BC Teacher Gets Suspended After Using The 'Back-Breaker' Wrestling Move On Students

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An elementary school teacher in Vancouver, B.C., performed a wrestling move called the "back-breaker" on some of his students and is now suspended for five days.

There were multiple complaints from parents filed against the teacher, named Sylvain Joseph-Leo Desbiens.

According to a consent resolution agreement from the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, Desbiens taught at an elementary school in North Vancouver.

The first "back-breaker" incident outlined in the agreement occurred between September 4, 2018, and October 28, 2018 — when Desbiens was teaching a Grade 4 and 5 class.

The agreement said that "Desbiens would use the 'back-breaker' in class on male students."

It described Desbiens putting his knee "in the student's back while pulling backwards on the student's shoulders and arms, without using his full strength," and that some students viewed it as being "punitive in nature."

The parent of a student that Desbiens performed the wrestling move on, during this time, made a complaint to the Commissioner. There were then two other complaints made by parents the following year.

In the spring of 2019, Desbiens was teaching a Grade 5 class at the school. In this time period he also performed the "back-breaker" on multiple students, and "more than one student said that this caused pain," the agreement said.

It added that one time "a group of students nominated a classmate to 'sacrifice' themselves for punishment by receiving the 'back-breaker.'"

There were also incidents of Desbiens pinching students "to the point where it hurt," and pretending to strike students, the agreement said.

When he was pretending to strike a student on one occasion, "he accidentally made contact with the student's head," it added.

He also implied to his class that as a form of punishment, he was going to bring in a whip.

On September 17, 2019, the district issued a letter of discipline to Desbiens and gave him a three-day-long suspension without pay.

In addition to the suspension, he had to go to a counselling/coaching session with a psychologist.

This was not the first time Desbiens faced punishment for his actions. The agreement said that when he worked at a school in Vancouver previously, he was issued a letter of expectation by the district.

This was after "he had used masking tape to tape shut a student's mouth," the agreement said.

Desbiens has admitted to professional misconduct and agreed for his certificate of qualification to be suspended for five days — from May 16 to May 20.

He now has until March 31, 2023, to complete a course called "Creating a Positive Learning Environment."