D&D has threatened my job!

[Varianor Abroad]

No. It might exonerate you from criminal culpability, but chances are it would just serve to mitigate the damages in a civil lawsuit. Videos cut the arguments away from he said, she said to a great degree, but the plaintiffs lawyer who took the case could still make a great deal of hay off of what was not on the video and took place around the session.

(Indemnify, by the way, is typically used to mean "making a payment" on behalf of someone. An insurance policy indemnifies an insured by taking on the role of making payments.)

 

[d20fool]

Take two

It's amazing how clear everything becomes after a good night's rest.

A.) I've been arrogent and naive. Of course a parent could be upset by this. I know I'm not doing anything wrong, but they don't know that. Since this woman has little understanding of what is going on, she has imagined the worst. I've been teaching too long not to know how people work and that not everyone will be sensible, in fact they will often be fearful. A permission slip helps dissapate this somewhat, but is not a cure. It won't protect me from an allegation. My original instinct was correct, no students at my table.

B.) I will ask students to leave the game, telling them why. Like I said, this is mainly one kid right now, although there is another who plays occasionally. I regret losing gaming population, but I do not lose the right to teach the game to other or to be a role model for them (I know that sounds strange, but when you work with kids you become aware of it.)

C.) I had already planned on making some of my games Living Greyhawk games. I will instead run these games at a seperate time in a public location. The details I have to figure out, and I will probably have to do it in the Warrensburg, a slightly larger city with a college. My church is there and so is a comic book store and a large student union, so I feel I can find a venue to play. Thus my younger players have somewhere to go, I can teach the game (something I like to do) and the little ladies don't get to run the town with a phone call. I win.

What do you think folks? Is this a good course of action?

 

[Mark]

What do you think folks? Is this a good course of action?

Looks good. See if pogre has any caveats, though. He seems to have all of the bases covered on this one (gamer, lawyer, teacher, coach, smallish town, etc.)

 

[johnsemlak]

It's amazing how clear everything becomes after a good night's rest.

A.) I've been arrogent and naive.

I think you're being hard on yourself. It's a lot to think about, and like you said, a good night's rest helps make things clearer.

B.) I will ask students to leave the game, telling them why.

I've been lurking on this thread and not responding, as others have offered far more pertinent advice than I can. I'll just say based on what I've read in this thread, that sounds like an excellent decision. Yes, it's too bad to lose a player, but the potential consequences are serious.

C.) I had already planned on making some of my games Living Greyhawk games. I will instead run these games at a seperate time in a public location. The details I have to figure out, and I will probably have to do it in the Warrensburg, a slightly larger city with a college. My church is there and so is a comic book store and a large student union, so I feel I can find a venue to play. Thus my younger players have somewhere to go, I can teach the game (something I like to do) and the little ladies don't get to run the town with a phone call. I win.

That sounds like an excellent idea.

Good luck!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It was my experience in Manhattan, KS that most teens 15+ had access to some kind of transportation (a car or a buddy with a car) and could visit ajacent towns for fun as long as their parents didn't mind, knew who the were going to visit, and who with, etc.

I say that to set this up:

When you tell your players why they have to be dropped, also let them know your plans to game in that other city. Of course, I don't know long a drive you're talking about, but if its short enough for YOU, it may be short enough for them.

Note: I am not advocating that you essentially tell these kids to game with you there- that only compounds the problem because it looks like you're sneaking around and avoiding the parents' scrutiny.

What I AM saying is that by telling them about the options in Warrensburg, you will allow these kids to continue being involved in the hobby by networking with the game shop or the student union at the college in that other city.

YOU might not be able to game with them until they hit 18, but THEY might be able to continue gaming with people approximately their own age, +/- a couple of years.

 

[Saqhara]

I think you are right about the good night's sleep doing wonders for clarity of thought. I would most likely not have gotten as emotional had I not been awake for nearly thirty hours.

I think your best best would be with the college town, it certainly sounds like a safer venue. It really makes me sad that we would even have to worry about stuff like this...

Best of luck to you my friend. I hope everything works out for you and this just becomes a dim memory.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Is this a good course of action?

This is the best thing I have heard from you. That said, be aware of "stamp collecting" e.g. the offended mother will not forget this and may try to use it in the future. Try not to offend her.

 

[Dextra]

I'm no lawyer but I don't think it is wise, as an adult, to game with minors (who are not your own children) in anything other than a public setting. Further, I would not do so without the knowledge and consent of the parents of those minors, and third party witnessing of that consent (others at the gamestore, library, etc. being around when you asked if it is all right for them to play).

It's a shame, but I have to agree.
When we started up a gaming group of Gelfling #1's friends (then ages 12-13) to play BESMd20, I sent home a letter to their parents explaining the concept of the genre, role-playing, and the benefits thereof. Not a single complaint. One of them sent her daughter along to GenCon Indy with us.

A teacher gets held under such a public lens and must be beyond reproach. Playing D&D in itself is not wrong, however being alone with a bunch of school kids could be perceived as trying to lead them into something else. Just as if you were inviting a bunch of teens to your house to listen to Bach and to play Monopoly, some might wonder at your motivation for "luring" them to your home.

I know that there are a few education professionals on the boards, including a principal, hopefully they, and some legal-types, will chime in.

 

[pogre]

It's amazing how clear everything becomes after a good night's rest.

A.) I've been arrogent and naive. Of course a parent could be upset by this. I know I'm not doing anything wrong, but they don't know that. Since this woman has little understanding of what is going on, she has imagined the worst. I've been teaching too long not to know how people work and that not everyone will be sensible, in fact they will often be fearful. A permission slip helps dissapate this somewhat, but is not a cure. It won't protect me from an allegation. My original instinct was correct, no students at my table.

B.) I will ask students to leave the game, telling them why. Like I said, this is mainly one kid right now, although there is another who plays occasionally. I regret losing gaming population, but I do not lose the right to teach the game to other or to be a role model for them (I know that sounds strange, but when you work with kids you become aware of it.)

C.) I had already planned on making some of my games Living Greyhawk games. I will instead run these games at a seperate time in a public location. The details I have to figure out, and I will probably have to do it in the Warrensburg, a slightly larger city with a college. My church is there and so is a comic book store and a large student union, so I feel I can find a venue to play. Thus my younger players have somewhere to go, I can teach the game (something I like to do) and the little ladies don't get to run the town with a phone call. I win.

What do you think folks? Is this a good course of action?

I'm honestly relieved. I just caught up with the thread and on page 5, all I could say was, "The guy asked for legal advice, THREE attorneys answered and he has ignored us all." Thus, I was relieved to see the post quoted above.

Naturally, publicly played and advertized RPGA games are an appropriate place to play with folks of all ages. Plus you might get a few new folks to play in your RPGA games that might come over to your regular game - especially in a college town.

Final piece of advice - thank your principal and explain to her/him that you will not play games with students in the future at your place. Tell her you realize that appearances are very important and you will be more conscious of this in the future. Yes, it's a$$-kissing, but it's also good politics at this point

Take care and good luck.

 

[JoeBlank]

I've resisted commented so far, although I am also an attorney and from what used to be a small town. However, I practice almost exclusively workers' compensation law, so my legal experience is not particularly on point here.

Glad to see things are fitting into place. I'm sorry that teachers are treated this way in this day and age, but that is just life. As a father of three sons, I fully expect to running games for them and others their age in the future. If any kids whose parents I do not already know get involved I will be sure to talk with the parents personally before allowing the kids in the group.

Best of luck, and I hope you are still able to contribute to the next generation of gamers.