Former Teacher Allenna Ward Sentenced

Allenna Ward, a 24-year-old middle school teacher, was charged with engaging in sexual acts with five boys ages 14 and 15 years old. Ward, a teacher at Bell Street Middle School in Laurens County, South Carolina, was sentenced today to six years in prison.

Engaging in sexual acts with minors is always inexcusable but when a teacher is involved it becomes even more of a travesty. Parents expect to be able to send their children to school to be safe, the last thing they expect is that it might be a teacher putting your kids in a dangerous, and illegal situation. You expect to send your kids to school and have the teachers be role models to them, not to exploit them.

While this is a completely inexcusable act, there is another side to the story. The Liberty Sphere explains that this case can be looked at form a completely different angle. They say that these accusations are racially charged. All the boys involved in the incident are black. They feel this has something to do with her being prosecuted to this point. They also explain her side of the story about the sexually explicit note that was turned into the Principal. It says that the boys were talking during class and Ward told the boys that if they had something to say to Write it down. She then saw that they had written something sexually explicit about her, and she threw it in the trash. Somehow the discarded message found its way to the principals office. They say that Ward was found guilty by the public opinion before any facts to the case were even known.

While we may never know all the facts to this case and if Ward was wrongly accused or not, it gives us all something to think about. Any of us that work with children have to be especially careful. I previously worked with at risk teenagers with behavior management. We had to be very careful about what we said and did to make sure it wasn't misconstrued. Whenever a teacher or administrator was in a room with a student of the opposite sex they needed to make sure they had another adult with them. We also had to make sure that anything we said or did would not be taken wrong by the students.

Teachers and other people who work with children need to keep this in mind. You should never be alone with any student male or female. If you suspect they might be spreading rumors or you hear or see them talking about you and sexual explicit things, you need to mention it to an administrator immediately so they can handle the situation. It is important when you are dealing with any kids, Its sad that teachers have to be so careful, but with the things young kids see and do these days you don't want to take any risks. Kids can get mad at their teacher and from seeing these cases in the news or watching these things on TV or n the movies, makes them realize that if they accuse the teacher about this it will take the blame off them and make the teacher get in trouble. Teaching is a hard job these days. It is always better to be safe then sorry.