BC teacher who got angry over offensive mom comment gets suspended

A BC teacher, who yelled and got angry at a Grade 6 student, thinking the pupil had made an offensive comment about their mother, has been suspended for a day.

According to a Nov. 17 BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision, elementary school teacher Jeven Kaur Gill put her hands on the student’s shoulders and knocked their baseball cap off during the interaction. 

“Gill did not create an emotionally safe and positive learning environment,” the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation said in the decision.

The incident took place in June 2023, when Gill was working for the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district, teaching at an undisclosed school.

The decision said that on the day of the incident the teacher had allowed a group of students to play cards as a reward, provided they played quietly.

However, the Grade 6 kids were being too loud, so Gill went over and told them they could no longer play cards.

One student then made an offensive comment about someone’s mother.

“While (the) student maintains that this was a joke directed towards a classmate, Gill presumed that the comment was made about her own mother,” the decision read.

Gill became “visibly angry” and yelled at the student, telling them not to disrespect her mother.

“This was done in very close proximity to (the) student’s face,” the decision said.

The teacher then placed her hands on the student’s shoulders and pushed them backwards into a whiteboard, causing the pupil to stumble. The teacher inadvertently knocked the student’s baseball cap off “while gesturing.”

The decision said the student was “shocked” by the interaction, and at least two other students reported “similar feelings.”

Prior to the incident, Gill had handed in her resignation as she would be leaving at the end of school year as she was relocating. The decision didn’t say where she moved.

The incident was then reported to the regulator, who took action.

The Commissioner ordered Gill to complete the Creating a Positive Learning Environment course and suspended her teaching licence for one day.

“Gill did not role model appropriate behaviour expected of an educator,” the Commissioner said. “Gill’s physical interaction with (the) Student was inappropriate.”

Gill signed a consent agreement admitting to her behaviour.