Teacher’s ‘moral obligation’ misguided

A school dean has been disciplined for her ‘‘good but misguided intentions’’ in closely supporting a suicidal, self-harming student.

The young teacher felt a ‘‘moral obligation’’ to provide a sisterly relationship to the 18-year-old girl, allowing her to take ‘‘refuge’’ in her office during class time, and sleep in her room during a school trip.

The relationship was not sexual but the teacher’s actions – including messaging the girl through Facebook, meeting outside of school, and picking her up from therapy sessions – breached professional boundaries, the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal said.

The teacher, whose name has been suppressed, was fearful that distancing herself from the student or getting the school involved would worsen the teen’s mental health issues. ‘‘Because of the respondent’s own depression, she felt like she could understand partially,’’ the tribunal said.

She too received emotional support from their relationship: On one occasion, the student called her mother to help the teacher, who was drunk and had taken pills. The girl had come over to the teacher’s house unannounced.

The tribunal’s ruling, published yesterday, said the teacher was warned by the school principal and her own psychologist that the relationship was inappropriate. The student was ‘‘manipulative’’, the principal cautioned.

The student twice expressed suicidal thoughts to the teacher, in March and May of 2017.

The teacher became the student’s main confidante and support person throughout the year. She helped the girl re-dress her wounds from self harming and frequently spoke to her about her anxiety and depression.

The teacher also did her chores, and brought her food, clothing and toiletries. The girl called the teacher’s mother ‘‘grandma’’.

The tribunal noted the teacher was a new and inexperienced dean who had not received training on dealing with mental health issues.

She sought guidance from other deans and teachers about the student but was reluctant to involve senior management, believing it would upset the girl.

‘‘She was told that, as a dean, they have to go above and beyond for some students,’’ the ruling said. ‘‘The respondent ended up in a position of being isolated with the problems of [the] student . . . with inadequate professional support to assist her to draw lines [and keep the student safe].

‘‘Teachers who lack the ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries . . . will set poor role models and may result in even more serious misconduct. Mutual emotional dependency can arise and in the worst cases sexual relationships can develop.

‘‘Teachers are guides, not friends,’’ the tribunal said.