The Abbotsford School District (ASD) is recommending teacher Jim McMurtry be terminated because he told students facts about historic events. .“What they’ve done is they’ve given over to students the entitlement, the empowerment, to go after almost anyone else if they say they are offended,” said McMurtry in an interview. .McMurtry had been working for Surrey Schools for 27 years before moving to Abbotsford, BC. While many of his students were open minded, he said there was one class where they were not. .He suspects the students were unprepared to deal with a teacher who was academically serious, where he expected them to do assignments and hand them in on time. There were teachers in his school who did not give assignments and graded based on what they received, but he wanted to prepare students for university. .The first complaint levelled against him was over a comment he made about how he wished his cancer-striken wife would die and a description he gave about serial killer Paul Bernardo’s arrest. He called the allegations “a manufactured complaint by a few students who were unhappy with their marks and the workload.” .An internal investigation said the allegation about his wife’s cancer was unsubstantiated, but he was found guilty for speaking about Bernardo. He received a suspension and was ordered to undergo sensitivity training. .McMurtry said the suspension was embarrassing, as he has a distinguished background. He holds a master’s degree in the history of education and a doctorate in the philosophy of education with a specialty in indigenous history. .He worked as a high school principal in Switzerland for four years. Many former students praised him for his teaching, and he amassed multiple awards. .His ordeal worsened after his school said in 2021 teachers should talk to students about the 215 unmarked graves discovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. He asked not to be provided with a script, as his background in indigenous history made him knowledgeable. .One student in a class he was substituting for said the priests murdered the children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School by torturing them and leaving them out in the snow to die. He corrected her by saying “the children who died tragically while enrolled in residential schools did so from disease, particularly tuberculosis.” .Former University of Calgary political science professor Tom Flanagan said in February allegations of hundreds of graves at residential schools deserve more scrutiny and a physical dig. .READ MORE: Prof. Flanagan wants independent excavations at residential schools.Initial findings by ground-penetrating radar suggested 215 bodies were at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Flanagan said 51 deaths of students had been verified, with a common cause being tuberculosis. .“But up until the late 40s, early 50s, TB was rampant among Indian people, both children and adults,” he said. .McMurtry ended the discussion and gave the class a break. One student went to complain to a guidance counselor. .Five minutes after the break ended, two vice principals came up to his class and demanded he leave the school. He was put on an eight-month suspension without being told why. .The teacher was informed after the suspension it was because his comment about residential schools was professional misconduct. He has not been in the classroom since the day he was walked out. .McMurtry’s union and the ASD are battling over a disciplinary hearing. He said he would not change his response, as he feels he has taken a principled stance. .“I think children should be able to appraise history honestly,” he said. .“We should lay out the established facts for them and then they should come to their own conclusions.” .The ASD could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
