Allegations of unsafe conditions in a woodworking classroom in the Greater Victoria School District resulted in a teacher resigning his position at the end of the 2020 school year, according to documents released this month by the province.
The resignation followed a February 2020 incident in which a student lost a large clump of hair in a planer machine, resulting in the need for several stitches.
Christian William John Michel, who had been certified by the B.C. College of Teachers since 2007, was suspended immediately following the planing incident, according to the consent resolution agreement, signed by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
The Feb. 25 incident began when a Grade 8 student asked if they could make a table.
Michel approved the project but did not provide instructions on how to safely use a planer in the workshop, and neglected to tell the student, who had long hair, that the hair would have to be tied back.
The student had to push four pieces of wood through the planer, but had trouble with the fourth. Michel initially helped to remove the stuck piece of wood, without turning off the machine.
When the piece of wood got stuck a second time, the student tried to remove it in the same way Michel had done, by moving to the back of the planer.
The student did not turn off the machine first, their long hair got caught and a large clump was ripped from the student’s head, resulting in the student needing stitches.
When Michel went to the office with the student for help, he did not turn off the power to the workshop and did not provide instructions to the class.
On Feb. 26, the district suspended the woodworking teacher.
The consent resolution agreement noted the district had previously raised concerns about safety with Michel.
In 2017, a school principal said he was concerned that eight students had been injured in a woodworking class between May and December of that year. That resulted in an investigation and risk assessment of the workshop that found several factors contributed to the injuries, including a congested shop layout with no safe zones, the equipment being too advanced for the age of the students, and lack of warning signs or orders of operation on the tools.
In September 2018, the school principal reminded Michel of additional measures he could take to ensure safety, including ensuring wood was of appropriate size and free of visible defects.
But in October 2018, a student was injured when using a piece of wood that was too small in a vertical sander.
The consent agreement noted that Michel admitted to the facts as laid out by the investigation and that his actions surrounding the incident with the planer amounted to professional misconduct.
While he resigned in 2020, his teaching certification now stipulates he is not authorized to teach in any applied design, skills and technology education classroom in the K-12 system, including any classroom where there is machinery with moving parts.
Michel can apply to have that limitation removed if he can demonstrate he has completed safety training and understands how to protect students.
