The blond and dead-baby jokes handed out as a homework assignment at Oakwood C.I. were inappropriate for school, said the principal investigating the matter.

At the same time, former students on Friday rushed to defend Jeff Jones as a beloved, if controversial, teacher who built a great theatre program at the school and touched the lives of those he worked with.

On the steps of the high school on St. Clair Ave. W. Friday afternoon, principal Ellen Austrom told reporters that Jones remains at home with pay pending the outcome of the investigation into the seven pages of sexist, violent and racist jokes he distributed in January.

“The content of the material that was presented is just not appropriate for a school,” she said. “We want students to be working with material that is respectful and inclusive.”

The Star cannot publish the most offensive jokes because of our editorial policy.

Jones, who has taught at Oakwood for eight years, is credited with having developed the theatre program, which has become one of the best in the province.

“Mr. Jones put his blood, sweat and tears into his job. He helped so many students and put in hours and hours of overtime just to run the amazing plays,” former student Cara Mele wrote in an email to the Star.

Under his guidance, groups of students from the school won honours at the Sears Ontario Drama Festival for three consecutive years, said Michelle Gooderham, a former student who acted in plays and took classes taught by Jones for all four years she was at Oakwood.

“His teaching went beyond the 9-to-3 day,” she said, describing how Jones “put all his time and energy into extracurricular drama.”

Along with his students, Jones would stay at school until 9 p.m., working tirelessly to make sure the plays were perfect, she said.

Gooderham went on to study theatre at Ryerson University and is currently studying to become a teacher, in large part because of Jones’ influence.

“I want to be a teacher and take everything he taught me and use it,” she said.

Many of the students who contacted the Star remembered Jones because he pushed them to deal with issues not necessarily covered by the curriculum, yet nevertheless relevant to their lives.

“Jones had always strived for honesty and would challenge students with mature subjects, treating us like the adults that we were becoming instead of passing us off as ignorant children with no understanding of the world,” wrote former student Lili Beau.

“In a day and age when students have probably already seen and heard it all — from TV or the Internet — it is important that teachers find ways to grapple with tough material as opposed to pretending it does not exist,” wrote former student Vivien Endicott-Douglas.

“I truly believe that exposing unprofessional … teachers is just and valid. There are way too many teachers who don’t want to be there and couldn’t care less about the overpopulated classes and the rude, hormonally driven children that are high school students,” wrote former student Melina Trimarchi. “Jeff Jones is not one these teachers.”

Experts, however, caution that the jokes clearly crossed a line teachers must uphold.

After being provided with a copy of the jokes, Professor Ben Kutsyuruba, an expert in ethical and legal issues in the classroom at Queen’s University, said they were “very explicitly inappropriate.”

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The Toronto District School Board Human Rights Policy guideline for students states: “All students must be allowed to learn in an environment where they are treated with respect, dignity, and understanding.”

Kutsyuruba said the jokes clearly breach not only this policy, but the ethical standards enforced by the Ontario College of Teachers, especially those that refer to commitment to student well-being and providing a positive influence.

“If schools aren’t upholding the moral and ethical code,” he said, “where else would students get that role modeling?”