Protecting bad teachers from the public

Acouple of months ago, I reported on investigative journalism in BC which turned up the fact that the BC College of Teachers, which is supposed to be protecting the public from bad teachers, was instead protecting bad teachers from the public. In that blog, I speculated that the same thing might be going on in Ontario. Lo and behold, the Toronto Star went ahead and looked into the matter, finding that the Ontario College of Teachers is every bit as derelict in its duty.

The Toronto Star article lists some of the offences (for example, a gym teacher who smelled of booze and frequently fell asleep in class, teachers who helped students cheat on the provincial tests, teachers who hit or manhandled their students, a teacher who stole her students' money, teachers who ridiculed their students' religious beliefs, teachers who flirted with their students, and lots more) and then warns that one of these teachers could be your child's teacher today - because their punishments were a slap on the wrist and their names were not made public. 

In 2008, the College published 38 cases, not identifying 5 of the teachers.
In 2009, the College published 43 cases, not identifying 20 of the teachers.
In 2010, the College published 49 cases, not identifying 35 of the teachers.

Do you see a trend developing here?

So what crime is serious enough for the teacher to be identified, you ask? Here's one (quoting from the Toronto Star article):

"One teacher the College did identify was a teacher whose only crime was to break their secrecy rules. James Black, a teacher and former discipline committee member, was publicly named by the College and suspended for two years because the College suspected he leaked information to the media. The committee suspected (but could not prove) that Black gave information to a CTV reporter in 2006 who was probing the College’s practice of allowing teachers convicted of sex crimes to be reinstated after their licence was revoked. The College claims Black leaked information to CTV News about a teacher convicted of sexual exploitation in 1990, who was jailed 15 months and later sought reinstatement.

"In 2009, the committee fined its former member, Black, $1,000, and suspended him for two years. The College ruled that Black was guilty of a serious 'breach of confidentiality' which 'may have damaged the professional image of the College and its members. The need for a strong general deterrent is imperative in this matter.'

"Black, reached by the Star, said he could not comment on his case. The teacher in the case that led to Black’s suspension, Rodney Palmer, was suspended in 1991 and reinstated in 2003 in a closed-door hearing. He taught for a time east of Toronto, then retired."