ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS DECISION

Well I've already seen the Ontario College of Teachers behave inconsistently before, but this is downright weird. They have in their short history been hell on wheels for teachers after the fact. Long after the fact including stripping teachers of their teaching certificates after they were convicted on criminal charges for abusing students. The Ron Archer case certainly comes to mind.

This case is far weirder. According to today's Waterloo Region Record a former teacher at Kitchener's Cameron Heights Collegiate, now retired, has been found guilty of professional misconduct by the college. The College described a relationship he had with a male student as "disgraceful and dishonourable". Furthermore quoting the Record "In the written decision, the panel said (the teacher) failed to maintain the standards of the profession when he abused a student.". At first glance that kind of says everything until we read further and learn that the teacher was never charged criminally and indeed a charge by the College of engaging in sexual abuse of a student was dropped at the hearing.

The appearance is that the teacher maintained a relationship both at school and outside school expressly contrary to the orders of his Principal. Further complicating matters is that the student's parents were involved and except on one occasion seemed to be supportive of the relationship, whatever it may have been. So the teacher retired in 2011 and the College have stripped him of his teaching certificate in 2013. That's not very timely if indeed he was guilty of more than ignoring orders from his Principal. If he wasn't guilty of anything serious then this decision by the College is about a mile past problematic.