Central Okanagan teacher who showed Grade 8 class John Oliver clip gets suspended

A Central Okanagan high school teacher has been disciplined in part for showing his Grade 8 class a clip from the TV show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where the host proposed some funny, but perhaps inappropriate, phrases to create strong passwords.

The teacher also showed his students a South Park clip where a character gets his mother to bring him a pot to defecate in, so he is not interrupted playing video games.

According to a B.C. Commission for Teacher Regulation decision, May 22, Justin Daniel Moses Enns agreed he showed his students two videos that were "age-inappropriate" and accepted a three-day unpaid suspension. The decision does not say what school he taught at, but it appears he is a teacher at Okanagan Mission Secondary school.

According to the decision, in January 2019, Enns showed his class a clip from the "Last Week with John Oliver" (sic) show in which security passwords were discussed. The TV host suggested that "admiralalonzoghostpenis420YOLO" and "margaretthatcheris100%SEXY" would be strong passwords. He then played the South Park clip. The decision does not say what he was supposed to be teaching.

The decision also said Enns often hit a metre stick on desks or tables to get his students’ attention.

On another occasion, Enns asked a student in front of the entire class whether he had attention deficit disorder.

"(The student) was embarrassed and upset by the question and left the classroom," according to the decision.

After class, Enns apologized to the student for his comment, but later that day told the student he should apologize to him for leaving the classroom.

Two days later the student's father emailed Enns with concerns about the video and the incident. Enns replied to the parent and included a link to the South Park video. He then forwarded the emails to the school principal but removed the link to the South Park video.

One month later the school suspended Enns for five days without pay.

According to the decision, the School District had previously given Enns a written warning in 2017 following allegations that he had interacted "inappropriately with students and parents."

In 2016 the school district told Enns in writing to “exercise judgment and sensitivity in monitoring the appropriateness of all subject matter to ensure (his) classroom is a racism-free and discrimination-free environment."

The decision says the teacher had been spoken to on several occasions informally about his lack of judgment in comments made to his colleagues, and in selecting photographs for the yearbook.

The Commissioner found Enns "failed to create a positive learning environment for his students" and "failed to use effective communication and classroom management strategies."

Enns agreed to the consent resolution agreement and a three-day suspension.

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