A Detroit teacher was fired May 6 for breaking up a fight by using a broomstick to separate the participants. Tiffani Eaton, 31, was a ninth grade teacher at Pershing High School when a violent brawl broke out between two male students.
In a cell phone video that captured the fight, Eaton, who is smaller than both boys, was seen hitting one of the teenagers on the back in an attempt to stop the tussle. The ninth graders were filmed hitting each other and knocking over desks. The boys were finally separated when a third student pulled them apart.
Kiren Lowery, one of the boy’s involved in the fight, described Eaton as one of his favorite teachers, but does not feel sorry for her firing. He says she should have waited for security to arrive.
Chrystal Wilson, spokeswoman for the Education Achievement Authority (EAA), recommended Eaton’s firing, citing child abuse. Teachers that teach at EAA schools like Pershing, do not have a union, so Eaton cannot file for appeal.
“Unfortunately the method that she used, in terms of swatting one with a broom, is a violation of the corporal punishment provision under the Michigan school code,” said Keith Johnson, President of the Detroit Federation of Teachers to FOX 2. “But she’s caught in a quandary because under that same code she’s expected to do what is necessary to diffuse a situation.”
Both teenagers involved, ages 15 and 16, were suspended for 10 days.