A teacher who taught in New West is facing consequences due to several incidents involving high school students.
Bruce Alistair McCloy was named in a decision by the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
According to the decision, McCloy was involved in several situations in the 2023/2024 school year while teaching English at the school. The Commissioner’s report does not specify which New West school the teacher taught at.
In one event detailed by the Commissioner, Student A was laughing in a manner that McCloy deemed inappropriate. In response, McCloy said that the student was either going to end up dead, shot, or in a gang.
One rule that McCloy implemented was that students were not allowed to use the washroom while the teacher was teaching.
Despite that rule, Student B needed to go to the bathroom while McCloy was teaching. McCloy said no. Student B asked again, and McCloy again responded no.
“After a further exchange between McCloy and Student B, McCloy wrote ‘NO’ on the whiteboard,” the decision notes.
Some students were banned from using the washroom, and McCloy kept a list of their names on the board in the classroom.
In a separate event, Student C was playing with a water bottle. McCloy took it and threw it in the garbage.
Afterwards, McCloy told students that if anyone did this, “you are an idiot.” He also asked why they were “acting stupid” and said they weren’t “trained dogs that answer to a bell.”
The Commissioner addressed another matter, which involved Student D. One of the rules in the class was that when you did go to use the washroom, you had to write your name on the board. Only one student could go at a time.
Student D wrote their name on the whiteboard, and McCloy slammed his hand on the whiteboard, pointing to another name that was on the board. He then yelled, “One at a time,” wrote “ONE” on the whiteboard, and then threw the marker across the room towards the student’s desk.
McCloy made comments that some students perceived as degrading, such as calling work “juvenile” or students “slow,” and saying that students shouldn’t be in the class if they didn’t understand English.
The Commissioner’s report also noted that McCloy generally yelled at students when they didn’t follow class rules.
McCloy was suspended for three days in Summer 2024. Following the investigation by the Commissioner, he was suspended an additional two days, which will be served in November 2026.
The New West teacher was also ordered to take some courses on creating a positive learning environment.