Last week, you might have read a story about a who was found dead on Quadra Island.
A few days before his death, Michael Andreassen Gregory, 57, was charged with 17 sexual-related offences against former students stemming from incidents that occurred from 1999 to 2005.
I knew him as Mr. Gregory. He taught at John Ware Junior High School in 颅Calgary from 1986 to 2006. I attended the school from 1994 to 1997. He was a popular teacher who coached many teams and led the 颅outdoor education program. He was my math teacher when I was in Grade 8.
I first learned of these charges when my best friend from middle school shared a news article on social media. As the days progressed, I read many comments from former classmates. Many females 颅mentioned their discomfort with him during their years in the school, while other 颅students told of observations of inappropriate behaviour they had witnessed.
It鈥檚 awful that there are students who weren鈥檛 safe at school. These experiences and stories are not easy to share, which is why it鈥檚 not uncommon for them to take 20聽years to come out.
As awful as this is, Gregory wasn鈥檛 the first teacher to be charged with inappropriate behaviour at that junior high school.
About a year ago, I found myself 颅watching a crime documentary about a teacher who had molested students in the school. The documentary explained how the teacher had groomed the students by taking them out for lunch during school days, being a confidant, and overall being viewed as a peer rather than an authority figure.
As I watched this, I was reminded of my Grade 8 science teacher, Mr. Archer. He was also a favourite teacher in the school. He would fill his car each lunch hour with students and take them for lunch. I felt very lucky when I was one of the students chosen to go for lunch with him and my friends. He took us to Subway, Pizza Hut and 颅McDonald鈥檚, and he always paid.
I鈥檝e learned through social-media posts that Gregory was also known for taking students out for meals.
After I watched this documentary, I decided to Google Archer and see what had happened to him. At the time, I was 颅thinking that he was still a great teacher and the crime program I was watching was painting teachers who treat students to lunch in a bad light.
To my surprise, Archer had been charged in 2008 with molesting three boys, decades earlier. He was convicted and served time in prison.
I鈥檝e lived in Victoria for 20 years and don鈥檛 have a close connection to Calgary 颅anymore, so that鈥檚 probably why I didn鈥檛 hear that news sooner.
Both of these teachers were very 颅well-liked by students. Looking back at those times, I remember how I saw them as a youth, but now I am a mother.
I am not sure if I ever told my mom that my teacher would take us for lunch. I know that if she were to question it, I would have said: 鈥淗e鈥檚 not a normal teacher. It鈥檚 fine 鈥� it鈥檚 Mr. Archer. You don鈥檛 understand.鈥�
We hope our children find mentors and adults they can confide in and who can 颅support them. Stories like these are 颅troubling because as parents, we need to allow our children to grow, and to protect them at the same time.
No one would have ever thought that in a suburb of Calgary, there would be two teachers working in the same small j颅unior high school who would eventually face 颅sex-related charges.
I am glad that the victims came forward. It took a lot of courage.
Charla Huber is the director of communications and Indigenous relations at M鈥檃kola Housing Society.
