A BC teacher who shouted “come on fat kid, keep running,” to a slow-moving student during a PE class has been issued a formal reprimand.

Gary William Jenkins, who began teaching almost 40 years ago, admitted to making the comment, along with a series of other issues, while working as an on-call teacher for grades six and seven in the Burnaby school district.

According to a June 9 BC Commissioner of Teacher Regulation decision, during the 2022/2023 school year, a series of events took place that put him in front of the regulator.

“By attempting to motivate students by shaming them, Jenkins failed to create a positive learning environment,” the Commissioner said in the decision.

The decision said one issue arose when Jenkins saw a student eating chips in class and referred to it as “junk food.” He then said chips were unhealthy and could cause people to get fat.

Another incident occurred when a student was sitting on a couch in class with their feet on a coffee table. The student removed their feet a couple of times after Jenkins asked them to, but on the third occasion, Jenkins used his hands to remove the student’s legs from the table.

In one incident, Jenkins touched a student’s bum.

“(The) student was leaving the gym after helping Jenkins clean up. Jenkins, who was behind (the) student, made contact with (the) student’s buttocks,” the decision reads.

Later that day, Jenkins patted the same student on the back in a show of appreciation for helping him with some computer issues during class.

The school district had Jenkins complete the courses Having Conversations and Professional Boundaries Issues: Teacher/Student Relationships.

The decision said the school district had previously raised concerns with Jenkins in 2019 following students’ complaints about him inappropriately touching them.

In 2021, he was written up again in response to an allegation that during a handball game, he touched students in an attempt to direct them to where they should move.

Jenkins signed a consent agreement admitting to his conduct and was given a formal reprimand from the teaching regulator.

“Jenkins had previously been directed not to breach professional boundaries by making unnecessary physical contact with students,” the regulator said.

Jenkins was ordered to complete the Creating a Positive Learning Environment course by the beginning of the next school year.