In a newly released decision, the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal concluded that Craig Alan Henderson threw a rubber at a student, but that it was done in jest.
However, he also restrained a student by grabbing her arm by the wrist and holding and/or pulling her at the school in Hokitika.
He repeatedly attempted to physically remove glasses from her face with his hands even after she had requested him to stop.
As a result, he has been censured by the tribunal and is no longer working as a teacher.
If he returned to teaching, Mr Henderson must complete a behaviour management programme approved by the Teaching Council; be mentored for two years; and for two years provide a copy of the tribunal decision to any prospective employers in the education sector.
He has to pay $8000 of the Complaints Assessment Committee costs of investigation and prosecution, and $6500 of the tribunal costs.
One of the students said they were bored in maths so they went outside and played with a frisbee for about five minutes, even though the teacher had told them to stay in class.
They played piggy-in-the-middle because Mr Henderson was trying to take the frisbee off them. He told them to go back inside but they did not listen.
He then tried to take the glasses off one student's face and then backed her into a wall.
She described him as being fairly close, and she was dodging him and he kept missing.
The other student present said: "To be fair, we probably pushed (the respondent)", but she did not think it was the way a teacher should behave.
The tribunal heard Mr Henderson was finding classroom behaviour management of some students challenging.
Professional learning and support were therefore to be offered.
The tribunal said no actual harm was caused to the student, but attempting to grab a student's glasses and grabbing her wrist could adversely affect a student's well-being or learning.
"In any setting outside the school, a man holding teenage girl by the wrist and leading her would not be tolerated. Nor is it acceptable in the school setting."
Mr Henderson was reportedly a good teacher "but did not seem to have the ability to see how his actions would have appeared to others, or how it might have felt for others to experience his conduct".
