Usually I think that one’s day job and one’s personal activities ought to be kept separate. Lawyer by day, dominatrix by night? No one’s business but your own I say. You want to teach English history and write smut on the side, that’s your decision.Calls for Professors, Deans, and Provosts to resign for sexual behavior outside the classroom are uncalled for, I think. But a recent case in Canada has me thinking that sometimes it does matter what one says, does, or writes outside the workplace. Here’s the case: According to the CBC, the head disciplinarian for Ontario teachers has resigned after it was revealed he authored a sexually infused novel for teenagers. Jacques Tremblay is stepping down from his position as chair of the Ontario College of Teachers’ discipline committee after it was revealed that Tremblay co-authored a teen novel, The Sexteens and the Fake Goddes. The novel published in 2008 tells the story of two Grade 9 students who rely on “cleverness and sex appeal” to confront authority figures.
The content of the novel and the author’s day job seem to me to be in conflict. I think it’s right that he resigned. Thoughts?
You can read more from the CBC here.