Benjamin Joseph Freeman was disciplined by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation over a series of incidents between 2018 and 2022
A B.C. elementary school teacher has been suspended for three days after repeatedly yelling at and frightening students over a period of about five years.
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Benjamin Joseph Freeman has held a teaching certificate since 2012 and the pattern of complaints that led to the suspension began in 2018.
During the 2021-22 school year, Freeman frequently yelled at and spoke disrespectfully to a student, “sometimes while towering over (the student) and slamming his fists repeatedly” into the student’s desk.
He went into another student’s classroom and began yelling, again while towering over the student, and knocked off the student’s hat and grabbed a bag of food out of the student’s hands.
Those incidents led to the district issuing a letter of discipline and suspending Freeman without pay for three days in February 2022.
It was later learned that Freeman raised his voice at students in January and April 2022, made insensitive comments to a student’s parents about their child who had a diagnosis, and got angry at another student with a diagnosis when the student forgot their homework.
This all followed parents raising concerns about Freeman yelling at his students as early as October 2018, and the district telling him to be more mindful. A November 2018 meeting with school administrators was held to discuss Freeman putting his hands on a student — something he was told repeatedly not to do unless there was a safety concern.
Three more meetings in 2019 addressed parents’ complaints about Freeman yelling at students, leading to another letter of direction reminding him to use respectful language and tone.
The commissioner suspended Freeman for three days and ordered that he complete a course on conflict management. The penalty was decided on because Freeman’s “conduct was frightening to students who were in elementary school;” he failed to foster a learning environment that was “emotionally, psychologically and physically safe;” and he engaged in repeated inappropriate conduct of a similar nature.
The school district where Freeman works wasn’t revealed to protect the students involved.
Meanwhile, a Vancouver Island school district says an elementary school teacher has been charged with accessing child pornography.
Court records show the man faces a charge for an offence alleged to have been committed last March in Central Saanich.
The Sooke School District said it has employed the teacher since 2016, and he most recently worked as a music teacher at David Cameron Elementary, and Wishart Elementary before then.
However, it said “due to unrelated circumstances,” the man has not been in the classroom during the 2024-2025 school year.
The district said it “took immediate action” by suspending the teacher when it learned of the charges on Feb. 5, adding that he is not authorized to teach while the matter is under review by the Teacher Regulation Branch.
With a file from The Canadian Press