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Thank you for your letter explaining what things are like at school with your teacher. I can hear how much you like him and youve thought about how things could be in the future. You feel close to him but at the same time youre worried that you might be becoming a nuisance to him. Youre aware that if something was to happen between the two of you while youre at school that he would get into a lot of trouble.
It's normal for someone to feel attracted to a person they respect and admire or share interests with but it's important that each teacher maintains strong boundaries within each pupil / teacher relationship. Lots of young people can develop feelings for their teachers but any relationship between a teacher and pupil that goes beyond their role as a teacher is wrong. Your teacher is in a position of trust and its against the law for him to have any kind of personal relationship with a young person he works with under the age of 18.
I can hear how you're getting more and more frustrated with the situation. You can no longer talk to your friends about how youre feeling because there are now rumours at school that youre sleeping with him. Maybe you could think about whether you could change how much time you spend talking to him if it's making things difficult for you both at school.
If you were not at the school where he works there could still be some questions and concerns from other members of staff about his professionalism and appropriate behaviour. This could be difficult for him. Most teachers don't have that kind of relationship with people they used to teach because it can be seen as unprofessional.
It might be helpful to look at our message boards. Heres a thread where young people offer support around having feelings towards their teachers.
It sounds important that you have the space to talk things through and this is exactly what ChildLine counsellors are here for to talk about things that might be difficult to share with others. There are different ways to talk to a counsellor you can ring our free phone number 0800 1111 which doesnt show on a telephone bill. You can also have a 1-2-1 chat or send an email.
I hope we hear from you again when youre ready.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.