BC teacher who said ‘slut’ in class and didn’t use preferred pronouns, gets reprimanded

A BC teacher who failed to use the preferred pronouns of students, taught kids the French word for “slut,” and asked a pupil of Japanese heritage if it was a “cultural thing” that the Japanese couldn’t handle their alcohol and threw up at parties, has been reprimanded.

Burnaby high school teacher William Donald Harvey made the series of comments over a couple of years and was issued a letter of discipline by Burnaby School District No. 41 in early 2024 before the teaching regulator launched an investigation.

According to a March 25 BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision, Harvey was “repeatedly” reminded by students to use their preferred pronouns.

However, he regularly failed to do so, and on one occasion knowing there was a non-binary student in his class he split the pupils into teams of boys and girls.

“Harvey failed to create a positive and inclusive classroom environment for his students,” the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation said in the decision.

The regulator said Harvey, who has been teaching for more than 20 years, sometimes read pupils’ grades in front of the entire class along with criticism and commentary that their classmates could hear.

He once told three students that they were “slackers.”

In one incident in 2023 during a French class, Harvey wrote the word “pétasse” on the board and explained it meant “slut” in English.

He then repeated the word several times and made students write it down in their French vocabulary books.

“At least one student reported feeling very uncomfortable as a result of this,” the regulator said.

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In 2021, he commented to a student of Japanese heritage asking whether it was a “cultural thing” for Japanese people “to drink more than you can handle and then throw up at parties.”

That same year, Harvey used the term “Paki” to describe people from Pakistan.

“A student whose family was originally from Pakistan reported feeling very embarrassed, offended and upset as a result,” the decision read.

The decision didn’t say where Harvey was teaching when the incident took place but in 2024 the school issued him a a letter of discipline and required him to complete courses on classroom management and Classroom Management and anti-racism.

That year the regulator stepped in and Harvey ultimately signed a consent agreement admitting to the events and of committing professional misconduct.

He avoided any suspension and accepted a public reprimand. He’ll also have to complete the course Creating a Positive Learning Environment by March 31.

“Harvey agrees not to make any statement orally or in writing which contradicts, disputes or calls into question the terms of this agreement or the admissions made in it,” the decision read.