Fired Pontiac High School teacher tells her side of the story
Fired teacher tells her side of the story of a viral incident
Video of a heated back-and-forth between a high school student and teacher goes viral. Now, that teacher is talking exclusively with Fox 2 to defend herself after getting veiled death threats over the exchange.
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - Video of a heated back-and-forth between a high school student and teacher goes viral. Now, that teacher is talking exclusively with FOX 2 to defend herself after getting veiled death threats over the exchange.
Big picture view:
It was day two in the classroom for 9th grade teacher at Pontiac High School, Dr. Rachelle Harris. She’s talking exclusively with FOX 2 after video posted by a parent of the heated exchange went viral.
"My regret is that I did not leave on the first day," she said. "He got irritated because, basically, I was impeding on his quote ‘right to be disruptive’ and told me to ‘calm the F down, girl.’"
Dr. Harris says she was repeating back what the student was hurling at her and doesn’t have regrets. After it ended, she cleaned her classroom and resigned.
Pontiac High School teacher fired after being caught on video using profanity at her students
A video is spreading across the internet of a teacher at Pontiac High School using inappropriate language while yelling at her students.
"I’ve dealt with a lot of different situations over the years, but I’ve never dealt with a situation in which a student spoke to me in the manner he spoke to me," she said. "And when he did, he stepped out of a child’s place. He was speaking as an adult; therefore, he was treated as an adult."
Since then, she says she’s been flooded with messages, with teachers sharing their own similar experiences.
"It’s exceptionally difficult, it’s mentally challenging, it’s exhausting for many educators. It’s physically exhausting. It’s to the point where it affects their health, where they go on FMLA," Harris said.
And she had a message for her supporters.
"Thank you so much for understanding that I am not a monster. There was a lesson to be taught that day, and I hope they learned it," she said.
The other side:
Pontiac Schools said in a statement to us earlier this week:
"This behavior does not reflect our values or the standards we expect from our staff. The matter was addressed promptly, and the employee involved no longer works for the district."