B.C. teacher suspended for inappropriately messaging recent graduate
Posted October 31, 2023 9:10 pm.
A B.C. teacher has been suspended for a month after sending inappropriate messages to a recent graduate.
A document from the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation explains that Douglas Barnim was teaching at an independent high school during the 2018-19 school year when he reached out to a former student of his.
The Commissioner says Barnim sent a number of messages to the former student telling them he hoped they would remain in touch and become lifelong friends — even going as far as making comments about dating and sexual topics.
Barnim also told the student that being underage had never stopped anyone from going to the pub.
The Commissioner says the texts made the former student feel very uncomfortable.
The school, which wasn’t named by the Commissioner, issued Barnim a disciplinary letter and made him take a training course in 2019.
“Barnim’s conduct showed a lack of understanding of appropriate professional boundaries,” the Commissioner said.
He completed the course in 2021, but the school ultimately fired him three years later.
The Commissioner says Barnim has agreed not to make any statements questioning or contradicting the matter.
