BC elementary teacher suspended for yelling at, frightening students

An elementary teacher has been suspended for inappropriate and “frightening” conduct, says the BC teacher regulator.

Earlier this week a consent resolution agreement between the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation and Benjamin Joseph Freeman was published online.

The agreement does not list where Freeman taught to protect the identity of students but it does say the problems happened during the 2021/2022 school year.

The agreement started by stating that Freeman frequently yelled at two students and towered over them while doing so. The agreement said in one situation Freeman slammed his fists on a student's desk and spoke disrespectfully to the student.

In another, Freeman reportedly knocked a student’s hat off their hat and grabbed a bag of food out of the student’s hands.

On Feb. 11, 2022, the school district issued Freemen a “letter of direction” and a letter of discipline. He was suspended without pay for three days, which was served in March 2022.

Following the allegations that led to those two letters, Freeman reportedly raised his voice at a student in January and yelled at another in April 2022.

The agreement said he also reportedly made "insensitive comments to one student’s parents about their child who had a diagnosis” and got angry with another student with a diagnosis when they forgot their homework at school and the parent asked that it be emailed home.

The agreement said the school district had previously raised concerns about Freeman yelling at students and engaging in “disrespectful communication” as far back as October 2018. That was followed by several meetings with the principal after parents started raising concerns.

The final meeting with the principal listed in the agreement happened on Feb. 19, 2021 when the principal and vice principal met with Freeman to remind him not to be “hands on” with students unless they were in immediate danger.

On Jan. 27, 2025, Freeman entered into a consent resolution agreement with the provincial teacher regulation and admitted his behaviour constituted professional misconduct.

He agreed to a three-day suspension and to complete a course on collaborative conflict resolution.

The regulator said Freeman’s conduct was frightening to students, he failed to consistently foster a learning environment that was emotionally, psychologically and physically safe and he engaged in repeated inappropriate conduct of a similar nature.