DETROIT (WSVN) — Fists flew in a Detroit classroom between a student and her science teacher, a brawl that was caught on cellphone video and resulted in the pupil’s suspension.
The seventh grade science class at Mackenzie Elementary and Middle School quickly turned into a wrestling ring as other students took out their cellphones and recorded the escalating confrontation. Witnesses said the teacher got upset because students were throwing paper at her and calling her names while she tried to teach.
Diamonique Singleton, the seventh-grader involved in the melee, said the teacher mistakenly thought she called her a vulgar name and confronted her. "She pushed me. She pushed me twice, so that’s when I hit her back," she said.
Singleton said she tried to walk away, but the teacher wouldn’t let her, and then pushed her. "She got in front of me saying I’m a ‘b,’ and that’s when she started calling me a ‘b,’ and I was like, ‘No, I didn’t even say it, and she was like, ‘OK, ‘b,’ now you got me f’d up,’" she said.
Singleton was suspended from school, and she could be expelled.
Her older sister said it was the teacher who crossed the line. "She put her hand on someone else’s child, without permission," she said.
The school district called the fight unfortunate and disturbing. "It was a little disheartening to see that, but I do want to talk to that member to find out exactly what’s happening," said Ivy Bailey, interim president of the Detroit Teachers Union.
Bailey said teachers are working in tough conditions and overcrowded classrooms. "These people are at a breaking point, and with all this uncertainty about whether they’re going to have a job next year. You’ve got people close to retirement. They don’t know if they’re gonna have their pension. There’s just a lot going on. There’s a lot of stress," she said.
The student’s sister said there are better ways to handle stress, especially when it comes to a child. "She lost control of that classroom, the situation, herself, everything. She just lost control," she said.
Singleton said she learned a tough lesson from the entire incident. When asked whether she would have acted differently if given another chance, the student replied, "Yeah … because it got me in a bad situation."
The teacher involved has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.