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Steve and Mia: Teacher emailed photo to teen girl

Q: My daughter is a junior in high school. She has a bit of a crush on her English teacher, who is in his late 20s. I didn't give it a second thought until I happened to see a photo of him on her iPhone. I confronted her, and she said they'd exchanged pictures.

Q: My daughter is a junior in high school. She has a bit of a crush on her English teacher, who is in his late 20s. I didn't give it a second thought until I happened to see a photo of him on her iPhone. I confronted her, and she said they'd exchanged pictures.

The photo isn't sexual at all, but the mere fact they exchanged pictures has me worried. Later this year, he is taking his class on an overnight field trip to New York to see a Broadway play. From all accounts the guy's a good teacher and the kids like him, so I don't want to call the principal and get him fired. On the other hand, I don't want him putting his hands on my daughter during this trip.

Don't tell me to prevent her from going. She's been talking about it for a while and she'd probably run away if I tried to stop her. Any advice?

Mia: Volunteer to chaperone the trip. Your presence will ensure that this "crush" your daughter has doesn't go any further than it has. If that isn't possible, schedule a meeting with school officials and show them the photo. Don't accuse the teacher of anything. Just voice your concerns as a parent and point to the upcoming trip.

Your daughter may be mad at you but, decades from now, she'll understand why you did what you did. She'll also thank you for keeping her safe.

Steve: The teacher may have violated school policy by having private email exchanges with your daughter. Since you don't want him fired, instead of going to his superiors, go to him. Tell him you know about the photo, and if he ever even looks at your daughter funny, he's gone.

Q: This past New Year's Eve was the worst in my entire life. At the time, though, I thought I was having fun. To make a long story short, I got really drunk and hooked up with a guy at a party in my girlfriend's condo. I'm fresh out of a relationship and I guess I was feeling vulnerable.

My girlfriend found us and made a really big stink about our doing it in her bed. She's obsessive about germs. Now she's not talking to me. She told all our other friends. I feel like such a slut.

Mia: Slut-shaming sucks, big time. But it was pretty skanky to do it on her bed like that. Couldn't you at least have gone to the guy's car?

Joking aside, you acted like a wild woman, and now you've got some amends to make. Call your girlfriend and apologize. Maybe send her some flowers or a new bedspread.

Next, you've got to forgive yourself.

But before you move on, you need to figure out why you acted like you did. Being on the rebound from a relationship isn't an excuse to go on a drunken sex binge. Maybe you need to rethink the role that alcohol plays in your life.

Help from a professional therapist might be in order. And while you're at it, you'd better get yourself tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Steve: Drinking never cures a broken heart. Staying busy and meeting as many new people as possible does.