fault the module. These are scary times. People sue Starbucks for drinks that are one ounce short, instead of asking the barista to please fill the cup.

But I thought of Denise. Denise came for afterschool tutoring when I taught her mathematics a few years back. That meant Denise was seeing me much more regularly than other students, since Denise was working hard to catch up on her math. That was my first boundary violation. We often closed the door to the classroom. That quieted the room and we could put on music, eat snacks and relax while we worked. With the door open, random students might walk in to request pretzels. So the door was closed, my second boundary violation. Anyone was welcome to walk in, study math and eat pretzels, of course. It’s entirely possible that (horror!) at some point I hugged the poor girl when she did a great job on a test or quiz retake. I’m no creeper and have zero interest in middle school girls, but I can be enthusiastic about great student efforts. That would have been a whopper of a boundary violation and I cannot say I did not commit that egregious transgression.

Issues of boundaries shut down tutoring in the winter. As it darkened earlier, Denise’s mom did not want her to walk home. Both she and her sister had been attacked on that route previously. I was not allowed to drive students. The school was fierce on that particular boundary violation. I tried walking her but, frankly, I felt unsafe on the walk back.

I felt wistful during that ethics and boundaries module because I know that twenty years earlier, I could simply have driven Denise home. I wonder how many students in tough areas are foregoing tutoring because they have to get home before dark? Poor districts often do not have the money for activity or late busses. Kids in those districts may have no option except to leave when the school day ends, despite a desperate need for remediation, too much remediation to receive during the school day.

Eduhonesty: Many, many students in America today require more than 7 hours of 180 days of education in a school year. In some areas, days and years ought to be extended to meet those needs. Buses should be available for students who stay late. If the federal government wanted to do something useful for a change, our leaders might allocate funds for late buses, allowing formal or informal extension of the school day.

In the meantime, I have committed a number of boundary violations and I will commit more. I wish someone would trust my common sense. With a few boys, and one girl, I have left the door open or even met in the library. I don’t drive students home. (Sigh.) But if I email students to cancel afterschool tutoring, I am not going to CC the administration. They have enough to do without tracking my every move.