Chris Spence, the Toronto School Board’s director of education has come forward today to admit that he plagiarised in an article written for Sunday’s Toronto Star. Two paragraphs in Spence’s article are identical to an opinion piece published in a 1989 New York Times piece. There are also a few blog quotes which haven’t been sourced. 

He has posted an apology on the Toronto District School Board’s website and has also expressed his remorse in an interview with the Toronto Star, saying “I was careless and sloppy and rushed, and I should have given credit to some of the work that I used.“ For that he has received a slap on the wrist, with the Board Chair Chris Bolton saying it was an “honest mistake” and that this is just a “learning experience”. My learning experience in high school for not crediting a source was to rewrite the essay. While a public shaming is certainly in order, it seems that the school board has been too soft on Chris Spence. What do you think?