A high school teacher in Merced, California, got fired after defending himself during an altercation with a student. This is according to a tweet from @FightHaven, which went viral, racking up more than 16.2 million views since it was published on March 25.
The video starts with a teacher and a student standing in a classroom. The student initially moves away from the desk and approaches the teacher until they are in close contact. The student continues to provoke the teacher and starts to push against him while the teacher tries to diffuse the situation and get the student to back away.
As the teacher turned to walk away, the student then gave the teacher a much bigger push. In response, the teacher threw something resembling a binder at the student. This resulted in the student punching and wildly swinging at the teacher.
The teacher tried to restrain the student by grabbing him before the student eventually stopped the attack and retreated.
Justified?
Merced, CA High School Teacher gets Fired after defending himself froma Student who wanted the 1 on 1… pic.twitter.com/nxDZ400KUm— Fight Haven (@FightHaven) March 25, 2023
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The case has sparked much debate on social media about whether or not the firing was justified. Many Twitter users commented on their support for the teacher.
“He got fired for what? He just put the kid in a headlock to defend himself,” @davidgokhshtein commented.
“He never put him in a headlock, just grabbed him in his upper body to restrain him,” @BECommander11 responded, “The student needs to be charged with assault and battery, and the teacher needs to sue the school for wrongful termination!”
However, other users weren’t so sure, suggesting the teacher should have taken more appropriate action to handle the dispute.
“Most schools have a security button you push, and you get immediately in conversation with the front office to tell them what is going on,” one person @SillyZooUSA said. “Within seconds, someone is there who has the authority to grab the student. The teacher had plenty of time to use the protocol. Firing justified.”
“He shouldn’t have thrown the binder. As soon as the student started taking his belongings off, the teacher should have ran to his phone and called security to his classroom,” another user, @stephythenerd, commented. “I don’t think he should’ve gotten fired. Temporary leave and maybe a relocation within the district.”
This article was produced and syndicated by TPR Teaching.
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