A substitute teacher who told his class to “shut up” and left students unattended while taking a misbehaving student to the office is facing a discipline issue of his own.
The 22-year veteran teacher has been told to take a positive learning course to keep his teachers’ qualifications after failing to model appropriate behaviour.
According to a consent resolution agreement with the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, the teacher was working as a teacher on call (TOC) in Coquitlam school district when the problems occurred.
In an effort to gain control of the Grade 2/3 class he was teaching, the teacher yelled “shut up,” upsetting one of the Grade 2 students.
After the student became increasingly agitated, the teacher put his hand on the student’s arm; the student then dropped to the floor, after which the teacher responded by pushing the student out of the classroom on the student’s bottom, according to the discipline report.
When the student tried to get back into the classroom, the teacher held the door closed from the inside so they couldn’t get in, at which point two staff members approached, and the teacher said “I can’t handle this kid,” according to the reported facts.
When another student started to misbehave, the teacher escorted that student out of the classroom to the office, leaving the classroom unattended.
The commissioner stated in his report that each classroom is equipped with a phone and the teacher could have called the office to make appropriate arrangements.
School District 43 issued a letter of discipline and followed up with the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
In his letter of discipline, the commissioner said the teacher failed to “model appropriate behaviour expected of an educator.”
The teacher is required to complete a Creating a Positive Learning Environment course through the Justice Institute of BC by April 30, 2022.
If he does not, the teacher may have his certificate of qualification suspended until the course is successfully completed.
Cases of teacher discipline are dealt with under Teachers Act, which outlines the discipline process once a complaint or report is made about a teacher's conduct or competence.
“Discipline outcomes provide confidence that educators who fail to meet the standards are held accountable,” the teacher regulation branch states on its website.
There have been 37 consent resolution agreements reached with B.C. teachers so far this year.
