There has been a bit of a hub-bub this week surrounding fantasy-erotica author Judy Mays. A “news” story, published by WNEP in Pennsylvania, has outed Ms. Mays as local 10th-grade English teacher Judy Buranich, purportedly in an attempt to warn parents about the possibility that an adult woman writes about adult topics. Wow. News, huh?
In all seriousness…one of the parents in the story actually states that she must choose between writing or teaching. And another wonders what her teenage son will be thinking about in class now. Seriously. Because their teacher writes for adults in her spare time and under another name, responsibly keeping the adult side of her life private.
I grow very tired of people who seem to think that we need to child-proof the world instead of teaching children to live in an adult world.
Anyway, I could rant forever about this. Instead, I’ll let this kid do it for me…
Shedrick
Serial Distractions 
I know we need to protect kids to a degree, but some of the parental reactions are ridiculous.
I love this part of a response by a former pupil, on the WNEP page:
“To the parents who are the same ones that always cause trouble just to be on tv, YES i know who you are. You are very immature and pathetic no wonder your child can’t handle being in HIGH SCHOOL you act like your 5 yourself and what are you suppose to be like 50. I support Mrs. Buranich 100% shes an awesome teacher and is very good at what she does, hence working there 25 years.
Oh and by the way, the news? really. GROW UP A LITTLE BIT! this is for the school to decide what to do.”
It just strikes me as a lot of making an issue out of a non-issue. Plus, the entire idea that the teacher must choose between being an adult author and a teacher is ludicrous. It’s okay for adults that work with children to responsibly live an adult life. In fact, it kinda should be expected.
Thanks for your comments!
What irritates me the most,these parents who dangerously censors every aspect of a teachers life. I speak from experience. I am a teacher, or rather, I use to be, up until six months ago.
Because of a few well off, influencing parents in the very posh private school I worked at, I no longer have a job. Not because of job performance. No. I was adored as ‘the nicest, coolest, fun’ teacher.I promoted 100 percent of my students, each year, with no incident in following grades. No I was the creative teacher…I’m the teacher who dressed up in costume to further a lesson’s experience and value.I’m the teacher who thought outside the box or norm to get through to ONE student struggling. My fatal crime: I refused to socialize at pub (bars), in my personal off hours, with fellow staff & various parents of currently enrolled students. Go figure! Now if I were turning a profit writing Adult Erotica under a pseudonym, I imagine that too would have come under relentless scrutiny as well. Sadly, these are sand of time that currently weigh down to progression of self expression and creative arts in education. Bloody crime too. I am hopeful that Judy Mays will forge ahead unwearied, and use these hater parents as character reference (fictional of course) as fuel for here next creation. Though in Erotica, pleasure is the desired outcome. Perhaps these parents or rather characters, will be the unsatisfied, lesser character. Those who simply fade away, out of story line, simply because they are weighing down the forward movement of the tale. One can dream! 😉
Sorry for the rather raw response. Mostly the poor expression, grammatically speaking. I’m a bit upset. Forgoing editing, before sending due to my emotion!
Teachers should not be put through such ridiculous scrutiny.
Not a problem…I appreciate your response!