Teacher Leaves Wife, Kids for High School Student

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The_Hero_of_Men
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Teacher Leaves Wife, Kids for High School Student

Post by The_Hero_of_Men »

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/teache ... 00504.html

Last year, Jordan Powers was just another student from Mr. Hooker's class. Now she's his live-in girlfriend.

James Hooker -- the 41-year-old married father who left his wife and kids for his 18-year-old-student -- might be the worst teacher ever. Last week, he resigned from his job at Enochs High School in Modesto, California over the scandal that's shaken up a community and pit one mom on a crusade to save her daughter from a man she calls a "master manipulator." Jordan met her teacher as a freshman, but both maintain nothing physical happened until she turned 18 this past September. Hooker claims he saw Powers as "just a student" and had no romantic feelings toward her at first, but when her most recent birthday came around, things changed.

They changed so much, in fact, that Hooker, left his wife and three kids (one of them a 17-year-old Enochs high school student as well) so that he could move in with Jordan.

If this all sounds suspicious to you, imagine how Tammie Powers, Jordan's mom, feels. She's launched an official police investigation to find out if Hooker's relationship with her daughter began before Jordan was of legal age. Tammie is convinced it did, citing a photo of her daughter on Hooker's lap and text messages, emails and phone records exchanged between the couple that predate her daughter's 18th birthday.

"That's pursuit, in my opinion, with some type of intent," she told ABC News 10 in California.

Hooker denies Tammie's claims and is confident the investigation will turn up nothing. He blames the "stigma of the teacher-student relationship" for the public backlash. But Hooker's former boss, Modesto City Schools Supt. Pam Able, doesn't agree.

Even if their relationship doesn't break any laws, Able says she "considers student-teacher dating relationships to be not only unprofessional, but immoral." She also added in an email to the Modesto Bee, that Hooker's relationship has become a "source of great concern for staff, students and parents."

Read more: Shocking allegations against teachers in L.A. school

It must be particularly hard for Hooker's 17 year old daughter, now that her father has left to be with a fellow classmate and become a notorious figure throughout the school.

Still, Hooker claims he has no regrets. In an interview with Good Morning America, he shut down Tammie's accusations as a "pack of lies" and said of his new love, "we really do want to have a future together."

Watch: ABC News' exclusive interview with Hooker and Powers

Jordan, a quiet, fragile-seeming young woman, who looks closer to 15 than 18 years in age, gazed up at her former teacher, a man that looks every bit his 41 years, and said, "He's more than just a lover."

Jordan has now stopped going to classes and is finishing out her senior year by doing an independent study. She has limited contact with her mom, now that she's living with her teacher, mom's worst nightmare.

Desperate for her child, Tammie has turned her own Facebook page into a "most wanted" profile for Hooker. She's plastered his photo all over her wall warning neighbors about the man she calls an "arrogant pig". She's also made her wallpaper a photo of a prison cell, sending a message to Hooker should he dare visit her site.

Since the story has been picked up by national press, she's been flooded with messages of support from strangers. Tonight, she'll be taking her crusade against Hooker to Nancy Grace. "Nancy's always been a victims advocate and fights for justice," Tammie wrote on Facebook. "That's the goal here, justice."


Take that, feminism! :-) Of course the wife is not gonna be happy...
Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light. This man, who traveled through time to save the land, was known as the Hero of Men. The man's tale was passed down through generations until it became legend...
ladislav
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Post by ladislav »

As long as he is not breaking any laws, the guy is OK. And I wish him luck! At least he put love first and loved that young woman more that his job, his other family etc. So, he sacrificed everything for that love.
With so many lethargic men who cannot love, he does show that there is still love out there that will move you to do strange things.
And the girl is in better hands living with her teacher than with some irresponsible young Romeo.
Last edited by ladislav on March 1st, 2012, 7:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The_Hero_of_Men
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Post by The_Hero_of_Men »

ladislav wrote:As long as he is not breaking any laws, the guy is OK. And I wish him luck! At least he put love first and loved that young woman more that his job, his other family etc. So, he sacrificed everything for that love.
With so many lethargic men who cannot love, he does show that there is still love out there that will move you to do strange things.
One must wonder, what drove this gentleman to leave his wife and children for one of his (ex) students? I wish not to make judgements here, but it is possible that he was tired of his wife for various reasons. To be fair, though, it is likely that his wife may have done everything right. However, the way she reacted by trying to slander him was over the line, don't you think?
Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he sealed the dark one away and gave the land light. This man, who traveled through time to save the land, was known as the Hero of Men. The man's tale was passed down through generations until it became legend...
ladislav
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Post by ladislav »

I wish not to make judgements here, but it is possible that he was tired of his wife for various reasons.
Probably she was no longer as attractive to him.
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zboy1
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Post by zboy1 »

ladislav wrote:As long as he is not breaking any laws, the guy is OK. And I wish him luck! At least he put love first and loved that young woman more that his job, his other family etc. So, he sacrificed everything for that love.
With so many lethargic men who cannot love, he does show that there is still love out there that will move you to do strange things.
And the girl is in better hands living with her teacher than with some irresponsible young Romeo.
Ladislav, how can you condone the teachers behavior? I find it disgusting that a married teacher over 40 years old is having a relationship with a teenage girl that was once his student! Most likely, he had a relationship with her when she was around 15 or 16 years old. What about the emotional effects this relationship will have on his children and family? He leaves them in the dust for his former student that's young enough to be his daughter! Absolutely reckless behavior imo.
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Post by Think Different »

This would not even be an issue in most of the world, including Eastern Europe, IF THE MAN HADN'T BEEN MARRIED. I don't agree with him having left his wife and children (he should have divorced her first). Middle-aged men throughout the world marry younger women like that and the women and their families consider it a great fortune. Only in the Anglo-world is an age difference like that considered horrible. To me, the witch hunt after this man and others like him shows a hidden and latent pedophiliac tendency in Anglo society in general that people are afraid to admit. They see pedophelia where it doesn't exist. So, who's the pervert: the Anglo nations that freak out about such a relationship and that it's "wrong", or the nations where it's happened for thousands of years successfully, and such a thing is considered natural and healthy?

The West has such a twisted and bizarre view of sex and relationships that one can only call the Western mentality "perverted". Just an example: when my Italian wife and I had a son, my wife wanted to breastfeed him, but you should've seen the blowback from the American women. We were on websites reading up on proper diet, etc. and the comments from American women were so outlandish. They were saying things like "breastfeeding is gross", "breastfeeding is perverted", and the best of all - "breasts are for sex, not feeding".

Tell me again, about how "enlightened" the West and western women are? I'm SOOOOOO VERY GLAD to be living in a country that understands gender roles. Last night in one of my English language classes, my male students asked me if I speak English or Italian with my wife. I said, "primarily English". They asked why, and I said "because I'm the man and that's the way it is. It gives me the upper hand in the relationship" (since my Italian is not that great). You know what they did? They all nodded their heads in agreement and smiled, saying yes, yes! I'd probably get sued for saying something like that in the US.
WuFan
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Post by WuFan »

I give the relationship 5 months max.

After 5 months we can expect Mr. Hooker to join happierabroad to find a foreign wife.
Dogboy86
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Post by Dogboy86 »

Zboy1, hate to break it to you but Lad is 50 and dating women this age. I don't think you will hear cries of disgust from him. The funny thing is when a female teacher dose the same thing with a much younger male student she almost gets a nod, high five and a you go girl...
"Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity"!!!
ladislav
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Post by ladislav »

Dogboy86 wrote:Zboy1, hate to break it to you but Lad is 50 and dating women this age. I don't think you will hear cries of disgust from him. The funny thing is when a female teacher dose the same thing with a much younger male student she almost gets a nod, high five and a you go girl...
I am not married and would not be dating anyone if I were. I also do not date underage women and I have no kids. In the Philippines most eligible girls are married by the time they are 23 so that leaves either the most unattractive ones or those with baggage/kids. Also, I am originally from E. Europe so this whole thing is natural for me.

I do not pass judgements about this man but I admire the strength of his love and the sacrifice. I do hope though that he supports and visits his kids regularly, though.

Btw, this would never make news almost anywhere outside of the Anglosphere.
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Dogboy86
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Post by Dogboy86 »

I'm not passing judgment on you or the teacher Lad, just making a point to resident moralists...
"Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity"!!!
onezero4u
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Post by onezero4u »

if theres no proof he was banging her b4 18 than more power to him....however i predict they will break up within the year & then she will sceam out that he was nailing her since freshman year!!

i know police are investigating the situation & i know that if the roles were reversed, nobody would give too big a shit about it. even the cougars would probly throw a parade for the old hoe.
marriage is a 3 ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring and then suffering.
cadams84
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Post by cadams84 »

WuFan wrote:I give the relationship 5 months max.

After 5 months we can expect Mr. Hooker to join happierabroad to find a foreign wife.
Very nice.
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Post by momopi »

Repatriate
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Post by Repatriate »

zboy1 wrote:
ladislav wrote:As long as he is not breaking any laws, the guy is OK. And I wish him luck! At least he put love first and loved that young woman more that his job, his other family etc. So, he sacrificed everything for that love.
With so many lethargic men who cannot love, he does show that there is still love out there that will move you to do strange things.
And the girl is in better hands living with her teacher than with some irresponsible young Romeo.
Ladislav, how can you condone the teachers behavior? I find it disgusting that a married teacher over 40 years old is having a relationship with a teenage girl that was once his student! Most likely, he had a relationship with her when she was around 15 or 16 years old. What about the emotional effects this relationship will have on his children and family? He leaves them in the dust for his former student that's young enough to be his daughter! Absolutely reckless behavior imo.
You're making an assumption though. It's entirely possible they could have been attracted to each other when she was below the legal age but didn't allow it to move on to something else until she was 18. The media and community is already condemning him for this and honestly this happens a lot more than people realize. If she were a freshman in college would people give a crap? Not really. There are 20 something year old women looking for 80 year old billionaires to be their sugar daddies does anyone bat an eye about this?

They are still consenting adults. I'd say he's a lucky man that a sweet 18 year old is even interested considering the age difference. Leaving his wife and kids is not so nice but who knows what the marital situation was like? Maybe it was just miserable. Also, his kids are hardly kids..they are college aged.
Last edited by Repatriate on March 3rd, 2012, 2:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
Repatriate
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Post by Repatriate »

onezero4u wrote:if theres no proof he was banging her b4 18 than more power to him....however i predict they will break up within the year & then she will sceam out that he was nailing her since freshman year!!

i know police are investigating the situation & i know that if the roles were reversed, nobody would give too big a shit about it. even the cougars would probly throw a parade for the old hoe.
Yeah he's putting himself in an all or nothing situation. It's stupid to go on the news too. He should have declined all interviews and immediately lawyered up. Simply putting a name and face to his relationship on national news is extremely dumb. Most people are going to be extremely judgmental about this relationship.
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