B.C. teacher suspended a day for showing inappropriate movies to Grade 2 class

© Provided by Vancouver Sun A B.C. teacher has been suspended a day and ordered to take an inclusive-learning course after screening PG-13 and R-rated movies, including the original Halloween horror flick.

A teacher in the Delta school district has been suspended for a day and ordered to take a course on creating positive learning environments after admitting to showing adult-oriented movies to her Grade 2 students, including the R-rated horror classic Halloween.

Cindy Chi-Ching Tong, who resigned from the district last year, will be suspended on Wednesday after signing a consent resolution agreement with the B.C. teacher regulator.

In an agreed statement of the facts, Tong showed PG-13 movies like The Avengers, Iron Man 3 and the R-rated Halloween. The latter caused students to report they were frightened after watching it.

Tong showed students the movies once or twice a week from October 2020 to February 2021, either during breaks or instructional time, and at one point did so two days in a row because she had report cards to do.

At one point, a learning support teacher told Tong she should only show G-rated films to Grade 2 students. The next day, the class watched The Avengers, rated PG-13.

But the inappropriate movies were only one of Tong’s failings as an educator.

Tong also admitted students said she appeared to pick favourites; played a “mafia” style virtual game where players “eliminated” people, while other players representing “police” and “doctors” tried to find the killers and save the victims; told stories to her class about having engaged in bullying while she was in school, including forcing a student to eat an orange rind and smearing another’s face with dog feces, punching someone while in high school and running away; failed to create lesson plans and sometimes made students fill out worksheets without first teaching them their contents; and appeared to become “visibly frustrated” when students didn’t understand a topic, scaring some of them.

As part of the agreement, Tong is ordered to complete a course on “creating inclusive learning environments” from Queen’s University, and will accept a further suspension of her teaching certificate if she fails to do so in a timely manner.

jruttle@postmedia.com