B.C. teacher suspended for letting kids cross the road without supervision

A B.C. teacher that once shaved a pupil's head without getting parental permission is back in hot water again after he allowed a class of Grade 5 and 6 kids to cross a couple of roads on the way to a nearby park without his supervision.

He then didn't interfere when some students began having a sword fight with sticks in the park and also asked teaching assistants to lie for him.

In a Mar. 1, B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision Burnaby teacher Michael John Rhodes agreed to a one-day suspension, along with a two-year ban on teaching Kindergarten to Grade 7 classes.

According to the decision, in May 2021 Rhodes was taking students to a nearby park about a five to 10-minute walk away. Students would have to cross two roads to reach the park, one being a busy intersection.

"When the students were assembled outside, Rhodes yelled to the students 'are you ready, let's go.' He did not provide any safety instructions to them," the decision says. "Some of the students rushed ahead, and ran to the park, crossing both roads without adult supervision and out of Rhodes' eyesight."

While at the park some boys started sword fighting with 18-inch sticks and instead of intervening Rhodes said "let kids be kids, let boys be boys."

On hearing that the school district was investigating, Rhodes then asked one of the teaching assistants that accompanied him to the park to lie and say she'd heard him tell the kids that were running to slow down and wait.

READ MORE: 'Inappropriate' Facebook post gets B.C. teacher temporary suspension

Following the school district's investigation, Rhodes was suspended for seven days.

It's not the first time the teacher has got into trouble with the regulator, in 2020 he shaved a student's head without the parents' permission and was reprimanded.

In the consent resolution agreement, Rhodes admits that his actions "jeopardized the physical safety of the students in his class" and then he sought to "actively mislead" the school district with its investigation.

READ MORE: B.C. teacher gets reprimanded for being late for class

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