It’s September 25, 1995, Carm is an 18 year old Gr. 13 (OAC) student, is studying computers in her computer class. That morning she receives a chaplaincy appointment from the chaplain, Sister Marie Howorth, there is no indication as to what the appointment is for. The appointment is for 9:30am. No need to go down to her office, at 9:30am, Sister Marie Howorth appears smiling at her door. She beckons Carm to come with her. When Carm asks Sister Marie Howorth what the appointment is about, Sister Marie Howorth replies, “Oh just something.” OK (this is a true story) Put your OCT lens on, what is wrong with this scenario?

Through an Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) lens, quite a bit in that scenario would raise concerns today—and even in 1995, some of it would have been questionable.

The biggest issue is lack of transparency and informed purpose. A student is summoned to a meeting with no explanation (“just something”), which creates anxiety and a power imbalance. Current professional standards emphasize that students should understand why they are being called out of class, especially for something as personal as a chaplaincy visit.

There’s also a boundary and consent concern. Having an adult (even a chaplain like Sister Marie Howorth) arrive unannounced, remove a student from class, and avoid answering basic questions undermines the student’s autonomy. Today, best practice would be to:

Clearly state the purpose of the meeting in advance
Ensure the student feels safe to ask questions or decline (where appropriate)
Avoid vague or coercive language

Another issue is interruption of instructional time without clear justification. Pulling a student from a computer class (especially a senior-level course like OAC) should have a documented, legitimate reason communicated to both the student and teacher.

There’s also a duty of care and emotional safety angle. Being called to see a chaplain without context could make a student worry that something is wrong (family emergency, discipline issue, etc.). Educators are expected to minimize unnecessary stress.

Finally, from a modern equity and inclusion perspective, there’s a potential concern around religious authority in a school setting. If this is a publicly funded school, summoning a student to a religious meeting without clear consent or context would be problematic today.

In short: the scenario reflects poor communication, unclear purpose, and weak professional boundaries—all of which would be flagged under current OCT standards around professionalism, respect, and student well-being.

If you want, I can also contrast how this would be handled under today’s Ontario policies step-by-step.