Judy Buranich teaches English at Midd West High School in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. She’s held that job for 25 years. Judy Mays writes erotic novels. By now, you probably know where this is going. They’re the same person, and some parents are upset.
Now mind you, being a public school teacher means a lot of things: it means you won’t earn much money given the amount of schooling you’ve gone through to get the job; it means you will almost never have the tools you need to do your job effectively; it means you’ll be demonized by politicians who want to take away your right to organize and collectively bargain for raises and benefits; and it means you’ll be expected to just sit back and take this without complaining because teaching is a calling, not just a job. What it also apparently means is that your private life is now subject to the moral judgments of parents in your school district.
I am not surprised that some parents are outraged over the fact that a teacher might have a private life which involves sex. Stories like this pop up all the time, though they usually involve teachers who are involved in some sort of sex work on the side (which should say more about the amount we pay our teachers than anything else). No, what actually surprises me about this story is that Buranich/May had time to write novels. Does she sleep?
