As a citizen of Nordheim I feel that the whole story of the whole situation at hand is not coming out. By the people who are accusing this young women of a criminal crime. The investigation by the police dept. was not conducted properly,because he had no parent nor lawyer present. The superintendent acted improperly also by constently accussing her on a daily basis,wanting to know if she was having an affair with the boy at hand. So before everybody goes and starts passing judgement on this young women you need to be in the circle of the people. Small towns have alot of cover up. What we also need to do is start investigating the school on other issues. I also think we need to have a superintendent & principle to be able to come up with the best decisions instead of one person talking and decision making the same.Hopefully the whole truth will come out in the wash!

Havivoca, some errors in judgement and crimes are worse than others. The AP report that came out in January of 08 on the sexual abuse scandal in PUBLIC SCHOOLS was rife with the names of women whose gross error in judgement sent them to jail. The Victoria Advocate was one of the few larger papers in the United States that printed this 3-part series. You can read it here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/21/teac...

The article discussed how many of these teachers are just passed around from district to district, and things are kept quiet just to avoid lawsuits and embarassment for the perpetrators and the school districts.

When it comes to protecting our youth, even the older teens who legally are still minors, passing around sexual predators just to see if they learned their lesson or not is too huge of a gamble.

This is what some dioceses Catholic Church did for a few decades, hoping that the counseling and reprimands the priests got "cured" them of the attraction for children and adolescent boys. Giving them second and third chances often meant more children were preyed upon.

I would hope that the public school system can take a cue from one system that experienced sexual abuse: you don't pass around the offenders "hoping" that they straighten up.

I don't want my child to be the evidence that some lady or man didn't learn their lesson.

WTF?????? So who decides whether she is good & valuable? What if she were a he & the child in question was 10 instead of 17? Would you then think it okay for the teacher to remain teaching because you feel they are good & valuable? That is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard!!!! Maybe, just Maybe, we should have teachers who themselves have morals & ethics so they can pass that on to our students, instead of STDs.

To shine a different kind of light on this subject: The school system is in a shambles in this country, this state and this community. We need every good, dedicated teacher we can get. I don't know if Ms. Walsdorf is a good and dedicated teacher or not, but if she is, she is an asset to our schools, even with her defects and "error in judgment". Believe me, when I was in school I had plenty of teachers who made plenty of errors in judgment. (Pupils see that before administrators do.)Let's say you are a parent across the country somewhere, and this teacher is hired at your school and you know about her background. Are you going to say "Oh, no, we got that rapist!"? Or are you going to say "I bet she learned her lesson and will never do that again, but we better keep an eye on her"?   Yes, I know.  She committed a crime. So did I.  She got caught and I didn't.

wow... I have renewed hope for America!

Here we have two women who've put the needs and values of society above the minority value system. i.e. These women *really* want equal treatment rather than the special treatment so many of our minorities see as equality.

My hat is off to you ladies. And not just because it's polite to tip one's hat to a lady.

Thank you.

Ernie

It is a double standard, especially in the media- female authority figure with a male minor- she's needs his attention, and he's just sowing wild oats.

Male authority figure with a male minor- he's a pedophile preying upon defenseless male minors.

Both are wrong and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Amen MaryAnn! The double standards gotta go!

VBB, I agree with your assessment, especially, "...too many female teachers are behaving in this manner. If this were a male teacher with a female student everyone else would be in agreement also. Remember the coach in Schulenberg??? Everyone was calling him a rapist, pedophile etc. Just cuz shes a 23 yr old female with a 17 yr old male doesn't make it okay."
I made the same point with the Ratcliff case to a few people. If the sheriff had been a female, then her approach and abuse of power with a 17-yr. old would have been viewed by many as a youthful sowing of oats by the young male with a female who was "needy."
Why was Ratcliff called a pedophile and this lady isn't? Go figure!
 She made an error in judgement and doesn't need to be around youth who are entrusted to her for uh... education.

I agree. The ages and/or age difference isn't the point of the impropriety of this situation, it's the relationship between these two. And I don't mean the boy/girl one.

It's for the same reason most companies have rules against relatives working together. Only the degree of impropriety is different.

One of the adages my wise old grandfather taught me when I was a kid (back when dinosaurs were just pups) was that one didn't...ummm... defecate... where one eats and one didn't....ummm...have intercourse... where one works.

It's worked out pretty well for me.

Ernie

I'm with dig on this one. this teacher needs to get the maximum penalty. too many female teachers are behaving in this manner. if this were a male teacher with a female student everyone else would be in agreement also. Remember the coach in Schulenberg??? Everyone was calling him a rapist, pedophile etc. Just cuz shes a 23 yr old female with a 17 yr old male doesn't make it okay.

I don't know JMO... a poster in the DUI thread alluded to that fact, but right now that is just all it is....

I would hope that isn't the case. That would be worse than the situation already is. Obviously, this teacher lacks the good sense to continue to be an educator.

I'm wondering if this teacher has been with more then one of her students at this same school.

While the Texas law stipulates a maximum penalty for such improper behavior, it remains for the courts to determine the penalty. Those of you who say the teacher should be punished "to the full extent of the law" have the burden to explain why. Or do you believe that EVERY lawbreaker ought to be punished to the FULL extent of the law, with no discretionary power to the courts to adjust the punishment according to the circumstances? Come on---tell us all the circumstances, and explain why those circumstances warrant the absolute alloweable penalty.

Once again, read my posts for the DUI story.

In thinking more about all the issues between the teacher/student, I feel for the whole student body, and especially for the young man finishing his high school senior year. With finals, reviews, and graduate festivities, this young man should not have to deal with the humiliation of something that is a natural thing for young people. Even the teacher who was finalizing her students year at school, she too does not need something that is natural for her age either. This whole thing should have been handled more efficiently, especially the students who are trying to complete their school year. This is so tragic for them.

This teacher/student are so close in age that this should never have been an issue. The DWI, I can understand that as we all know that driving/drinking do not make a good combination. As for a relationship between this girl/boy so close in age, I cannot see singling out this teacher. An older teacher/student, yes that is a problem, but not this age combination. Use some judgement!!!! In college these age groups are together all the time, and nothing is said. Sounds like those who judged the teacher have an issue within themselves.

Hey Sailor, You might want to read the Texas Penal Code, Sec. 21.12 "Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student".:)

Not to attack you, Red, but rumors tear down reputations. Shame on anyone who started rumors against any teacher, student, coach or athlete needlessly. My daughter was an athlete. I totally trusted her coach and I totally knew my daughter wouldn't do anything wrong like this. She was in the office many times watching game videos helping outline game plans for her position. Shame on anyone for making up lies that might have hurt any student or coach's reputation. That needs to stop.

Read my post for Nordheim teacher charged with DWI.

Plot line: Teacher is convicted.
Teacher gets 6 months of probation.
Teacher loses right to teach 'under 18' kids again in State of Texas.
'Accuser' sues school district and wins.
Teacher waits til 'accuser' to reach 18th birthday and resumes sexual relations and helps 'Accuser spend his settlement.
Teacher has at least one child by 'accuser.'
One more predator for our communites to put up with.

The end...

Teachers sometimes DO hit the brakes. If I had ever touched a child, (which I have not), I would have been jailed. And rightly so. As adults we have to learn to say one word, "No". And we have to have administrators that back us up when we REPORT the incident that the student started, not accuse us of "wanting" it or being guilty of it because the student says "wasn't me it was HER->". EVERY teacher is afraid of being falsely accused nowadays. Students turn things around if confronted about "asking a teacher out" and all the sudden the teacher is to blame. Teachers like this one make it very, very hard to report a kid. Especially if that kid is related to another administrator or teacher!!! The whole thing makes me sick. She wouldn't have been arrested if she had said "No!" and reported it. She might have lost her job for not "kissing" up, but THEY COULDN'T HAVE ARRESTED HER. Shame on her and thanks alot lady for making it doubly hard on me, another teacher!!! You make me want to throw up.

I went to this same school, lets just say 20+ years ago....And the same thing was going on then with some of my classmates and teachers.....of course nothing ever came of it back then, we graduated and went on our ways.....Come on, I mean the Senior class has less than 10 kids in it....everyone always knows everyone else's business. Just one more thing....Some people are very very smart, but lack common sense....I know quite a few of these, and I just can't figure them out....as for the "situation".....NO COMMENT......

So, you all think that just because the student was ONLY 6 years younger than the teacher, and that the "victim" was "probably" a willing participant that this incident should just blown off and allow the teacher to go on teaching teenagers.... She abused her authority as a teacher when she allowed this relationship to go as far as it allegedly did. That's not a little mishap, that is a HUGE mistake.... It was immoral, illeagl and unethical and down right stupid....

Oh sure, there was only a 6 year difference.... so that makes it ok for a 20 year old to have a romantic relationship with a 14 year old? No, that's wrong!!!

And yeah, I'll bet our young "victim" bragged to his friends:
Billy - Hey Joey! For sure I'll be gettin' an A in Miss Smith's class....after last night if ya' know what I mean?

Joey - Dude! You mean you hit dat! Dawg! you really hit dat! You da' man ! Hey Chuck, Billy did Miss Smith!!!

Chuck - No way man! Awesome!

Teachers are the adults and need to hit the brakes when students become a bit too flirtatious.... If they don't think they can "resist temptation" then they should consider a different career. And it doesn't matter how "mature looking" a teenage boy is or how "provacative" a teen girl is dressed. It is not open season! This teacher crossed the line and is in the wrong! Would you guys feel differnt if it was a 17 y/o girl with a 23 y/o male teacher? It shouldn't matter.

Im a student here at Nordheim and just to say that Im embarassed by all thats happened. I mean Nordheim is a place with what; 300 people? We hardly ever make headlines and to make one like this is just sad. Yes there are alot of things that the article left out, but I think it was for the better. Personally I think this should all just die down because no one knows all the details and no one probably ever will.

What do you think society gains by putting teachers in prison? How does that make America a better place?

This is happening all over the country. Go to www.schoolteachernews.com and click on the Scandal page. They have documented over 210 of these incidents since just the beginning of 2008.

There is only one head a 17 year old young man thinks with…
He did break the code.. when I was 17 you kept those things to the guys who would go to jail with you.. only the trusted circle… your buddies who have done it all with you!!!!

Glad to hear another voice of reason here, South! Who says she's the one that made the advances? And, I'm sorry, but have you seen some of these high school kids?!?!? They are WAY more, ahem, mature, than kids were at that age when I was growing up. Yes, she was wrong, she's the adult and should have resisted temptation. However, at 17 I don't think anyone 'molested' anyone. I'm certain there was a whole lot of mutual consent. And you know what they say, males reach their sexual peak at 17...so I'm with you. Please don't give me the BS about minors and poor decision making abilities, blah blah blah. I knew what I was doing when I was 17! I dated several people 4-5 years older than me. Although I didn't share that information with my parents. That dude knew exactly what he was doing and he used his bragging rights to ruin a woman's life. He broke the guy code.

When I was 17 I perused one of my teachers. English, wow was she hot!!! And just a few years older than I was.. But she did not fall “Victim” to me.. kept her head and her life..
There would have been no scars.. I wasn’t scared by the other conquests….

There is nothing wrong with the young man. He now has another “notch” in his “Gun Belt”

All of those “Sickened” folks what do you think goes on in young men’s’ heads??? The Teacher---she was stupid… and it will cost her dearly…. It is a shame though.

There is nothing any worse than a child molestor....disgusting. But a 23 year old woman and a 17 year old boy does not in my opinion represent child molestation. I wonder who seduced who? This has been going on for years....the 17 year old is thinking with the wrong head and the teacher had a stupid moment. Can anyone really believe that the 17 year old is going to be permanently damaged or that this teacher sought out to destroy and molest this young man?

"She is six years older than her victim, living in Nordheim what was she thinking." I'm curious to know how you came to the conclusion on the age. The article only states that the name and age were withheld because it was a minor.

One asked why a 23 year old would be teaching high school... probably because she has graduated with a degree and that is what her degree was in... I have a friend that started teaching high school math at 22... what does age have to do with it? In no way do I condone what this lady did but what age she is teaching should not be relevant. This lady is sick and should be reprimanded to the fullest extent of the law.

Whoa!! Alex Jones? Now there's a nut job!!
I think she meant Chris Hansen......

AND of course we know that it is all true. (it may be)
If it weren't--and someone were arrested and had their life ruined--THAT-- would be disgusting. Innocent until proven.......isn't that the way it should be.

What is wrong with people? You would think that with all the national news stories about similar situations, they'd know that it is ILLEGAL and morally reprehensible, and they are going to get caught, prosecuted and sent to prison..... I wonder if Nordheim has a nice B&B for Mike Hanson and the Dateline NBC crew.......

Shame on this teacher!!! Shame!

That makes me sick!!I can't believe it.That just proves that no matter where you go you will always find yourself surrounded by disgusting people who would risk their life for something so stupid. She is only 23 and it's just sad that she went from high school to college to teaching to jail losing her degree!!