Teacher taken off the job in Prince George, B.C., after previous discipline became public
Joshua Laurin was briefly suspended after making strange comments to students in Campbell River
A B.C. man who was disciplined after making comments last year while working as an on-call teacher in Campbell River has now been taken off the job in Prince George.
And the process that led to his hiring is now under review by the school district.
Joshua Laurin was on a field trip in November 2018, when students overheard him say he would like to use one of the students on the field trip to beat two other students to death and to injure a third one, according to a decision from the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation posted online, and reported this week.
He was also heard saying he "did not like his job or being around kids," and that he wanted to use one of the students to "whack" two others, the decision said.
According to Tim Bennett, board chair for School District 57 in Prince George, Laurin was hired to teach a Grade 2 class at École College Heights Elementary at the start of this school year in September.
"Recently the district was made aware of the issue," said Bennett. "Mr. Laurin has been removed from École College Heights and will not be returning to his classroom."
Bennett said the district's senior administration has been looking into the situation and is actively reviewing everything including Laurin's hiring. He would not say whether the teacher has been fired or whether he is on leave.
A note posted on the school district's website says a student support services team would be at the school on Monday to meet with the class.
Laurin was suspended from the Campbell River School District's on-call list from Dec. 3 to Dec. 21, 2018, and required to take a "Reinforcing Professional Boundaries" course at the Justice Institute of B.C., which he completed in March, according to the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision.