Montreal-area teacher suspended over showing his hip hop music video to students allowed to teach again
A Montreal-area high school teacher who moonlights as a rapper will be back at work after a three-week suspension for showing one of his music videos to his students.
Chad Ashe, who teaches at Howard S. Billings Regional High School in Châteauguay, Que., said he asked his students to share 10 things about themselves to get to know them better. In return, he showed them the video for his song Wahala to open up to his class.
“I gave 10 things that they should know about me. One of them was I'm a recording artist and, obviously, the kids were so curious,” he said in an interview with CTV News.
Music, he said, has always played a big role in his life.
“Everything that I do always reports back to making music. I kind of went into teaching because of music.”
In the video, Ashe and his girlfriend are seen hanging out by the pool. He said nothing came from it until he received a phone call on Nov. 12 saying he was suspended.
“I thought it was a joke,” he said.
The New Frontiers School Board said it was parents who expressed concerns, but officials declined to provide further details.
The board confirmed that he will return to the classroom on Monday.
“One parent complains — that’s fine. They’re allowed to complain, but I should also be able to talk to the parent where we can find a middle ground,” he said Friday.
There's been a lot of support for Ashe. A parent of one of his students started an online petition that has collected more than 1,000 signatures.
Ashe said he plans on filing a grievance through his union.
“I’ve got to go fight for my name. It's very damaging. One accusation can ruin your career,” he said.
In the meantime, he said he’ll continue doing what he loves most — teaching and recording music.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.