Sunday Jukebox - Hot For Teacher by Van Halen

WARNING: This blog entry may contain some adult content...nothing too scandalous or scarring, but I probably wouldn't advise parents to let their young kids read it or anything. In fact, I'll post one of these stickers on this particular entry.

(Although I do realize that this is a futile attempt to warn children away from this blog, I will say that this sticker is loosely related to this blog entry.)

Yesterday's entry for this venture was a touching tribute to a couple of teachers (one real, one fictitious), and really got everyone thinking about how teachers can really serve to be an inspiration to students.

So, for today, I'm flipping the script and launching into a rant! Excited yet?

So, for the Sunday Jukebox, rather than talk about the group and the song in detail (there really isn't much to say about it), I'm going to use the subject of the song to get my thoughts out about a teacher who...shall we say...disgraced herself?

Let's begin.

Have you ever heard of a group known as the PMRC?

If you haven't, fear not, because I will tell you what it was.

The PMRC stood for Parents Music Resource Center, which was the group that was made up of four women known as the 'Washington Wives' (Tipper Gore was one of these members) in an attempt to clean up the music industry. Going after such artists like Madonna, Sheena Easton, Prince, and Def Leppard, the group made up a list of songs called the 'Filthy Fifteen', and proceeded to target any artist who used references that were violent, sexual, or promoted drug use. They were also the group responsible for retailers pulling rock music themed magazines off store shelves, and putting those black and white 'Parental Advisory' stickers on album covers.

Although this song didn't quite make it on that 'Filthy Fifteen' list, it was targetted by the PMRC for its sexual imagery and implications of sexual activity within the lyrics.

And, ironically enough, it's the perfect song to illustrate my blog point for today!

ARTIST: Van Halen

SONG: Hot For Teacher

ALBUM: 1984

DATE RELEASED: October 1984

PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #56

So...yeah. No real surprises here. Bikini clad women bouncing around classrooms filled with children, sexually suggestive lyrics...hmmm...yeah, I can see how the 'Helen Lovejoys' of the PMRC would be perfecting their 'oh, won't anybody please think of the children' spiel.

Although, watching this video, it's really no different from seeing a video for say, Lady Gaga or Beyonce or whatever pop tart du jour is the target of heaps of praise this year.

The song didn't do so well on the Billboard charts, but the video was definitely memorable.

It also seems to fit in with today's topic that is related to what I really want to discuss in this blog...considering that this is Day 2 of Teacher's Week, and all.

Student crushes on teachers or professors.

Be honest. Have any of you ever developed a crush on a teacher in your lifetimes? Honestly?

It's okay. It happens a lot more than you think it does. Why I can remember seeing lots of instances in various forms of media where students have innocent, childlike crushes on teachers. I've seen it happen on Full House, Saved By The Bell, even in comic books!

I wish I could tell you stories about how I had a crush on a teacher when I was in elementary school or high school, but in all honesty, I never really did. Mind you , most of them were about the same age as my mother, and the rest of them were as old as my GRANDMOTHER. So, yeah, definitely not attracted to any of them at all.

Though I happen to know for a fact that some female students had mild crushes on the male student teachers or even some of the younger male teachers. Though, I won't be naming names on this one because that would be tacky. Besides, it wasn't any of my business anyways.

Most of the time, these crushes that students can sometimes develop on teachers are harmless in nature, and usually only last a few months before a boy band member or a soap opera actor takes over their dreams.

It's when those crushes develop into something more that things get more dicey and inappropriate. Basically, have the crush, but don't act on it. I could be wrong, but any instance where I was at school, nobody ever acted upon their crushes for teachers, because we all knew that it was wrong.

But what happens when a teacher falls in love with a student and actively pursues them to the point where inappropriateness and immorality circulates, and it gives the Helen Lovejoys of the world a real reason to scream out in horror?

Perfect example. Mary Kay Letourneau. Remember her? She was the teacher who taught at an elementary school in Washington until her affair with one of her students was broadcast to various media outlets all over the world. She was 35. The student, 13 years old.

As if that weren't bad enough, she had gotten pregnant by this child during their series of romantic liaisons.

Needless to say, she ended up losing her teaching job. She went to jail for seven years because of the whole affair, being charged with statutory second degree rape of a child.

You would think that would be enough for her to swear off of preteens forever.

See, here's where the story gets a little more twisted. Certainly, Mary Kay broke the law. She did something that most people find horrific and disgusting. Yet, the victim of this didn't see it as such. He had actually fallen in love with his teacher, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Kind of sounds like a soap opera plot from hell, eh?

So Mary Kay served her seven years in prison, ended up giving birth to two children fathered by her teenaged lover (one time, she was impregnated by him during a probationary period where she violated her agreement to not see him again, and that's what lead to her seven year prison sentence).

After the sentence was up, Mary Kay was reunited with her lover, now 21 years old, and in 2004, she married her former student, Vili Fualaau. Naturally, they gave permission for media outlets to photograph and film the wedding (probably because they needed the money to pay for all the court dates she had to attend), and apparently, she wants to get back into teaching again, despite having to register as a Level 2 sex offender.

Seriously, would YOU want this woman teaching at your school?

You know, normally, I'm all for those happily ever after moments. I love it when people who are in love with each other reunite after months or years of not seeing each other again. In most cases, they're satisfying to watch, and they really make you stop and think about what's really important in life.

I'm unapologetic in saying that I do not feel this way when it comes to Mary Kay and Vili. I'm actually kind of disgusted.

Their love affair that ultimately turned into a marriage hurt so many people along the way. Mary Kay already had a husband and four children at home during the time that this affair went on. With her impulsiveness, she ended up dragging their names through the scandal, and they did nothing to warrant that, in my opinion. So the marriage wasn't going right, and she needed a way out. There were plenty of other ways to do that than going after a thirteen year old boy!

In the end, I guess it doesn't matter what I or anyone else thinks of this. They're still together, and apparently they now do DJ nights at night clubs dubbed 'Hot For Teacher' nights. Classy.

It really doesn't matter. In the end, despite their love for one another, Mary Kay took advantage of a teenager and did things with him that she knew were wrong. Teachers are supposed to be role models, and frankly, she wasn't. Sure, Vili has repeatedly told the media that he doesn't see himself as a victim, nor does he regret his feelings and love for Mary Kay. Considering that he's 27 now, I think he believes that to be true now...but at 13, how can you say that he WASN'T a victim? It's hard to pinpoint what really happened to cause this media firestorm, and we really don't know who made the first move. But as far as I'm concerned, the teacher should have known better. She really should have.

What makes this case even more ironic was that years ago, her own father had an affair with a former student at the college he taught at, and fathered two children with her out of wedlock! And, Mary Kay actually defended him, saying that her mother drove him to do it! Funny how history repeated itself, huh?

When 'Hot For Teacher' was first released, Vili Fualaau was a toddler, and Mary Kay was likely just finishing up her college years. Who knew that it would be a song that would end up describing their bizarre courtship and union?