A fight between a student and a substitute teacher at Rocky Mount High School is under investigation. It is part of a national conversation about teachers having to defend themselves against combative students.
Police were called to the North Carolina school on April 17. A substitute teacher, Xaviera Steele, who had been employed by Nash County Schools for about a year, got into a fight with one of her students, whose identity and whereabouts remain unknown.
The student was listed as a juvenile.
However, police reports indicate that there were no injuries, that the matter is under investigation, and that neither the teacher nor the student has been fired or expelled.
The altercation stemmed from a dispute over a confiscated phone that Steele took from the student. The student, who is Black like Steele, felt that the substitute teacher was singling her out.
Determined to get her phone back, the student grabbed Steele, causing Steele to become defensive.
“Don’t touch me, girl,” Steele said before the student slapped her and pulled her hair.
The fight video shows the teacher on top of the student, with Steele getting the upper hand and slamming the student to the ground.
The student screams and cries for help, while Steele yells at other students to “get a teacher” as she presses down on the student’s head on the floor.
A screenshot of Steele’s Facebook reportedly shows the substitute teacher with no remorse, saying, “[F***] that job and them kids.”
Kudos 👏🏾 #xavierasteele
Somebody knows how to give a good ole fashioned butt whooping.
Some of us love you. pic.twitter.com/q5VF7qUxdy— Auset Harriet (@chantelmason325) April 18, 2023
Teachers having to fight students during class has been a viral topic on social media, with many speculators siding with the teachers, saying that the kids seem more disrespectful to their elders.
In recent and related news, a student may have paralyzed longtime language arts teacher Tiwana Turner from a fight they had at Heritage High School in Conyers, a suburb of Atlanta, Madamenoire reported.
In addition to being potentially paralyzed, medical expenses will have to be paid out of Turner’s pocket, and a GoFundMe campaign has been created.
