.... and you don't think maybe the internet has anything to do with your list of teacher/student relations? I graduated in the early 1990's, we didn't have the internet, you never heard of teacher/student relations? It was scarce, a aberration. Is there a pattern here, with anything and everything on the internet and only a page that asks you if your 18 or not, what a fool proof plan. This behavior will only get worse, not better. You here or see 3-7 year olds smoking marijuana on YouTube and the young mind sees that as being cool. Hugs are a casualty, maybe you need to join the real world for just a second. With beer and cigarette prices climbing, it's good to see that the real problem is addressed, beer and cigarettes of course.

"Teens spend more time with teachers than they do with their parents." Thats the saddest statement ever. And we just accept that.

Teens not only are spending more time with teachers but teens are becoming more sexualized and learning that all affection leads to or is demonstrated by sex. Morals are disappearing on both the adult and student side and will continue to grow. Is this all new? Not really I could count 5 teacher/student affairs when I went to HS( 1978-82) and it was not as taboo as it is today. It was just something that happened and those are the ones I knew about openly. It did not make the news, it was not a big deal everyone knew it was happening. We have just become hyper sensitive and highly focused on sex, sex may have meant a little more, we did not hook up for fun before dating, we did have friends with benefits but no one called it that, and oral sex was something you read about in book, not worried about 5th graders doing. Times have changed but not for the better.

Hugs and sex are not the same thing. Am I the only one who can tell the difference between hugging a second-grader and sleeping with a sophomore?

Kudos to the teachers who will still give a hug when its needed.

No Uncanny, you are not the only one who can tell the difference between hugs and sex. But unfortunately there are plenty of people who can't, including parents, teachers,and students.

I'm sorry, but where did I get the (apparently) wrong impression that a teacher's job involves more than TEACHING?? Since when did a teacher become qualified and certified to become a COUNSELOR, or, a PSYCHOLOGIST?? A teacher can show that he/she cares for students by preparing creative and interesting lessons. If one-on-one tutoring with a student is needed, can't the teacher do so in his office and with the DOOR OPEN?? We don't pay our teachers to be PALS and CONFIDANTS to our children! We pay them to INSTRUCT. Somehow, I managed to finish school with two degrees and do so without a single HUG from a teacher.

Did I read this right:

"A substitute teacher in Granite School District was sentenced to three months probation for fondling a 13-year-old girl in his car."

Three months probation? Then he gets to teach again? He should have gotten a long prison term and should never be allowed near a school again.

"A Dixie High teacher was charged with sexual abuse of a 7-year-old girl. He was already awaiting trial on sexual battery charges related to classroom behavior."

Why was this creep still allowed to be around children if he was being charged with sexual battery in the classroom? Some administrator's head should roll.