A North Vancouver elementary school teacher who pretended to shoot her students, ripped up students’ projects in front of them and swore in the classroom has been ordered to take conflict resolution courses.
Lisa Nicole Niven, who taught a split grade 3 and 4 class part-time at Lynn Valley elementary in the fall of 2013, was handed the decision by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation after agreeing her behaviour constituted professional misconduct.
According to the decision, on at least two occasions between September and December 2013, Niven pretended to “shoot” students who weren’t paying attention in class by pointing her fingers like a gun and “firing” at them while making a “poof” sound. Students in her class were frightened by the gesture, according to the decision.
Another time, two boys in Niven’s class ignored her requests to put away story books they were working on until after other classroom work was finished.
“As a result, she took their story books, ripped them up and threw them out,” according to the decision.
One of the boys had asked her not to damage his book when she took it from him.
“She ripped it up regardless,” according to the decision.
Another time, Niven cursed under her breath in the classroom, using words like “hell” and “idiots” among others.
It isn’t the first time Niven’s classroom behaviour has been called into question.
The elementary school teacher was previously reprimanded and told to come up with more appropriate responses to students who made her angry in May of 2012.
She was also told not to slam doors or use “excessively loud noises” as a means of classroom management after she slammed the door as a way to get students’ attention in September 2013.
Niven has been on medical leave since Jan. 30, 2014, according to the decision.
In September 2014, the North Vancouver school district issued a disciplinary letter saying she would be suspended for two days without pay for her actions when she returned from medical leave.
Niven has agreed to complete courses in conflict resolution at the Justice Institute. If she doesn’t finish the courses by June of 2015, her teaching certificate can be suspended.
