Oakwood teacher fired over controversial jokes
Posted March 6, 2013 7:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Toronto high school teacher who had been suspended after allegedly handing out sheets of controversial jokes to his students as part of an assignment has been fired.
The TDSB confirmed to CityNews on Wednesday that Jeff Jones, a drama teacher at Oakwood Collegiate Institute, was no longer with the board.
Jones was accused of giving his Grade 10 students several pages of one-liners as part of an assignment in early January. They were to come up with their own jokes modelled on the examples.
However, many of the jokes were sexist or racist, and some involved references to sexual violence and dead babies.
At least one parent at the St. Clair Avenue and Dufferin Street school complained.
“A parent came forward in January concerning the material and an investigation began,” principal Ellen Austrom told CityNews. “It is a concern. We want out students to be working with material that is respectful and inclusive,”
Jones had been working from home while the Toronto District School Board investigated the complaint.
– with files from Erin Criger
