In a message dated 22/10/2009 02:58:18 GMT Daylight Time,  
katherine.gotthardt at gmail.com writes:

i.e.  "No....you cannot ask your teacher on a date no matter how sincere 
you are,"  or vice versa.  



This is a cultural issue writ large, isn't it. To a Brit's eyes this  reads 
as a disappointing ban! If we are speaking about adult literacy there is  
no reason as such for making it forever impossible for a student and his/her  
teacher to come together socially under any circumstances. I am not even 
sure  you meant that, Katherine.
 
But, just as we were talking a while back about women coverings (hijabs etc 
 etc) the signals sent out may be widely differently interpreted by people 
from  different cultures. In mine, a very friendly woman wearing quite 
skimpy clothes  may be just that, to a man from another culture the signals may 
be much stronger  and may constitute an explicitly, and personally targetted, 
sexual signal.  I think we should dress appropriate to the most socially 
conservative culture in  the class, within reason, in order to ensure that 
lines do not get crossed. 
 
Stats about which gender is harassing which are very difficult to believe.  
There's so much confounding of the data. The thing is to avoid it, or  
accusations of it, as best possible without becoming paranoid!
 
Hugo


at: _http://www.hugokerr.info_ (http://www.hugokerr.info/) 

"We're here to help each other get  through this thing - whatever it might 
be." (Kurt Vonnegut) 
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