Mount Maunganui teacher guilty of serious misconduct fails in appeal

Mt Maunganui College relief teacher Gregory Robinson was found guilty of serious misconduct after an altercation with a student in 2019. Photo / Mead Norton

When students in Gregory Robinson's class raised concerns about him hitting a student, he suggested they go to the front office and talk to the principal.

He expected them to be back within 15 minutes and that would be the end of the matter. Instead, it was the start of a legal process to try to clear his name.

Three years later, the teacher of 40 years was cleared of the allegation of hitting a student but found to have committed serious misconduct after removing an earphone from a student's ear.

A Court of Appeal decision released this week stated a Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal found Robinson was teaching a Year 10 maths class at Mount Maunganui College where two students were listening to music through earphones and drumming on a desk.

When the students didn't respond to Robinson's request to stop, the teacher attempted to confiscate the phone. When that didn't work, he removed the earphones from the student's ear, accidentally breaking them in the process.

The appeal decision said a verbal altercation followed and the student was removed from the class.

The incident resulted in a complaint to the tribunal by the school's principal. Under the Education Act, a school is obligated to report complaints of misconduct directly to the tribunal.

In the decision, Robinson said the notification was made after a different student in the class said they saw him hit the student in the process of removing the earphones.

"I addressed the class and said anyone who thinks they saw me hit the boy better go to administration and make your case."

"I was expecting them back in 15 minutes with abject letters of apology, but that's not how schools work anymore."

Ultimately, the allegation was never stacked up. An investigation carried out by the tribunal found there was insufficient evidence to prove Robinson had struck a student.

The earphones were broken accidentally - a fact agreed on by both parties. Photo / NZME

However, two charges were laid - one for his act of removing the headphones, and one for failing to deescalate the situation. Those charges were ultimately proven and Robinson was censured.

The tribunal found Robinson "removed the headphones unexpectedly and recklessly" - an act that amounted to serious misconduct due to the possibility it could "adversely affect the student's wellbeing" and ran the risk of bringing the teaching profession into disrepute.

It was agreed the breaking of the earphones was accidental.

Robinson, who worked as a teacher for 40 years, appealed the decision with the District Court. That was unsuccessful, with the court upholding the tribunal's findings.

He later appealed again, this time with the Court of Appeal. The substance of Robinson's appeal was a mix of "procedural flaws, errors of fact and law, and the approach to determination of penalty and costs".

Again, the court upheld the tribunal's original decision.

The full details of the tribunal's findings remain unclear. The written decision remains secret, with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand chief executive saying it would be published when the appeal process was complete.

Speaking to Open Justice, Robinson accepted that removing the earphones wasn't the best course of action, but disputed that the act amounted to serious misconduct.

"It was never a fair cop in the first place, I only came to the notice [of the tribunal] because of the allegations of striking someone."

He also remained firm in his view that the charge of failing to de-escalate the situation was unjust.

"The failing to de-escalate - whatever that means, I don't know. Everybody - teachers, police know that it is very difficult to de-escalate somebody who has absolutely no intention of being de-escalated.

"I offered to replace the earphones in the first instance and I left the room, what else could I do to de-escalate? It's just ridiculous."

Robinson said he could not recall the advice given to him as to how he could have de-escalated the situation.

He said the incident cost him $55,000 - made up of $25,000 in legal fees and $30,000 in lost wages.

"I taught at the school for 13 years. I'd been relief teaching there for four or five - it's a job I enjoyed.

"I always took a pride in trying to deal with things myself, rather than create work for the administration. I also felt that it was not my job to get any kids' educational opportunities terminated. So I tried to deal with their behaviour myself, but [I'd] bitten off more than I could chew this time."

Robinson's teaching certificate was not cancelled and he could have returned to the profession but said he felt like he couldn't.

"The stress involved - long, sleepless nights, going over and over in your head. It has been a very bruising three years.

"I did not feel like I could return to a classroom, although there was no official reason that I couldn't."

He later returned to teaching at a different school but has subsequently retired.

In a statement, Teaching Council chief executive Lesley Hoskin said: "We understand that teachers can find themselves in difficult situations, but the safety and wellbeing of children and young people must always be our highest priority.

"We acknowledge that this is a space where ongoing training and guidance is required to ensure our teachers are equipped to appropriately handle situations such as this."

Mount Maunganui College principal Alistair Sinton declined to comment.