A Christchurch teacher who formed an intimate relationship with a 16-year-old student and kissed him is appearing before the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal in Wellington this morning.
The female teacher, who has interim name suppression, is charged with forming an inappropriate relationship with the boy by befriending him on social media and kissing him.
She is also accused of forming an inappropriate relationship with at least two female students by having inappropriate personal conversations with them, and telling them about her secret relationship with the male student.
The teacher, who was in her first year of teaching when the offences occurred, said she'd had suicidal thoughts since, and was indecisive about coming to give evidence before the tribunal.
"But part of me accepting my actions is also accepting the consequences that follow,'' she said.
She had been working as an art teacher at her old high school at the time and said she could relate better to her students than her colleagues.
The respondent said she "felt really bad'' about what she'd done.
She is seeing a psychologist to address her issues and learn how to make strategies around boundaries and say no to people.
She accepted her actions had implications for the students involved "and they are going to have to live with that for the rest of their lives''.
She said she had been trying to help the student she kissed with his own issues, "but I've become one of them''.
The woman resigned after the offences and says she does not plan to return to teaching in the immediate future.
She has bought a one-way ticket to Europe to immerse herself in the culture and regain her passion for it.
In the meantime, she was working with high school students in her new job at a supermarket butchery, and said she was making sure to keep her distance.
The charges were brought by the Complaints Assessment Committee.
