A British Columbia teacher has been reprimanded for professional misconduct after making a series of inappropriate comments to Grade 5 students and using a wooden stick to smack desks in class, according to a consent resolution agreement from the province’s teacher regulator.
The agreement involving Peter William Gentile says the incidents occurred during the 2024-25 school year while he was teaching a Grade 5 class on a longer-term teaching-on-call assignment in the Chilliwack school district.
According to the agreement, Gentile used a wooden stick to loudly hit desks when trying to get students to pay attention or be quiet, and asked students whether they wanted to “go to the chokey,” a reference to the film Matilda and a form of punishment depicted in it.
The agreement also says he patted his lap and told a female student, “please, come and see me,” commented that two students were “bickering like a couple,” told one twin that the other was better looking, teased a student about not wanting to “break the camera” during a YouTube project, and told a female student she “could use some exercise.”
The Chilliwack district suspended Gentile without pay for three days on Feb. 12, 2025, and required him to complete a course on creating a positive learning environment. The agreement says the district had also issued him a letter of discipline on Dec. 13, 2024 over inappropriate and unprofessional communication with secondary students.
Under the consent agreement, Gentile admitted the facts were true and admitted his conduct amounted to professional misconduct contrary to Standard 1 of the Professional Standards for B.C. Educators, which concerns valuing and caring for all students.
He also agreed to complete the Justice Institute of B.C. course Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries by Sept. 8, 2026, or face a possible suspension of his certificate until he does so.
The agreement says the commissioner considered Gentile’s failure to maintain a positive, safe and inclusive learning environment for students in deciding that a reprimand was the appropriate outcome.
