Slap of unruly student resonates through school and teacher's job
This instalment of You Make the Call features a teacher who slapped a misbehaving student in class.
Jennifer Clarke was a teacher with four years’ experience for the Simcoe County District School Board in Ontario. On Oct. 7, 2009, Clarke was teaching a class at a secondary school. The class was watching a movie, but two students were disrupting the class by trying to whistle with their fingers in their mouths. Clarke moved one of the students to the back of the classroom, but the 13-year-old continued attempting to whistle. Clarke warned him to stop and told him not to spit on his book, but the student continued. Clarke approached him and swung her hand, which she claimed was an attempt to move the student’s hand away from his mouth. However, her hand connected with the student’s right cheek, slapping him and leaving a red mark on his face that was still visible 30 minutes later.
Clarke didn’t initially report the incident to the school. She was aware of the seriousness of the incident, because school board policy prohibited hitting students and teachers had a high standard of conduct. She knew she had messed up, but she needed time to think about what to do. She finally decided to discuss it with a vice-principal midway through the next day when she had a free period.
Clarke was suspended with pay pending an investigation and, after investigations by the Children’s Aid Society and the police, she was charged with assault. The school board conducted its own investigation and interviewed Clarke. She declined to answer questions on the advice of her lawyer, due to the criminal charges, but said she hadn’t intended to slap the student’s face or hurt him. Clarke claimed she just wanted to move the student’s hand and had “no motive to hurt kids, why would I even try.” The board met with Clarke again on Feb. 10 and asked her if she had any information she wanted to add. It also indicated it would recommend to trustees at an upcoming meeting that there would be a recommendation to terminate her employment. Clarke asked who would be at the meeting and made a comment about “no proof.”
Clarke’s employment was officially terminated on Feb. 24, 2010, as the board felt her conduct was serious, she did not initially report it, and she attempted to minimize her misconduct. On Sept. 22, 2010, Clarke pled guilty to the assault charges because, she said, she wanted the ordeal to be over for her family. She received a conditional discharge with a requirement to attend counselling sessions.
You Make the Call
Was slapping the student just cause for termination?
OR
Did the teacher deserve another chance?
If you said the teacher deserved another chance, you’re right. The arbitrator found that Clarke had trouble coming to terms with what happened and the reason she didn’t initially report the incident was that she felt a degree of shock at what she did and initially “froze.” The arbitrator also found that Clarke acknowledged the seriousness of what happened and was aware that it was inappropriate. Clarke’s guilty plea and acceptance of counselling showed she had remorse and there was a low risk of it happening again, said the arbitrator.
Clarke had no previous instances of misconduct or discipline, though she had a relatively short period of service with the school board, and her acceptance of responsibility made her a candidate for successful rehabilitation. As a result, the arbitrator found discharge was not appropriate. The school board was ordered to reinstate Clarke with no compensation for loss of wages or benefits since her dismissal, effectively creating a 20-month unpaid suspension.
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